A Mark In Time
Mark Knopfler Discussion => Mark Knopfler Discussion Forum => Topic started by: jbaent on November 11, 2022, 01:53:19 PM
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Today I noticed from my Amazon Music app that "Dire Straits", "Making Movies" and "Brothers in Arms", together with the compilations "MFN", "SOS" and "PI" are available in Dolby Atmos, and I guess this for Spain and that platform, meaning that maybe in other countries and other platforms might be more DS records in Atmos already.
I don't have any speaker or sound bar with Dolby Atmos, but my phone plays it and with a headphones it sounds spectacular, I'm right now listening to "Dire Straits" and noticed very clearly some details I never heard (or noticed) before like the congas on "Six blade knife" and the cowbell in "Southbound Again", also some rythmic guitars have more presence and also the bass is more "in the front".
If any of you have any speaker or soundbar compatible, or a mobile phone, tablet etc that recognize Atmos and good speakers, just give it a try.
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The only album released on ATMOS is Money for Nothing 1988 compilation (2022 release).
The exactly songs versions shared on this with original albums / other compilations, are on ATMOS too (note that MFN has very unique edits / remixes not available on other albums /compilations)
For example:
Walk of Life is the only ATMOS song on Brothers in Arms 1985 album (the only 1985 album song from MFN that it is album version).
Only DTTW and SOS are ATMOS on Dire Straits 1978 original album. So you are wrong, Six Blade Knife or Southbound Again are same original stereo versions (check it).
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It is true, it has changed. Yesterday it said, at least in Spain, that all songs are Atmos, now only few songs and the rest in ultra HD or hd...
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I feel a bit lost in all these versions.
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No doubt that the whole catalogue will be issued in ATMOS
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New interview in MusicWeek with Guy Fletcher on DS and ATMOS:
https://www.musicweek.com/labels/read/dire-straits-guy-fletcher-on-how-the-power-of-dolby-atmos-is-reinvigorating-the-band-s-classic-catalogue/087092
Dire Straits' Guy Fletcher on how the power of Dolby Atmos is reinvigorating the band's classic catalogue
by MusicWeek Staff
December 12th 2022
Dire Straits’ Money For Nothing is among the latest landmark releases to be remastered for Dolby Atmos this year.
The British group’s 1988 compilation is among their best-sellers with more than 1.2 million sales certified by the BPI. The new edition has been remastered by mastering engineer Bob Ludwig.
The title track, which was co-written by Sting, went Top 5 in 1985 and in the UK’s modern chart era it has more than 750,000 Official Charts Company sales based on streaming and downloads.
In an interview for Dolby, former keyboardist Guy Fletcher has spoken about the process of remastering the Money For Nothing album in band leader, songwriter and longtime collaborator Mark Knopfler’s British Grove Studios in Chiswick, west London, which has recently upgraded to Atmos.
Dolby Atmos Music allows creators to place discrete audio elements or objects in a three-dimensional sound field, which is not possible in stereo. In the studio, Atmos also enables mixing specifically for headphone listening.
Ultimately, the immersive audio format gives artists the control to make music that fulfils their vision. In the case of Money For Nothing, that enabled the members of Dire Straits to go back to the originals and refine them with immersive audio in a way that technology did not allow four decades ago.
Brothers In Arms, the studio album which first featured Money For Nothing, has staggering UK sales of more than 4.2 million and is certified 14 times platinum. They’re a band whose songs are beloved by fans around the world.
Here, Guy Fletcher opens up about the responsibility that comes with reimagining classic songs, the ease of deploying Dolby Atmos for their catalogue and his artistic vision for immersive audio…
Tell us a bit about the Money For Nothing Album, how did it come about originally in 1988?
“Well, as you know, it’s a compilation album. At the time I was pretty much unaware of its release because it was something the label put out after Brothers In Arms. I guess at the time, they didn’t realise when the next album was coming in. So, it was just an interim album that the label deemed necessary. It’s really that simple as there weren’t any big discussions with the band or anything, it was just the label sharing the greatest hits.”
As it’s a ‘greatest hits’, with songs spanning 1977-1988, you would have been going back to the original master tapes, some of which are 45 years old. What was the process like?
“It was very interesting. I can tell you it’s one of the most challenging things I’ve ever been involved with. Universal has a really good archiving system and there is great connectivity between the two labels, because of course Warner is Mark’s label in America, so a lot of masters are actually in America.
