Just got this home and stuck it on. Seriously blown away. I was starting think that DVD-A had the edge as many of the SACD's I have are badly done but this is fantastic. Maybe it was because it was recorded for quad sound but it works so well and adds several dimensions over the CD.

This is a 'must have' for anyone with a SACD player, especially if you have a good 5.1 set up as well.

I was thinking of giving up on SACD and only buying DVD-A in future but this has changed my mind completely.

agree completly

The pink floyd masterpiece sound just fantastic. I first got a copy of tubular bells and found the whole thing just a little over produced and the surruond sound stuff sounded just plain odd. But i think the DSOTM disc is just super. The whole sound stage is so open the steering can be so subtle and adds to the whole experience.

anyway i am away to listen to it again.


ps anyboby here studied A-level chemistry in the 80's? I am sure the intro to TIME was used as an intro to chemistry education videos, now that was a surreal experience!

[perrdl]

Also agree

Really like it.

The sound stage created is fantastic.

If this is the standard for all up and coming SACD's then I really think it's going to be hard to beat.

[Rachael Bitchlist]

It's by far the best M/C SACD mix I've heard. I aggree it's partly because of the quad connection. I also think part of it is because of the sounds effects and heavy production. It doesn't sound un-natural to have, say, cash register sounds and the rattle of coinage bouncing around channels. You do the same sort of thing with alot of music and it messes it up IMO.

It seems to me that music full of sound effects like:

Beatles - A DAY IN LIFE
Dukes Of The SRATOSPHEAR (XTC by another name) - 25 O'CLOCK
Pink Floyd - YHE WALL
Spirit - KAHUNA DREAM
Beatles - YELLOW SUBMARINE
Todd Rungren - INTERNATIONAL FEEL

...will be great fodder for 5.1 .

[dunkyboy]

Another great showcase of how 5.1 can benefit music is the Orbital DVD 'The Altogether'. It's only DTS on plain jane DVD-V, but it sounds phenomenal - I can only imagine how it would sound in one of the next-gen formats.

Dunc

[Steve.EX]

Well -what can i say?
I really didn't think that much of the multichannel version (i have as yet to hear one that totally convinces me).
I still felt it was a bit "fairground" - perhaps i should shift the front/rear balance a bit?
Thought the 2 channel version was by far the best.
My favourite SACD still to date is the Telarc release (NOT SONY!!!) - Carmina Burana, Atlanta orchestra - 2 channel only. Fantastic dynamics.

Steve.

[Duncan Harvey]

I think it’s a bit harsh to compare the SACD multichannel mix of Dark Side to that of Tubular Bells. The Dark Side mix was specifically done for 5.1 whereas the Tubular Bells was merely the 1976 Quad Mix dusted down from the archives. This mix was done as a rough and ready demo and the mixer was amazed that Oldfield let it through on the nod.

A “proper” mix of Tubular Bells would be a lot different. In fact we’ll soon know as Oldfields 30th anniversary re-recording is coming out on DVDA, mixed into 5.1.

Furthermore Dark Side wasn’t recorded in Quad, and whilst this release is a coup for Sony and for SACD, I don’t think it really says anything about SACD per sec. I’d wager that the mix would sound identical on DVDA.

Fortunately I have a Pioneer 656 so the format is irrelevant.