The Beatles - Abbey Road 50th Anniversary (5.1 & Dolby Atmos mixes)

[doctors11]

Yeah I'll be 61 in November so this music is ingrained in my psyche. I have the Mobile Fidelity album from back in the day which I enjoy but it is darker. Hearing all the details on this version along with the multi channel mix is wonderful. I'm just jealous of those of you who can raise the level on your surrounds...would love to be able to do that.

 

[doctors11]

Well you can up arrow from Come Together and it will go straight to the audio options. Once you've got it playing in 5.1 you can move between stereo and 5.1 (hitting 'enter' as needed) and it will change mixes on the fly.

Sent from my K5000 using Tapatalk

Wow, thanks for that boxhead! I'll give it a try later today.

 

[blue.monk]

Having had time to fully absorb all this set has to offer (plus the 3-LP set) I find it superb. This is the best of the surround mixes no doubt and its sound quality is unparalleled. I could quibble about a few level choices--after all I've been living with the original for ages--but what the new mix adds more than makes up for that. Besides, as long as a mix is faithful to the spirit of the original I welcome some tweaks here and there. It makes for a new way to experience and appreciate the work. And this mix does just that. A few of the goosed levels really made me smile, including the organ in Sun King and the orchestral swells in the coda of The End. For laughs I did a quick comparison of the relevant tracks from Love and found I preferred the new mixes for both content and sound quality. The new mix of Come Together for example has greater weight in the choruses and solo section, plus they were able to "unlock" Ringo's tom fills and spread them a bit across the sound field. Anyway I'm absolutely loving it. I adore this album. The Beatles are the best and this set is a delight.

 

[J. PUPSTER]

As a drummer, what you are hearing in the right front channel is sympathetic vibration from the snare drum wires on the bottom head, caused by vibrations from him striking the toms and bass drum. I hear it right after 'Are you gonna be in my dreams, tonight' around 20 seconds through about 35 seconds. It's also possible that there is some bleed-through from an earlier take in which Ringo hit the snare drum more and the toms and bass less than the final take too.

Edit: They could've used a level filter to clean that up, but I'm so glad that they didn't. Stuff like that helps you to feel the actual air in the room.

Hey @Frogmort, didn't know you are a drummer- that's cool. I believe those snare drum sounds have always been on the album; it's just with the extra breathing room this new surround mix gives it and the added resolution, it's easier to pick up on. That's just a major reason to want as much as possible in a great surround mix, to let all the aural information shine through. I just wish more music lovers understood that! Just think what a 5.1 mix could do for a large band title like Jaco Pastorius' "Word Of Mouth"; it's just all jammed together in a mostly 2 dimensional mash up.

 

[ar surround]

That's just a major reason to want as much as possible in a great surround mix, to let all the aural information shine through. I just wish more music lovers understood that!

Amen to that, Pupster...Amen to that.

 

[4-earredwonder]

Amen to that, Pupster...Amen to that.

And Peace be unto both thee .... and the Pupster !

And in the end, the love you take
Is equal to the love you make

 

[humprof]

Interesting article by Mark Mulligan on Hypebot.com, where he argues that Abbey Road is more evidence for his contention that "Niche is the New Mainstream":

When a once in a generation event like Abbey Road at 50 comes along, and the older, CD and vinyl buying audience comes out in force, you do not need too many of them to create a chart-topping album. As I illustrated in my post on the White Album, 75,000 sales of a $100 deluxe edition can generate the same label income as more than 60 million streams

Universal, are you studying your own sales charts? Cough >Steely Dan< cough...

 

[The Quadfather]

Well, I finally got to hear Abbey Road in 5.1 surround. I have to say, I'm quite impressed. When I first put it in my Oppo BDP-83, it started playing in stereo. It seems that the setups I had done in my player, had reverted back to what it was when it came back from the repair shop. I wonder if there is a memory battery I need to replace. One of those stainless steel coin things. Oh well, it took a while to get set up again, but when I did, WOW! HOT DAMN! Unfortunately, I am on call this weekend, so I was unable to enjoy it with my favorite alcoholic beverage in my hand. But there is time for that, and it will happen. When I got done, my wife had started watching Roger Waters in concert in the bedroom performing "The Wall". It was excellently done, although rather different from the movie. I wonder if this performance is available on Blu Ray or DVD, and is it in surround? I would have loved to hear this on my surround home theater system. At some point, I had lost the ability to play TV audio through it, so I might be working on getting that up and running again, for just such occasions. It probably happened when I took out my old NTSC set and replaced it with an HDTV monitor. It just didn't get hooked back up.
The Quadfather

 

[J. PUPSTER]

Well, I finally got to hear Abbey Road in 5.1 surround. I have to say, I'm quite impressed. When I first put it in my Oppo BDP-83, it started playing in stereo. It seems that the setups I had done in my player, had reverted back to what it was when it came back from the repair shop. I wonder if there is a memory battery I need to replace. One of those stainless steel coin things. Oh well, it took a while to get set up again, but when I did, WOW! HOT DAMN! Unfortunately, I am on call this weekend, so I was unable to enjoy it with my favorite alcoholic beverage in my hand. But there is time for that, and it will happen. When I got done, my wife had started watching Roger Waters in concert in the bedroom performing "The Wall". It was excellently done, although rather different from the movie. I wonder if this performance is available on Blu Ray or DVD, and is it in surround? I would have loved to hear this on my surround home theater system. At some point, I had lost the ability to play TV audio through it, so I might be working on getting that up and running again, for just such occasions. It probably happened when I took out my old NTSC set and replaced it with an HDTV monitor. It just didn't get hooked back up.
The Quadfather

The BD I believe always starts out in stereo. Not driver error.