“Despite that, you never really know what’s in the box until you open it up and put it on. Especially as things going back that far aren’t always labelled perfectly, so some of the masters were quite difficult to find. Particularly the album Making Movies, because that was the sort of era when there were lots of safety copies. Finding the latest version of some of those songs was immensely challenging and the only way to do it was to put them on because the labelling wasn’t credible.
“Of course, you’d never have known that unless you had to go through this process in terms of literally going back to the basic, original recordings. But we got there, and it felt very gratifying to be able to do it and hear everything and align it. So yeah, we got there in the end and it’s great.”
Mark Knopfler’s British Grove Studios is an incredible, world-leading facility, with studio 2 particularly being a room that you’ve spent a lot of time in. How have you and the studio staff found the upgrade to Dolby Atmos?
“Oh, it’s great. It was obviously quite a challenge, as it is in any room, especially a room that was built before Dolby Atmos was around. But they’ve done a fantastic job. It’s a phenomenal Dolby Atmos room, with plenty of headroom in terms of power. So yeah, we’re all very happy with it. It was quite a technical process but it’s great, well worth it.”
You’ve done various Dire Straits projects in surround sound formats over the years. How does Dolby Atmos compare to those experiences?
“The only one I was really involved with was the 5.1 Brothers in Arms that [producer and engineer] Chuck Ainlay did. I’ve got to say Dolby Atmos just blows it away. The immersive experience of Atmos is so far in advance of standard 5.1. At the time, 5.1 was great, but this is a whole different level of immersion. Having access to those 5.1 surround mixes that Chuck did were fantastic, but again, compared to this they were very limited. Atmos really opens it up.”
Have you found working in Dolby Atmos easy? How long did it take you to feel confident enough to dive into the album?
“I found it easy straight away. Once I grasped the technical side of things, it just seemed to be a really creative environment to be able to throw things around. Obviously, there is the temptation to go a little bit crazy at first. You have to play around with that first and establish your boundaries, then work within them. But I found it really enjoyable from the word go.”
Dolby’s binaural metadata settings allow you to build out bespoke immersion for headphone listening. How did you find this new way of working?
“To be honest, that’s taken a bit of time to really understand how the immersion works, how to get the settings right, and what to put where. It’s quite subtle compared to being in the room with the full speaker set-up, but it’s an incredibly useful place to start these mixes because I’ll do a lot of it at home on the binaural and get to grips with that. I do that first and then when I bring it into British Grove, it opens up beautifully and translates really well. I have to say it’s great once you get the hang of it.”
This is an album where every song is a classic. Millions of people have grown up with these recordings. How do you approach mixing in Atmos when you know there’s such intense familiarity with the original stereo mixes?
“This is a big challenge. I think the answer to that is just balance, because you’ve got to retain the original mix as these songs are hugely important to people. But at the same time, you want to explore the possibilities of object placement. The most obvious thing that happens is you get to hear parts that you knew were there, but you couldn’t really hear them in detail. You can hear particular things like bass guitar – you can really hear the subtleties of the part. When you’ve got songs which are well arranged, which most of these are because they’re pretty much classic, you can really enjoy the experience. I’ve had really good feedback from fans who are very happy to be able to hear these songs in a new way.”
The album has great musical variety - upbeat rock ’n’ roll numbers like Walk Of Life and Twisting By The Pool on one hand, cinematic and beautiful tracks like Private Investigations and Brothers In Arms on the other. Can you give us examples of how working in Dolby Atmos enabled you to re-imagine these songs?
“I think Private Investigations is the best example because it's such a visual cinematic experience. I felt that when you’re working in Dolby Atmos to recreate these things, you’re always comparing to stereo. I always found that on that track the stereo felt limited. There wasn’t enough space available at the time to realise Mark’s concept of Private Investigations. In fact, when Mark came in to listen to it, he wanted to play with it even more. On that song in particular, we pulled away from the original and really enjoyed it. It was a really enjoyable experience.”
These versions of Telegraph Road and Portobello Belle are live recordings. How different is it to mix live tracks vs studio recordings?
“It’s not that different really. Of course, it depends on the quality of the recording. As always, some of the live stuff is a little more challenging simply because of the way it was recorded. But I didn’t find it too different. Obviously, you’ve got the audience mics which you can just sit in the appropriate places and use the rear speakers to make it feel like you’re there. And it works! It lends itself to live recordings, certainly just as much as studio.”
