The Who - Who’s Next SDE series no. 30 (January 17th, 2025)

[Bobby Martini]

How much better is Penteo at creating a surround mix? Is it AI based or does it take human decisions as to how the recording is going to sound? How different is it compared to Dolby Pro Logic II (Dolby Surround) algorithm?

All I know is, to my ears, the penteo mix of Bargain doesn't sound any better on my (very basic) 5.1 LG blu ray player when I play the stereo version but switch on the 'fake surround' button (named 'Bass Boost' on my remote.....I can hear the jealousy from here ).

My player does a reasonable job of that sort of thing in my opinion.

I've got other penteo upmixes and they don't impress me much (channelling my Shania Twain there) to be honest. Nothing that a decent Dolby Pro Logic II can't achieve.

 

[SharpKnight]

All I know is, to my ears, the penteo mix of Bargain doesn't sound any better on my (very basic) 5.1 LG blu ray player when I play the stereo version but switch on the 'fake surround' button (named 'Bass Boost' on my remote.....I can hear the jealousy from here ).

My player does a reasonable job of that sort of thing in my opinion.

I've got other penteo upmixes and they don't impress me much (channelling my Shania Twain there) to be honest. Nothing that a decent Dolby Pro Logic II can't achieve.

It's sad to thing that people have managed to monetize a once dead and slowly reviving form of music with such snake oil and feeding off of the audience that are not just crazies but are part of this whole thing unlike the technically inept that are happy to hear music from a singular speaker cylinder in their kitchens.

 

[DrKlahn]

I got a chance to listen to this and I think it's overall an excellent mix and presentation. I did notice Bargain being more rear centric. Giving it a bit more volume seemed to help some. Glad SDE made this happen as the box set just wasn't in my price range for this album.

 

[tlake6659]

Here's the dynamic range readings for the 5.1 mix on the SDE Blu-Ray. Keep in mind the nearly 7dB drop in loudness upon reaching "The Song Is Over" and the -6.10 dB peaks shared between tracks 5 to 9.
View attachment 112849

And these are the readings for the Steven Wilson stereo mix:
View attachment 112850
I believe the incorrect mastering was presented for "My Wife" here, given the peak and DR value, neither of which match the DR readings someone else gave out for the Super Deluxe Edition Blu-Ray here. The SDE Blu-Ray also presents "My Wife" about 1.26 dB louder than the Super Deluxe Edition Blu-Ray.

(You can't just make the track quieter though, because the track parking starts with about a tenth of a second of the previous song.)

What's the DR on the Atmos mix?

 

[SeeMoreDigital]

What's the DR on the Atmos mix?

The DR differs quite a bit from track to track but the DialNorm it's: -