 

[weekendtoy]

I made it 51 years and two days without listening to a complete Beatles studio album.

My birthday was last Wednesday and on Friday the Abbey Road boxset arrived.

 

[LuvMyQuad]

I made it 51 years and two days without listening to a complete Beatles studio album.

Wow. Well please listen to this one all the way through

 

[Circular Vibes]

I can not imagine why anyone would go out of their way to never listen to a whole Beatles album. No one in my family ever owned a Beatles album or single until I got 1967-70 Christmas 1980 when my Grandparents decided I needed an education. That said, My parents generation all listened with friends or borrowed lps. My Grandparents were certainly hip to the Beatles even if they only listened to both kinds of music. Weekendtoy, please listen to it at least once all the way through and come back to relate your experience to us.

 

[watsontr]

I can not imagine why anyone would go out of their way to never listen to a whole Beatles album.

I tend to do that quite a lot

 

[LuvMyQuad]

For me, if its something new, it will generally get played thru at least once. Maybe not all at once. Maybe a few sittings sometimes. It depends how much it entices me. Something that's not my cup of tea maybe doesn't get finished, but its rare.

At first I thought... I just cant conceive of it happening with something like the Beatles... but then again, I've never heard an entire Beach Boys album. And to some that would be just as jaw dropping.

I gotta say, when I sit down to listen these days, I definitely cherry pick my stuff, and don't listen to full albums much any more. Its a symptom of having your music collection ripped. Its just so easy to cherry pick when the disks don't get in the way.

 

[uffeolby]

I gotta say, when I sit down to listen these days, I definitely cherry pick my stuff, and don't listen to full albums much any more. Its a symptom of having your music collection ripped. Its just so easy to cherry pick when the disks don't get in the way.

I appreciate that you say symptom rather than advantage. Too easy to cherry pick these days - I am sure that I would have missed out on many very rewarding deep tracks in the old days, given this current listening patterns.

 

[Marplot]

I agree listening to an entire new album can be difficult sometime; especially on CD when so many bands end up putting mediocre songs on a release to get over 60 minutes in length.
I try to listen three times, 1 to test the waters, 2 to give it a fair shake and the 3rd listen will be in random order to see which songs pop. Take the new Opeth for instance, the first track feels like filler to extend total length, and damn sure shouldn't open the album. Randomly, I found a few tracks I really dig.
*listening sequence not the same for concept albums, the sequence is the opinion of the author and no other, no animals were harmed in the creation of this post, just anyone that read it.

 

[ar surround]

I gotta say, when I sit down to listen these days, I definitely cherry pick my stuff, and don't listen to full albums much any more. Its a symptom of having your music collection ripped. Its just so easy to cherry pick when the disks don't get in the way.

I pretty much do the same, but not with Abbey Road. Dark Side Of The Moon is another. I’ve tried playing just a cut or the from them but then invariably end up playing the whole thing...an indication of the magnificence of these two albums. I think as I age there is this stigma about wasting time doing anything that doesn’t wet my whistle. “Grouchy Old Fart Syndrome.”

 

[edisonbaggins]

I've heard every Beatles album from Rubber Soul onward in their entirety. Earlier than that, only best of type cuts.

 

[ar surround]

I've heard every Beatles album from Rubber Soul onward in their entirety. Earlier than that, only best of type cuts.

OK, so I will bore you all with my list of "always play" early Beatles cuts. Also, great stuff for those with short attention spans!

From Please Please Me:
- I Saw Her Standing There (The track that just jumps right out of the speakers)
- Ask Me Why (First time I heard this was like "WTF, a Beatles cha-cha?" Been addicted to it ever since.)
- Please Please Me
- Do You Want To Know A Secret (Good 'ole George never got enough exposure during the early years...so it's payback time)
- There's A Place (One of my all-time early favorites)
- Twist And Shout (Also Number One by The Rutles.)

From With The Beatles (I love the covers on this album)
- It Won't Be Long
- Don't Bother Me (Those growling guitars make the song!)
- Till There Was You
- Please Mr. Postman
- Roll Over Beethoven
- Money (The one track from the album with vocals in the center.)

From A Hard Day's Night:
- All of "side one" when playing rips from the Blu ray movie
- All of "side two" when playing the CD

From Beatles For Sale:
- No Reply
- Eight Days A Week
- Honey Don't (my favorite Ringo sung track...and it sounds nice and clean)
- Every Little Thing
- What You're Doing
- Everybody's Trying To Be My Baby

From Help:
- All of "side one" when playing rips from the Blu ray movie
- All of "side two" except for Dizzy Miss Lizzy when playing the CD

From Past Masters Vol 1:
- From Me To You
- I Want To Hold Your Hand
- Long Tall Sally
- I Call Your Name
- I Feel Fine
- She's a Woman (every bit as good as the A-side)
- Yes It Is

 

[wavelength]

Those are some great, great tunes!