Do you feel you’ll be approaching new recordings and compositions differently now you’re an Atmos user?
“I don’t think it’s going to change the way I think about making music, but it’s always in the back of your mind that this is going to be fun in Dolby Atmos. We are working on Mark’s new album now and I look forward to doing the Atmos, I really do.”
What advice would you give to musicians, producers and engineers who are thinking about working in Dolby Atmos for the first time?
“Stick to the guidelines. It’s very easy to go crazy, particularly with level – you’ve got to be careful. I’ve had to rein it in! It’s very easy to go wrong and go mad and it just doesn’t work. So, there are definite guidelines that you need to adhere to – they’re there for a reason! Don’t go too mad with things that are important to the track, like the bass and the vocal. As long as you retain focus on the important elements, you can have fun with everything else and get a lovely balance. A lovely dynamic between them.”
Dire Straits albums, particularly Brothers In Arms, were at the forefront of the format shift to CD in the 80s. We’re here at the start of a new revolution in listening, does that excite you?
“It does excite me, and it also frustrates me as there are many people who can’t experience this the way we are creating it, so I wish there were more systems freely available – I know that will change over time. In fact, I’ve been on at my brother, who works for a leading audio company, to get on it and try and develop something that’s more affordable and incorporates more speakers. You know, I’d love to see remote ceiling speakers becoming more readily available and even DIY Atmos. I’d love to see that happen – and it’s all moving forward with soundbar technology. But having speakers to experience this is the way I'd like to see it go.”
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Thanks for sharing.
"Universal has a great archiving system"
Um...
https://www.nbcnews.com/pop-culture/music/what-did-we-lose-universal-music-fire-blazed-through-archives-n1025556
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"Universal has a great archiving system"
Interesting considering Guy himself said in his forum that they were unable to find the original tracks used for the alternative "Where do you think you are going?" and that for any reason they couldn't use the "Portobello Belle live" from Paris and had to use a version from Hammersmith 22nd of July instead, which is worse than Paris one in terms of playing in my opinion...
Looks their archiving system is not that good.
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I like how the interviewer mentions Telegraph Road is live. Clearly didn't bother listening to it.
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Thank you skydiver:)
Oh, yes! I wish hear everything very clearly in Private Investigations. Steps, glass and cat was always too quiet :)
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Thank you skydiver:)
Oh, yes! I wish hear everything very clearly in Private Investigations. Steps, glass and cat was always too quiet :)
You're gonna need a proper audio system that can handle Atmos in order to listen it as it meant to be. With headphones some things are clearly better but not that much
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IMHO Dolby ATMOS can only get commercial success with headphones.
Proper audio system won't sell that much and will represent only a small market.
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Thank you skydiver:)
Oh, yes! I wish hear everything very clearly in Private Investigations. Steps, glass and cat was always too quiet :)
You're gonna need a proper audio system that can handle Atmos in order to listen it as it meant to be. With headphones some things are clearly better but not that much
Yes, it's true. Maybe someday it will be the standard and the norm.
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Thank you skydiver:)
Oh, yes! I wish hear everything very clearly in Private Investigations. Steps, glass and cat was always too quiet :)
You're gonna need a proper audio system that can handle Atmos in order to listen it as it meant to be. With headphones some things are clearly better but not that much
Yes, it's true. Maybe someday it will be the standard and the norm.
There have been numerous attempts to market multi channel audio over the last 50 years and none of them have been anything other than niche.
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wonder where i can "play" these atmos versions of songs on amazon music as i do not see a hint anywhere on the app (desktop)
what do i need to look for Jbaent?
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wonder where i can "play" these atmos versions of songs on amazon music as i do not see a hint anywhere on the app (desktop)
what do i need to look for Jbaent?
First, you need an account that allows you the best quality of music. In Amazon's case, you need the unlimited version which is around 10 euros per month, less if you pay for the whole year, then you need a decide that allows Atmos. My phone, a Xiaomi redmi note 10 5g, allows me to play Atmos. Then you need a speaker that plays Atmos, or good headphones to be able to listen it at least in binaural.
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even though i am a prime customer since ages, i moved away from amazon music ages ago. my loss i suppose. thnx for the info Jbaent
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Strange how nowadays all MK/DS catalogue are all about 'sound engeneering'
In my opinion, the main product is wrong.
