What's the latest Multichannel SACD or DVD-A added to your pile? - Vol 1 (CLOSED)

[ProgRules]

Haha!

You know, I've never gotten all the anti Phil Collins thing. A friend of mine used to roadie for Genesis in the early days (he is the spit of Steve Coogan's Saxondale character!) and despises the post Gabriel incarnation, calling them Phil Collins' Backing Band. However, Collins is, without a doubt, one of the finest drummers ever, a hugely successful songwriter and one member of a very exclusive club of people who have sold over 100 million albums both as part of a band and as a solo artist, the other two members being Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson. So he found a successful formula and mined it. Listening to his body of work, there are some amazing songs in there

Just saying

No doubt he was a great drummer and he really surprised a lot of people- including his band mates- w/ how well he stepped in after PG exited. I think a lot of people have problems w/ the direction the band took after PG left- gradually away from prog becoming increasingly pop. I love Trick of the Tail and Wind & Wuthering, but they lost me at And Then There Were Three. He also takes some heat for the re-styled vocals he did on some of the PG-era tracks- and rightfully so, imo. These were not Show tunes! He could get a bit hammy.

It's funny though that PC takes heat for becoming pop, whereas you could say PG did the same, to an extent. But PG's pop was more hard-edged, while PC had more fluff to it.

 

[fredblue]

American Beauty - Grateful Dead (DVD-Audio) (*)
Songs For Silverman - Ben Folds (Dolby Digital 5.1 DualDisc),
Thank You Shirl-ee May - Shawn Amos (DTS 5.1 DualDisc - I was wrong before, its not just Dolby!),
The Reel Me - Jennifer Lopez (CD + 5.1 Dolby Digital DVD-V),
A Wonderful World - Tony Bennett & k.d. Lang (MultiChannel Single Layer SA-CD).(**)


(*) (I already had the DualDisc DVD-A for ages but its nice to finally have the earlier DVD-A in the bigger SJB after passing on it for years, so when I found one for sensible money, jumped on it )
(**) (Got it for a great price and[/I] it came with a lovely gold/plastic slipcase.. I've kinda got a weird fetish for those!)

 

[fredblue]

Hey All,

Recently picked up the "A Wonderful World" disc. I listened to the entire disc with just the center channel and rears. Interestingly, there is no vocal in the center channel, although the front channels tend to image the vocals in the center. The three channels mostly carry orchestration and saxophone, both of which can also be heard in the fronts when connected. So while it is not a reverb only mix, the surround effect is subtle and not isolated discrete elements. It's a nice disc if you like this style of vocal performance. The voices blend well. But not a spectacular discrete surround sound experience.

FYI for those who have been curious about this disc!

Ken

I just got this today and WOW the (front, not rear..! ..just to qualify!) stereo imaging on their vocals is.. extraordinary!

who needs a centre channel (it doesn't do much on this disc anyway, there's a load of double bass burbling away in "A Kiss To Build A Dream On" which is playing right now.. but no vocals..!) when the phantom centre is this good..!?!? (and I'm a fan of the centre channel, when used sympathetically/intelligently/properly!).

gorgeous recording, lovely album, the very very understated surround mix (bit of reverb in the rears) somehow befits the music.. and I do like my 5.1 bells and whistles.. but this just has that tiny little bit of added ambience and that's it and it works. I used to think mixes like this were a waste of surround but I'm growing up I guess (!? ) and for something like this, with not a huge amount going on instrumentally, its fitting.

this is fab.

 

[ProgRules]

I just got Beatles Love. I've been enjoying it, but I'm not crazy about the mash-ups; this is more a George Martin album than a beatles album, imo (yes, I know he was the 5th beatle). I'd really like it as an addition to the beatles albums in surround, not instead of. It's great for what it is- great mix, great SQ, but listening to it so far, I keep getting distracted by the novelty of the songs and can't help but think about how great it would be to have the originals given this treatment. But it's still new, hopefully those feelings will die down and I'll be better able to appreciate it for what it is.

 

[leevitalone1]

I just got Beatles Love. I've been enjoying it, but I'm not crazy about the mash-ups; this is more a George Martin album than a beatles album, imo (yes, I know he was the 5th beatle). I'd really like it as an addition to the beatles albums in surround, not instead of. It's great for what it is- great mix, great SQ, but listening to it so far, I keep getting distracted by the novelty of the songs and can't help but think about how great it would be to have the originals given this treatment. But it's still new, hopefully those feelings will die down and I'll be better able to appreciate it for what it is.

NO! The fifth Beatle was Billy Preston. Consider the fact we have little of the fab four in MC to begin with, and a new appreciation is observed. We all felt the same way about the Love album.

