5.1 Surround Sound Recommendations - Progressive Rock Music Forum

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Pockets17red View Drop Down

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Joined: January 02 2012
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Topic: 5.1 Surround Sound Recommendations
Posted: January 02 2012 at 15:59

omphaloskepsis wrote:

All of you guys are giving me so many great ideas. Thank you! I feel like I got the green light on some of the releases I was considering, plus I can explore those old Quad LP's.

Also Gentle Giant's Free Hand and In'terview are coming in a CD/DVD package February 27 (UK) and March 6 (US)

Available in DD and DTS (Don't know if the DVD is a Audio or Video disc).

These are not in 5.1 but in 4.x because they recently found the Quad tapes of these two albums.

moshkito

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Posted: January 02 2012 at 14:49

One of the things that was also happening at the time, along with the birth of the synthesizer, was the fact that the recording took a giant leap betweeen 1950 to 60 and then from 1960 to 1970 ... and then it exploded when it started becoming "digital", which made the development of the synthesizer possible.

During that time, "hi-fi" and "hi-fidelity" were terms that were specially used for the recording of classical music, and pop music was not considered important because (I guess!) the recording of it was considered way more important than what "pop" music or any other kind of music was doing ...

Somewhere along the way, pop music (like Beatles and Rolling Stones and others) were bringing so much money in that ... guess what ... they can use the best ... and they did ... and the rest if history.

You can get a really good sense of this history on Tom Dowd's DVD -- which is a veritable history of American Recording of music all the way to 1969 and 1970 ... and it is massive and will help this some ... and it will help place things like this in perspective a lot more ... but also show the side that is more for the ego and the money than otherwise ... the Beatles stuff and Rolling Stones stuff, for example, were already recorded on the best there was ... so what makes you think that it can be done even better, other than someone trying to trick your ears a bit better?

One last thing ... you can take any musician out there ... and close your eyes ... and listen to him/her ... and there is no recording out there that is going to make that person sound better ... you can hide a lot of things and details to make it should cleaner and "take mistakes out" (a la Jimi Page and ruin the music!) ... but in the end ... you can't make Dark Side of the Moon sound any better ... it's impossible ... because your mind has already lived it ... and that "living" has a lot less to do with 5.1 than it does the work itself.

It sounds a bit like a criticism of that stuff, but it's not meant to be ... but it would be better to realize that the source and the point is the music and YOU, not the 5.1 process!

Music is not just for listening ... it is for LIVING ... you got to feel it to know what's it about! Not being told!
www.pedrosena.com

omphaloskepsis View Drop Down

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Posted: December 30 2011 at 04:30

All of you guys are giving me so many great ideas. Thank you! I feel like I got the green light on some of the releases I was considering, plus I can explore those old Quad LP's.

omphaloskepsis View Drop Down

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Posted: December 30 2011 at 04:27

Todd wrote:

I've been buying several 5.1 mixes over the last few months--it really is a new experience! Here are my favorites:

- Jethro Tull - Aqualung (expensive, yes, but wow!!! This is a completely new album to me.)

- Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here (ditto, though the makeover is less extreme)

- KC catalog is a must. Each album comes in a CD/DVD version and costs about $20

- Genesis catalog is wonderful, too. The stereo mixes get railed on (for good reason), but the 5.1 are wonderful. Plus lots of great interviews and extras.

- Magenta - Seven

- Rush - Moving Pictures. I don't have the Sectors sets, but Moving Pictures is wonderful.

- Any PT or Steven Wilson. He is the gold standard for sound.

- Opeth - Heritage. Another cheap CD/DVD package.

I can hear Mr. Burns purring, " Excellent." What a great list. Eventually, I would like to get the vinyl too. I wonder how the vinyl will compare with the 5.1? I also would like to get the best of the remastered albums, or the originals, in those cases where the original is superior.

Concerning Steven Wilson's "Grace for Drowning" , How does the Vinyl compare with the 5.1 mix?

EleMental

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Posted: December 29 2011 at 23:18

Though not prog, I highly recommend Cornelius' 'Five Point One Plus PM' and 'Sensurround'. i own both and the music

is highly inventive, as are the accompanying videos. Very suitable to 5.1.

moshkito

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Joined: January 04 2007
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Posted: December 27 2011 at 11:26

Hi,

Btw .. the old LP pressing out of England (the "import") still sounds better and clearer on my earphones, than the 5.1 mix that came around, that has a tendency to separate the instruments and make it sound like just a bunch of solos and not together with the rest of the music.

Yeah .. yeah ... Snow Dog is probably going to say I'm just an old fashioned turkey ... but for my ears, that 5.1 is not worth the money! The LP that I bought ... goodness ... almost 37 years ago! ... is way better!

Music is not just for listening ... it is for LIVING ... you got to feel it to know what's it about! Not being told!
www.pedrosena.com

moshkito

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Posted: December 21 2011 at 10:07

omphaloskepsis wrote:

I could go to the music section at Best Buy, or Barnes and Nobel, and ask the help, " Would you be so kind to bring me up to date on the best in "5.1 progressive rock albums."..... Umm no.

What surround sound albums would the people at Prog Archive recommend?

...

I have to tell you that the best thing to listen to in those magnificent systems, will always be the like of Tangerine Dream, Cosmic Couriers and some of the early stuff in Germany that was recorded in that 4D thing ... some kind of multitrack thing that was far out ...