Its nice when we have a new Remastered Album. OK, but its all the same songs that we listened a billion times.
The customer needs an expensive headphone or a very expensive system to play the ATMOS, Super Surround, SBM, Vinyl... etc.
And the experience is almost the same, because we already know the songs and we already have the expected thrill.
I have my Straits CDs from the 1996 remastered (i believe) and its fine. The quality is there. Good mixing, mastering and the most important, good songs.
All that fancy about theses new recordings and the DTRW album is a disaster in terms os mixing. The songs are not good either...
So... more good stuff and less remakes.
There is a plenty material out there.
There's no need to wait 30 more years to hear the final section of Portobello... come on guys.
The DS fans lives for leftovers.
Sorry my poor english.
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even though i am a prime customer since ages, i moved away from amazon music ages ago. my loss i suppose. thnx for the info Jbaent
I was in a hurry, sorry, there are more platforms with Atmos but all of them require a payment option. The ones with various options says which one has Atmos, for example, tidal has it in the most expensive option.
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Strange how nowadays all MK/DS catalogue are all about 'sound engeneering'
In my opinion, the main product is wrong.
Its nice when we have a new Remastered Album. OK, but its all the same songs that we listened a billion times.
The customer needs an expensive headphone or a very expensive system to play the ATMOS, Super Surround, SBM, Vinyl... etc.
And the experience is almost the same, because we already know the songs and we already have the expected thrill.
Precisely what I think too. Never really cared for these new mixes, remastering and releases of the same old albums and the same old songs we've all listened a billion times. I'm always excited when they release new stuff though.
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Interesting too that many audiophiles think the early DS CDs sound better than the remastered ones because of less compression (bigger dynamic range) on the early releases.
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Strange how nowadays all MK/DS catalogue are all about 'sound engeneering'
In my opinion, the main product is wrong.
Its nice when we have a new Remastered Album. OK, but its all the same songs that we listened a billion times.
The customer needs an expensive headphone or a very expensive system to play the ATMOS, Super Surround, SBM, Vinyl... etc.
And the experience is almost the same, because we already know the songs and we already have the expected thrill.
I have my Straits CDs from the 1996 remastered (i believe) and its fine. The quality is there. Good mixing, mastering and the most important, good songs.
All that fancy about theses new recordings and the DTRW album is a disaster in terms os mixing. The songs are not good either...
So... more good stuff and less remakes.
There is a plenty material out there.
There's no need to wait 30 more years to hear the final section of Portobello... come on guys.
The DS fans lives for leftovers.
Sorry my poor english.
I couldn't agree more. I, too, am still listening and enjoying my 1996 CDs and have no interest in all of these new remixes and systems, etc. Just release some new music - that's what will make me very happy!
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Interesting too that many audiophiles think the early DS CDs sound better than the remastered ones because of less compression (bigger dynamic range) on the early releases.
Correct!
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Interesting too that many audiophiles think the early DS CDs sound better than the remastered ones because of less compression (bigger dynamic range) on the early releases.
Correct!
Remixes are better as they offer something new, remasters usually provides more compression or higher volume that in the end makes the originals better than the remasters :smack
The atmos mix of the MFN compilation sounds crystal clear to me, listening them with my phone with Amazon Unlimited and headphones, it all the DS catalogue is going to sound like this, it will be definitely the best versions of all the editions, no matter if you listen to them just in binaural.
By the way I'm seriously thinking in buying an Amazon Echo Studio speaker, is just five speakers integrated (atmos is prepared to 7 as far as I know, or even more) but the comments on it are good.
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Strange how nowadays all MK/DS catalogue are all about 'sound engeneering'
In my opinion, the main product is wrong.
Its nice when we have a new Remastered Album. OK, but its all the same songs that we listened a billion times.
The customer needs an expensive headphone or a very expensive system to play the ATMOS, Super Surround, SBM, Vinyl... etc.
And the experience is almost the same, because we already know the songs and we already have the expected thrill.
I have my Straits CDs from the 1996 remastered (i believe) and its fine. The quality is there. Good mixing, mastering and the most important, good songs.
All that fancy about theses new recordings and the DTRW album is a disaster in terms os mixing. The songs are not good either...
So... more good stuff and less remakes.
There is a plenty material out there.
There's no need to wait 30 more years to hear the final section of Portobello... come on guys.