 

[timbre4]

Please view LOVE DVD-A as the soundtrack to a live show, which is exactly what it is. This creation was undertaken to put a modern spin on the glorious catalog while meeting the needs of show timing and choreography.

Having seen the show in 2007, it makes better sense to me since that time. Sure it's a tease, we all know that. But the alternative of never having any of it in surround, that's unthinkable.

Do yourself a favor and get the Help! DVD or Blu-Ray, cue up the DTS 5.1 track and turn the screen off. Those mixes are awesome.

 

[ProgRules]

NO! The fifth Beatle was Billy Preston. Consider the fact we have little of the fab four in MC to begin with, and a new appreciation is observed. We all felt the same way about the Love album.

Please view LOVE DVD-A as the soundtrack to a live show, which is exactly what it is. This creation was undertaken to put a modern spin on the glorious catalog while meeting the needs of show timing and choreography.

Having seen the show in 2007, it makes better sense to me since that time. Sure it's a tease, we all know that. But the alternative of never having any of it in surround, that's unthinkable.

Do yourself a favor and get the Help! DVD or Blu-Ray, cue up the DTS 5.1 track and turn the screen off. Those mixes are awesome.

Thanks guys, I know all this, but these facts don't stop those thoughts from entering my head. It's still really new, I feel confident those thoughts will fade w/ time and the distractions will be removed. But it will take time; using logic to try and control my thoughts has never worked too well for me. @: Yeah, "my head sounds like that" (who can be first to name that quote?). As for Help, it's on my wishlist w/ Yellow Sub, but I was planning on getting that 1st. Are you saying Help would be a better 1st choice, timbre?

 

[inquadwetrust]

Please view LOVE DVD-A as the soundtrack to a live show, which is exactly what it is. This creation was undertaken to put a modern spin on the glorious catalog while meeting the needs of show timing and choreography.

Having seen the show in 2007, it makes better sense to me since that time. Sure it's a tease, we all know that. But the alternative of never having any of it in surround, that's unthinkable.

Do yourself a favor and get the Help! DVD or Blu-Ray, cue up the DTS 5.1 track and turn the screen off. Those mixes are awesome.

Having also seen the show in Las Vegas (and drank several 'here comes the sun' cocktails throughout - to this day I would pay good money for one of those embedded surround sound seats) as well as owning the other discs you mention I can honestly say your comment is the best thing I've read on here in a long time. Unthinkable is absolutely right.

 

[inquadwetrust]

Thanks guys, I know all this, but these facts don't stop those thoughts from entering my head. It's still really new, I feel confident those thoughts will fade w/ time and the distractions will be removed. But it will take time; using logic to try and control my thoughts has never worked too well for me. @: Yeah, "my head sounds like that" (who can be first to name that quote?). As for Help, it's on my wishlist w/ Yellow Sub, but I was planning on getting that 1st. Are you saying Help would be a better 1st choice, timbre?

This thread has made me reach for the HELP! DVDV. It's so good - and for your ears it's pure in the sense there isn't any mashup madness going on. The album tracks are listed in a different colour on the menu so you can pick them out easily. I'm sure you're aware of the limitations of some of the master multi-tracks for their albums given the necessity of bouncing down tracks to make room on the master but in spite of this the mix is really discrete. Go back to LOVE though, Eleanor Rigby is untouched, amongst others.

Go for Anthology too for everything else, only interrupted by dialogue though this time. As Timbre4 said - unthinkable.

 

[ProgRules]

This thread has made me reach for the HELP! DVDV. It's so good - and for your ears it's pure in the sense there isn't any mashup madness going on. The album tracks are listed in a different colour on the menu so you can pick them out easily. I'm sure you're aware of the limitations of some of the master multi-tracks for their albums given the necessity of bouncing down tracks to make room on the master but in spite of this the mix is really discrete. Go back to LOVE though, Eleanor Rigby is untouched, amongst others.

Go for Anthology too for everything else, only interrupted by dialogue though this time. As Timbre4 said - unthinkable.

I'm just getting started w/ Love- and shouldn't that be enough, since all we need is Love? I'll get the BR's eventually- you think Help would be a better 1st choice than Yellow Sub? I have anthology, but it's on LD, so it's rarely played.

