I was skeptical as well, but I just had a chance to compare the two and they are most definitely different. Check out the waveforms for "Tom Sawyer" below (I had to boost the 2022 remix 9 dB to level-match with the 2011).
"Tom Sawyer" (2011 5.1 Mix):
View attachment 78017
"Tom Sawyer (2022 5.1 Mix):
View attachment 78018
I wouldn't say Richard Chycki has suddenly transformed into an all-star surround mixer on the calibre of Elliot Scheiner or Steven Wilson, but this is definitely an improvement over the first attempt. It may seem like the 2011 mix had more activity in the rear speakers, though in reality most of it is content duplicated from the fronts (lead vocal, drums, guitar) plus some semi-discrete synthesizer washes and (way too much) reverb. The synth is fully-isolated in the rears on the new version, with very little drum or guitar signal back there. The center channel is used differently as well, primarily for dry snare and bass guitar.
I haven't heard the entire thing yet, but some of the problems of the first 5.1 mix are still evident (excessive reverb in the rears, Geddy's vocals can be a bit loud and harsh at times, etc). I also wish he'd taken more risks with the spatial positioning like Steven Wilson did with
A Farewell To Kings, such as spreading the tom fills out to the rear speakers or moving some guitar parts back there if the moment called for it.