The DS fans lives for leftovers.
Sorry my poor english.
I couldn't agree more. I, too, am still listening and enjoying my 1996 CDs and have no interest in all of these new remixes and systems, etc. Just release some new music - that's what will make me very happy!
But, for example, the last two MK boxes sound fantastic and better. It's a real pleasure.
-
Strange how nowadays all MK/DS catalogue are all about 'sound engeneering'
In my opinion, the main product is wrong.
Its nice when we have a new Remastered Album. OK, but its all the same songs that we listened a billion times.
The customer needs an expensive headphone or a very expensive system to play the ATMOS, Super Surround, SBM, Vinyl... etc.
And the experience is almost the same, because we already know the songs and we already have the expected thrill.
I have my Straits CDs from the 1996 remastered (i believe) and its fine. The quality is there. Good mixing, mastering and the most important, good songs.
All that fancy about theses new recordings and the DTRW album is a disaster in terms os mixing. The songs are not good either...
So... more good stuff and less remakes.
There is a plenty material out there.
There's no need to wait 30 more years to hear the final section of Portobello... come on guys.
The DS fans lives for leftovers.
Sorry my poor english.
I couldn't agree more. I, too, am still listening and enjoying my 1996 CDs and have no interest in all of these new remixes and systems, etc. Just release some new music - that's what will make me very happy!
But, for example, the last two MK boxes sound fantastic and better. It's a real pleasure.
All these things are subjective, I dom't think they sound better.
-
Strange how nowadays all MK/DS catalogue are all about 'sound engeneering'
In my opinion, the main product is wrong.
Its nice when we have a new Remastered Album. OK, but its all the same songs that we listened a billion times.
The customer needs an expensive headphone or a very expensive system to play the ATMOS, Super Surround, SBM, Vinyl... etc.
And the experience is almost the same, because we already know the songs and we already have the expected thrill.
I have my Straits CDs from the 1996 remastered (i believe) and its fine. The quality is there. Good mixing, mastering and the most important, good songs.
All that fancy about theses new recordings and the DTRW album is a disaster in terms os mixing. The songs are not good either...
So... more good stuff and less remakes.
There is a plenty material out there.
There's no need to wait 30 more years to hear the final section of Portobello... come on guys.
The DS fans lives for leftovers.
Sorry my poor english.
I couldn't agree more. I, too, am still listening and enjoying my 1996 CDs and have no interest in all of these new remixes and systems, etc. Just release some new music - that's what will make me very happy!
But, for example, the last two MK boxes sound fantastic and better. It's a real pleasure.
I'm pleased that you are happy with your new MK boxes, but the fact is that I don't need them - I am happy with what I already have. :)
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Strange how nowadays all MK/DS catalogue are all about 'sound engeneering'
In my opinion, the main product is wrong.
Its nice when we have a new Remastered Album. OK, but its all the same songs that we listened a billion times.
The customer needs an expensive headphone or a very expensive system to play the ATMOS, Super Surround, SBM, Vinyl... etc.
And the experience is almost the same, because we already know the songs and we already have the expected thrill.
I have my Straits CDs from the 1996 remastered (i believe) and its fine. The quality is there. Good mixing, mastering and the most important, good songs.
All that fancy about theses new recordings and the DTRW album is a disaster in terms os mixing. The songs are not good either...
So... more good stuff and less remakes.
There is a plenty material out there.
There's no need to wait 30 more years to hear the final section of Portobello... come on guys.
The DS fans lives for leftovers.
Sorry my poor english.
I couldn't agree more. I, too, am still listening and enjoying my 1996 CDs and have no interest in all of these new remixes and systems, etc. Just release some new music - that's what will make me very happy!
But, for example, the last two MK boxes sound fantastic and better. It's a real pleasure.
All these things are subjective, I dom't think they sound better.
Remastered versions don't sound better? I thought it was objectively true :)
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Remastered versions don't sound better? I thought it was objectively true :)
Remastering has the human factor. Ok, there is a team working on that, but they have a deadline to do this.
So... is possible to release a new remix/remaster with only very little improvements.
Strange that i like to listen the first remastered or the original vinyls.
Its like to listen Coltrane or Miles, there is noise, some muffed tones, but its how they made it.
The 1996 remastereds are nice because the original sound is there. A bit more compression and volume. But its all there and sound like the originals.