BTW- in way of context, I was never a huge Beatles fan- they were just getting ready to break up as I hit my teens and in my neck of the woods, you were either in the Beatles camp or the Stones camp; and I chose the Stones- their attitude synced more closely with my adolescent mind-set. Then as I matured I started to gravitate towards prog, not only because it had elements of the classical music I grew up w/, but also b/c my teen years coincided w/ that short period when prog was actually cool. I only have The White Album, Let It Be and the red and blue compilations. So, I don't have the history w/ this excellent music that most here do. Rather ironic, as my fave band, Yes, has been described as being the successors to the Beatles, w/ a lot of the same musical sensibilities as well as picking up where the Beatles left off in terms of pushing boundaries (but then, how many English rock bands from the late 60's/early 70's weren't heavily influenced by the Fab Four?).

But I will enjoy Love, look to get Help and YS soon and hope that some day soon I can discover the Beatles the way they were meant to be enjoyed- through their albums- once the stars align and they finally release their catalog in glorious surround.

 

[Dixie4]

Yo- Yo Ma plays John Williams ( SACD M/C )

 

[Dixie4]

Diana Krall - The Look Of Love ( SACD M/C )

 

[cupboy]

I think I'm about done with the money spending for awhile. This arrived today. Took only 5 days for media mail.

It's even got a top label on the case, as if it's packaged for retail store sales. Not that FYE would ever stock it. Probably why they keep closing stores, clueless.

 

[gloco]

Got in Bjork's Post dual disc for under $10 used. Ordered a few more Bjork dual discs for dirt cheap on Amazon (at least the ones that were dirt cheap in used condition).

 

[danedanedane]

The most I have ever paid for music - Alicia Keys Songs in A Minor Dvd-A. Sounds great, am pleased!

 

[ProgRules]

Just got Honky Chateau in the mail today- VERY impressed after 1st listen. I think I like it even better than GYBR, my only other EJ 5.1

 

[fredblue]

The most I have ever paid for music - Alicia Keys Songs in A Minor Dvd-A. Sounds great, am pleased!

The Alicia Keys and the Luther Vandross "Dance With My Father" DVD-A are the two "J Records" 5.1 discs worth bothering with, they're both excellent fidelity and great surround mixes. I wish more people had those two, they deserve more love & attention than they get!

The other two J Records DVD-A's that came out back in the day (Rod Stewart "American Songbook" and Wyclef Jean "Preacher's Son") are nowhere near as good, fidelity or surround mix-wise.

 

[fredblue]

Just got Honky Chateau in the mail today- VERY impressed after 1st listen. I think I like it even better than GYBR, my only other EJ 5.1

HC is the ballsiest (and "loudest"!) of the 6 surround classic EJ titles with very nice active rear stuff going on.. but its not the best.. for real stunning (and ingenious!) 5.1 wait til you hear Captain Fantastic.. it's the most crankable of the 6 EJ SACDs but don't let its initial quietness/tameness lull you, dynamically its humongous, the louder it goes the better it sounds (with the exception of the bonus of "Philadelphia Freedom", which was recorded hotter than everything else, afaik.. and is still much louder here).. Greg Penny's placement of things in the Cap Fan 5.1 mix is so cleverly and carefully-thought out (I could probably write a book on it, there's so much going on!) its an absolute triumph and still in my top 5 5.1 mixes 583 surround music discs later! @:

 

[wavelength]

HC is the ballsiest (and "loudest"!) of the 6 surround classic EJ titles with very nice active rear stuff going on.. but its not the best.. for real stunning (and ingenious!) 5.1 wait til you hear Captain Fantastic.. it's the most crankable of the 6 EJ SACDs but don't let its initial quietness/tameness lull you, dynamically its humongous, the louder it goes the better it sounds (with the exception of the bonus of "Philadelphia Freedom", which was recorded hotter than everything else, afaik.. and is still much louder here).. Greg Penny's placement of things in the Cap Fan 5.1 mix is so cleverly and carefully-thought out (I could probably write a book on it, there's so much going on!) its an absolute triumph and still in my top 5 5.1 mixes 583 surround music discs later! @:

This evaluation got me very interested. So much so that I ordered it. The only other EJ that I have is HC. That purchase was based on reviews here as well. Rocket Man is a killer. I am not much of an fan of EJ but the mix/fidelity on HC is up there with the best. Looking forward to getting my Cap Fan!

 

[danedanedane]

The Alicia Keys and the Luther Vandross "Dance With My Father" DVD-A are the two "J Records" 5.1 discs worth bothering with, they're both excellent fidelity and great surround mixes. I wish more people had those two, they deserve more love & attention than they get!

The other two J Records DVD-A's that came out back in the day (Rod Stewart "American Songbook" and Wyclef Jean "Preacher's Son") are nowhere near as good, fidelity or surround mix-wise.

Interesting. I'm an Alicia Keys fan, so it's been on my wishlist for a while, but I hadn't come across a copy for less than $100 until recently.