[elrod-tom]

REM - The Best of REM: I'm not usually one who is big on best-of compilations. However, I found this at Best Buy the other day for $13.95, and thought I'd take a flyer on it. OH MY GOD!!! A quantum leap from any of the redbook cuts I'd heard. Favorites "Orange Crush" and "Stand" are better than I've heard before by a long shot. I was surprised to find that my favorite cuts on the album are "Everybody Hurts" and "At My Most Beautiful", which were simply stunning in their soundstaging, clarity, fine line resolution, and breathtaking musicality. WOW!! Talk about your surprise purchase. BTW - Listened only to the 24/192 High Res Stereo mix.

Sheryl Crow - The Globe Sessions: This one was good, but not a huge improvement over the redbook. Probably because it was merely 24/96, and not 24/192. Not bad, but save your $$ for something else IMHO.

 

[Jasper994]

Quote:

Originally posted by elrod-tom REM - The Best of REM: I'm not usually one who is big on best-of compilations. However, I found this at Best Buy the other day for $13.95, and thought I'd take a flyer on it. OH MY GOD!!! A quantum leap from any of the redbook cuts I'd heard. Favorites "Orange Crush" and "Stand" are better than I've heard before by a long shot. I was surprised to find that my favorite cuts on the album are "Everybody Hurts" and "At My Most Beautiful", which were simply stunning in their soundstaging, clarity, fine line resolution, and breathtaking musicality. WOW!! Talk about your surprise purchase. BTW - Listened only to the 24/192 High Res Stereo mix.

I'll second that but add that Losing My Religion was also a spectacular cut.

 

[Jasper994]

Arista just released Santana - Supernatural and Shaman

I picked up the Supernatural disc, it's very nice, 24bit/96khz stereo. Much better IMHO than redbook.

 

[rayzrayl]

bought the kiss symphony dvd recorded in melbourne.. this was the greatest dvd..

even better than my "bond" live at the Royal Albert Hall..

just bought Jimi Hendrix "Experience" - haven't seen it yet.. anyone saw it;; is it any good??

plus ,, borrowed the Beatles 5 dvd anthology dvd set from a student.. trying to watch them also..

life is so grand..

 

[Welly Wu]

I highly recommend Anne-Sophie Mutter's rendition of Vivaldi's The Four Seasons. Music wise: dramatic, bold, and fast dynamics. Sound wise: Detail and imaging are so precise while dynamic range is an absolute clincher for me. If you love Vivaldi, then get this one!

 

[elrod-tom]

Quote:

Originally posted by Jasper994 I'll second that but add that Losing My Religion was also a spectacular cut.

Yes it was...and overlooked in my review. Thanks.

 

[Vedder323]

I have enjoyed The Blue Man group...

 

[zhenya]

I found that the Grateful Dead's American Beauty is a significant improvement over the CD version. This seems to have more to do with the re-mastering than the actual medium, however, as my mini-disc copy of the dvd-audio also sounds much better than the cd version. Specifically, basslines that are completely hollowed out on the cd are there in full force on this version.

 

[zombietycho]

Not DVD-A persay... but Super Furry Animals "Rings around the world" DVD is a very good 5.1 release. Many have told me that after hearing this mix, stereo is no longer a option

 

[rayzrayl]

just bought Rush's (rush in rio) and metallica's (metallica S & M) dvd's.. great stuff .. youzz won't be dissapointed..

added them to my small collection of about 10 dvd's.. including kiss symphony;; the best..


i don't have surround 5.1 yet,, altho i do have two units/amps;; but not the speakers..

my question is;; i've noticed that there are surround sound headphones out there.. does anyone own one?? i think that is what i really want .. how does it work (connect)..

 

[zombietycho]

the 5.1 DVDa is a improvement on the original Red-book.

Well not quality-wise, since I don't have a DVD-a player..... but the 5.1 mix is very fun.... not what I was expecting.... but expecting anything from the Flaming Lips is a oxymoron.

Well I guess improvement may be over stating the mix.... since if I was listening to the same mix but stereo.... I'd probally wonder what was going on. Channels cut in and out, which kind of ruins the feeling of being immersed in the sound. Rather you get a feeling of 5 band members all around you, and they randomly make sounds and spin in a odd fashion. So I guess it is forward step in a good direction... but it is also kind of sideways... so you may think you haven't gone very far....

 

[ghsmith54]

I saw the earlier recommendation for this disc (which I had already purchased - I'm a big fan of Queen) but didn't get a chance to listen to it until yesterday. I note that the earlier recommendation was for the stereo layer, my comments refer to the surround.

This was perhaps one of the most unevenly produced/mixed DVDA's I've heard to date. Some tracks (e.g., "Bohemian Rhapsody") were very well done but some ("Death on two legs") were IMHO really lousy. The most notable thing was the placing of the instruments seemed random even within the same track. On "Death on two legs" a lead lick would at one time be on the center channel only (mixed with the vocals so it was partially obscured) and another time be on the mains and/or surround.

It sounds to me as if either different people mixed different tracks (not so, according to the production credits) or they just didn't spend much time on some of the tracks.

This is a recording I'm very familiar with and have enjoyed over the years and I have to say I was disappointed by the surround mix. I'm going to have a listen to the two-channel and see if it's an improvement.

Greg

 

[Oliver :)]

Quote:

Originally posted by ghsmith54 I'm going to have a listen to the two-channel and see if it's an improvement.

Greg, don't hold your breath. There are some stunning stereo tracks on this DVD-A, but also, sadly, many that suffer from the exact same symptoms you have mentioned already. Extreme placement, lack of presence in-between the speakers... all somewhat random, and also very changable depending on which DVD-setting you choose. I was under the impression that for some tracks dolbydigital sounded best (balanced) - in a stereo setup though.

 

[ghsmith54]

Quote:

Originally posted by Oliver Greg, don't hold your breath. There are some stunning stereo tracks on this DVD-A, but also, sadly, many that suffer from the exact same symptoms you have mentioned already. Extreme placement, lack of presence in-between the speakers... all somewhat random, and also very changable depending on which DVD-setting you choose. I was under the impression that for some tracks dolbydigital sounded best (balanced) - in a stereo setup though.

Yep, listened to it last night and it was just as uneven as the surround version. What a disappointment. I'll resist launching into a rant here along the lines of something worth doing be worth doing well, if you're going to charge this much for a recording that's decades old at least offer some value for the money, etc., etc., (but it's difficult).

I will say though that if the music industry is languishing (according to the audio press, sales of recorded music have been in a steep decline for the last several years) then releases like this make me feel like the industry is getting what it deserves.

Greg

 

[Vedder323]

Quote:

Originally posted by ghsmith54 Yep, listened to it last night and it was just as uneven as the surround version. What a disappointment. I'll resist launching into a rant here along the lines of something worth doing be worth doing well, if you're going to charge this much for a recording that's decades old at least offer some value for the money, etc., etc., (but it's difficult). I will say though that if the music industry is languishing (according to the audio press, sales of recorded music have been in a steep decline for the last several years) then releases like this make me feel like the industry is getting what it deserves. Greg

Wierd... I am enjoying the album right now. I like it in the stereo mode.