In my opinion, the TR mix from the new MFN compilation isn't good. I didn't like that big volume bass guitar. But its my taste.
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Remixes are better as they offer something new, remasters usually provides more compression or higher volume that in the end makes the originals better than the remasters :smack
The atmos mix of the MFN compilation sounds crystal clear to me, listening them with my phone with Amazon Unlimited and headphones, it all the DS catalogue is going to sound like this, it will be definitely the best versions of all the editions, no matter if you listen to them just in binaural.
There is no problem on these ATMOS releases.
Since this technology is out there, why not use it?
What is wrong, in my opinion, is:
- They really believe that these new releases will increase the sells? Only because it sounds fantastic?
The MFN compilation has nothing really new. Has the demo version of Sultans and WDYTYG, the uncutted TR (hahaha) and the proof that exists half of Portobello from Alchemy.
The DS legacy is about to die.
I'm sure there is plenty of old material storage.
Unreleased songs, Demos, Outtakes, Previous versions... A LOT..
Everyone on this forum knows about it.
There is live concerts to release, simple things.
New fans consumes DS bootlegs as water since they discover them.
Sugestions:
- First London: Compilation of early stuff
- Than The World: Wembley 85 or Sydney 86
- Working Straits: Demos, Outttakes from various periods
- LOG with a separate disc with the unreleased stuff
- Paris 83
- Complete On The Night
and a lot more...
Mixing these releases with the ATMOS, Dolby, Triplolby, WhereverMOS... no probrem.
But is all the same. Always.
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I like the 1996 remasters too, but the newest ones sound very clean and clear in the boxes.
-
Strange how nowadays all MK/DS catalogue are all about 'sound engeneering'
In my opinion, the main product is wrong.
Its nice when we have a new Remastered Album. OK, but its all the same songs that we listened a billion times.
The customer needs an expensive headphone or a very expensive system to play the ATMOS, Super Surround, SBM, Vinyl... etc.
And the experience is almost the same, because we already know the songs and we already have the expected thrill.
I have my Straits CDs from the 1996 remastered (i believe) and its fine. The quality is there. Good mixing, mastering and the most important, good songs.
All that fancy about theses new recordings and the DTRW album is a disaster in terms os mixing. The songs are not good either...
So... more good stuff and less remakes.
There is a plenty material out there.
There's no need to wait 30 more years to hear the final section of Portobello... come on guys.
The DS fans lives for leftovers.
Sorry my poor english.
I couldn't agree more. I, too, am still listening and enjoying my 1996 CDs and have no interest in all of these new remixes and systems, etc. Just release some new music - that's what will make me very happy!
But, for example, the last two MK boxes sound fantastic and better. It's a real pleasure.
All these things are subjective, I dom't think they sound better.
Remastered versions don't sound better? I thought it was objectively true :)
I mean, everyone agrees the original WG BiA CD sounds way better than the 2005 remaster right?
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And I was thinking MK solo albums. They sound better in the boxes ;)
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And I was thinking MK solo albums. They sound better in the boxes ;)
Disagree, couldn't notice any difference. The originals already sounded great.
Out of interest, did you do A/B comparisons and is there a track you could point to where there is a dramatic improvement so we can test for ourselves?
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Everything sounds better, clearer. You can hear every breath MK:) I don't have expensive equipment but you can hear the difference.
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Ok well we have to agree to disagree :)
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:)
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Sometimes it can work really well, the new remix / remastered version of Animals by Pink Floyd is stunning, to my ears, and I have heard the original a lot, it vastly improves the listening experience. Also, the 2016 version of Obscured by Clouds from the Later Years box set is stunning, sounds like a new album.
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Please, don't get me wrong.
Remixes/remastered are always welcome unless we get something more.
DS have a very limited official material out there.
If the MK/DS management had released some interesting new material to achieve a new fanbase, these atmos releases would be a sucess.
I see that, the managemente works to transform the DS/MK fanbase in something more restrict.
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ATMOS might be a niche market now but will be the norm in the foreseeable future so they are basically future proofing the DS catalogue.
It'll be interesting to see if they do that with the MK solo albums.
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Sometimes it can work really well, the new remix / remastered version of Animals by Pink Floyd is stunning, to my ears, and I have heard the original a lot, it vastly improves the listening experience. Also, the 2016 version of Obscured by Clouds from the Later Years box set is stunning, sounds like a new album.