Listening to just rock music afterwards is such a come down ... and I can go back to a Pioneer turntable with a Stanton cartridge that cost $250 dollars in 1978 and a set of ESS Heil AMT 5 speakers ... for a sound that was trully "progressive" to the ear ... instead of just some famous band out there.

You KNEW right away what the word "hi-fi" ... or "fidelity" meant ... and it was not always just a cheap effect in some rock song out there.

Music is not just for listening ... it is for LIVING ... you got to feel it to know what's it about! Not being told!
www.pedrosena.com

Slartibartfast View Drop Down

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Posted: December 21 2011 at 06:07

I had momentarily forgotten about the Genesis ones. I got Trick and Duke, primarily for the bonus concerts, but when you consider albums that you've heard many many many times before it's nice to have the little twist of surround. It does lure me back into a sit down and listen. But you have to weigh that against do you really want to spend money on the thing for the second, third, or fourth time?

Edited by Slartibartfast - December 21 2011 at 06:18

Released date are often when it it impacted you but recorded dates are when it really happened...

Todd

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Posted: December 21 2011 at 02:16

I've been buying several 5.1 mixes over the last few months--it really is a new experience! Here are my favorites:

- Jethro Tull - Aqualung (expensive, yes, but wow!!! This is a completely new album to me.)

- Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here (ditto, though the makeover is less extreme)

- KC catalog is a must. Each album comes in a CD/DVD version and costs about $20

- Genesis catalog is wonderful, too. The stereo mixes get railed on (for good reason), but the 5.1 are wonderful. Plus lots of great interviews and extras.

- Magenta - Seven

- Rush - Moving Pictures. I don't have the Sectors sets, but Moving Pictures is wonderful.

- Any PT or Steven Wilson. He is the gold standard for sound.

- Opeth - Heritage. Another cheap CD/DVD package.

"I have seen the broken sky turn blue."

My Gnosis Ratings

progkidjoel View Drop Down

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Posted: December 20 2011 at 21:46

Opeth - Still Life (acoustic guitar section after the intro on The Moor is just insane)

Steven Wilson - Insurgentes

no-man - Together We're Stranger (probably my favourite)

My mind has gone blank and they're the only 3 I can remember. Will post back with some more later, though.

Proggernaut View Drop Down

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Posted: December 20 2011 at 20:01

How about the Caravan - In the land of Grey and Pink 5.1 remix (Steve Wilson again!)?

Proggernaut (Noun) - one who is exploring the endlessly expanding universe of progressive music.

harmonium.ro View Drop Down

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Posted: December 20 2011 at 17:06

The KC remixed are available in simple, cheaper editions, not only the expensive special editions. From what I know they contain a CD with the new stereo mix and a DVD-A with the 5.1 mix.

omphaloskepsis View Drop Down

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Posted: December 19 2011 at 09:03

Slartibartfast wrote:

Not a remix, but Peter Gabriel's New Blood Orchestra is rather good. Not so much for being in surround. Outside of the officially prog, Talking Heads fans might want to know that Jerry Harrison has remixed the entire catalog in surround.

I've been wanting to check out that Peter Gabriel release. And the Talking Heads! That an excellant heads up!

I visited a friend, who listens to only vinyl a few weeks ago. We tripped out, over the Talking Heads first five albums. One of those blasts from the past, that make you wonder how you could forget, how phenomenal David Byrne and company are. Those LP's didn't tarnish Eno's reputation either! Thanks for the recommendation.

Slartibartfast View Drop Down

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Posted: December 19 2011 at 07:13

Not a remix, but Peter Gabriel's New Blood Orchestra is rather good. Not so much for being in surround. Outside of the officially prog, Talking Heads fans might want to know that Jerry Harrison has remixed the entire catalog in surround.

Released date are often when it it impacted you but recorded dates are when it really happened...

omphaloskepsis View Drop Down

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Posted: December 19 2011 at 04:33

I could go to the music section at Best Buy, or Barnes and Nobel, and ask the help, " Would you be so kind to bring me up to date on the best in "5.1 progressive rock albums."..... Umm no.

What surround sound albums would the people at Prog Archive recommend?

I have been pondering this question a while now. I can't think of many prog surround sound albums. Oh I know about Steven Wilson, and what he did for King Crimson and Aqualung. I've heard all the PT and SW's solo material, but I have yet to listen to KC or Aqualung in 5.1. I bet those remixes are good. I'm not so sure about other classic albums remixes or remasters. However, I'm well aware of the expense. And I just hate buyers remorse.

This Weekend, I put in a surround sound system with progressive music in mind. Four Kef stand up speakers, Kef center channel speaker, and two Boston Acoustics Sub Woofers. 140 watts per chanel. I feel like I have a jumbo barbeque pit, and grill, filled with hot coals, and two freezer burnt hot dogs. This is my first good stereo in 20 years. I'm excited, My girlfriend is excited. ( Her Favorite band is PT. She's also big on Yes, Riverside, Unexpect, and Opeth) She also posts under my name. Now we want to hear all the goodies we've been missing... So what are your favorite Surround Sound albums?

I'll start it off with the few I have "Grace for Drowning" and all the PT surround sound so far, plus I have Pink Floyd Pulse, and that's it..... Please let loose with any all the music you can think of. I'm sure some albums are worth the cash layout, while others are worse than the orginal. I definitely want to hear about the new music.

Edited by omphaloskepsis - December 19 2011 at 04:34