The reason why "Animals" is so excellent is because it is a REMIX, that means they took the original tracks and remixed again from zero, so many things that were buried in the original mix now are more present, that's why remix is better than remaster, a good remix offers new things.
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And it really works too, I find the album a lot more enjoyable to listen to now.
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BiA now available in Dolby Atmos. Is it any good?
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BiA now available in Dolby Atmos. Is it any good?
I've had a listen to this overnight and today. I don't have an Atmos setup but I do have an Atmos smartphone and some fairly decent headphones. I've also listened to it in stereo through some studio monitors.
I'm sure I'm not getting the full effect in the headphones but it sounds pretty good. The multiple guitar lines in MFN are brought out particularly, almost to the extent they become slightly distracting, but separation is very clear and impressive as you would expect. Brothers in Arms works particularly well and so does the Man's Too Strong, feels like Guy being in comfortable ground mixing here.
The mix on a stereo setup sounds really good. You can tell it is a new mix, sounds very crisp but faithful to the original and thus breaking no real ground.
Alas not something that would make me want to update my longstanding physical hifi setup, but that would take a lot. Sounds good on headphones, to which i reckon this format will gravitate to for most people with a phone in their pocket.
Be interested to hear from anyone lucky enough to win the competition on Wednesday night. I'm.assuming I didn't win a ticket!
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I have been searching for a BIA ATMOS download link but cannot find anyone. Is it only available at streaming services ?
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I have been searching for a BIA ATMOS download link but cannot find anyone. Is it only available at streaming services ?
I think Apple music has a download option but as far as I know is just streaming.
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I'm just listening to the BIA Atmos mix in Amazon Music with a new pair of JBL headphones and wow...
You can spot the real difference in songs like Your Latest Trick, where I'm listening stuff I never noticed before, Why Worry is also out of this world, but the start of Ride Across the River is amazing, all the percussion noises are quite separated as indepent objects and, despite I'm listening to it on stereo headphones is as there are sounds I never ever heard before, also the songs are a little longer with longer fade outs than before.
All the percussion sounds during One World are amazing, never heard them! Lot of great things here and there.
The synths at the start of BIA are wow, almost Floydian.
I also would say Guy mixed some sounds in a higher volumen than in the original mix so stuff that was buried originally now can be heard. That, or the objects technology in atmos makes everything more present in the mix even with headphones.
This mix is really something, I will get an Echo Studio speaker probably this week to try this atmos mixes properly and will tell you, but just with the headphones is something worth to listen!
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I envy :)
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But the question is: Does it improve the songs? Or does it feel like distracting effects that make you pay attention to the individual parts and not the whole?
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I'm just listening to the BIA Atmos mix in Amazon Music with a new pair of JBL headphones and wow...
You can spot the real difference in songs like Your Latest Trick, where I'm listening stuff I never noticed before, Why Worry is also out of this world, but the start of Ride Across the River is amazing, all the percussion noises are quite separated as indepent objects and, despite I'm listening to it on stereo headphones is as there are sounds I never ever heard before, also the songs are a little longer with longer fade outs than before.
All the percussion sounds during One World are amazing, never heard them! Lot of great things here and there.
The synths at the start of BIA are wow, almost Floydian.
I also would say Guy mixed some sounds in a higher volumen than in the original mix so stuff that was buried originally now can be heard. That, or the objects technology in atmos makes everything more present in the mix even with headphones.
This mix is really something, I will get an Echo Studio speaker probably this week to try this atmos mixes properly and will tell you, but just with the headphones is something worth to listen!
Could not agree more. I would add that I played the ATMOS tracks on descent headphones plus my Yamaha 5.1 HIFI Surround system that supports ATMOS. Obviously the Yamaha Surround makes the experience better and more complete. As I am not an audiophile I did not expect to hear any noticeable differences, between all these versions over the years.
But these ATMOS tracks are clearly better in my view. What I would to add to Jeroens post is that it also sounds like you are RIGHT next to Mark, right next to the instruments, as to the normal versions are more of a general surround feel.
And they sound crystal clear, so crisp and like you are in the middle of the band.
I then played the original CD tracks, and then ATMOS again, and CD again. The ATMOS releases make a difference for once :D.
@Hunter: It improves the songs I would say. The "effects" are not disturbing. They make the tracks more present, more you in the center of the whole thing.