JUNE 2012 POLL RESULTS POSTS and more

[leevitalone1]

wow! thats all I can say!

[rtbluray]

fantastic results!
but why is "Storm Corrosion" not included in the poll as a Blu-Ray disc? It has 17 votes...
Also, why not create a separate poll for DTS/Dolby DVDs as well? That way we can all see the highest and lowest rated DVDs.

[Bleedink]

Uh, hasn't Nick Cave released nearly every album in his catalog in high res surround? He would be one of the top folks in the 5 or more category...

[JonUrban]

Uh, hasn't Nick Cave released nearly every album in his catalog in high res surround? He would be one of the top folks in the 5 or more category...

DTS 24/96 right? Have to ponder if I want to start adding DTS titles to the polls.

[fredblue]

interesting set of results. thank you Jon for taking the time and trouble to collate all the info.

surprised the Warner DVDAs don't figure much - there's only one Warner in the 100+ votes list and only once does a Warner disc come in the Top 10 DVDA by score section. I thought there'd be one or two more, even if just for numbers of votes cast but there's also some excellent Warner DVDAs deserving of more praise and attention, imho.

what stands out the most to me, though, is there's still so much appreciation evident in these results for the Elton 5.1's.

GYBR is Top 3 of both HiRez Top 10's (number of votes and number of "10" votes) and Tumbleweed and Madman are both in the top 10 SACDs list.

i'm mindful the Elton HiRez stuff started coming out nearly 10 years ago, its not like these are recent releases. they've stood the test of time, they're still popular, people still love them.. and still we've no sign of the rest of the classic EJ albums in surround, regardless of format.

these things obviously sold well, they're clearly much appreciated too and yet, that's yer lot.

so sad :-(

[Dr. AIX]

Interesting list...although I think there should be some mention of the "provenance" of virtually all of the items on the list. Calling something recorded in the 60s or 70s...or really anything prior to the arrival of real HD-Audio in DSD or PCM...high resolution elevates them beyond their actual fidelity standards.

The fidelity of a particular album or track is not defined by the container or format that it is delivered in...but by the capabilities of the equipment used at the time it was originally recorded.

As the producer and owner of AIX Records and iTrax.com, I'm obviously frustrated that music fans don't make the distinction between new recordings done with state-of-the-art gear and older recordings done at standard definition specifications. The plain and simple fact is that our ability to records real life dynamic range and extended frequency response (not to mention deliver multichannel) is better now than ever before. Whether an engineer, producer of record label wants to take advantage of it is another thing. There are those that prefer the sound of analog tape...even now. But it's a matter of personal taste not one of absolute specifications or accuracy.

The list is helpful and I applaud the effort. I would simply remind readers that The Beatles "Love" DVD-Audio disc doesn't have all that great fidelity...but it is a masterpiece none-the-less.

Don't confuse the the delivery format with the original capture format.

I came here tonight because AIX Records just received two new Blu-ray discs from the replicator. The Bryan Pezzone is for solo piano. When Bryan (a major figure in the world of contemporary, classical and movie soundtracks) first heard the recordings that we mae a couple of years ago, he told me that it was the first and only time that he's heard a piano reproduction that achieved the same emotional and sonic realities that he experiences when he plays.

The other title is the Blu-ray version of Jamaican jazz guitarist Ernest Ranglin...with Jeff Lorber, Monty Alexander, Elliott Easton, Laurence Juber, Robbie Krieger, Alana Davis and Adrian Young.

These are the real deal when it comes to fidelity and surround presentation. The Pezzone Blu-ray is also in 3D!

[jefe1]

Thank you Dr Aix for your informative post.

[Stupy]

Greetings!

Firstly, a thankyou for the great work that is this poll. Since I discovered this form of audio - only in early 2011 - this has been a very strong influence in my choices and priorities. In fact, I just received a Flaming Lips DVD-A purchased on the good wrap given here. Soon, I should start voting...

But anyway, I think that, in theory, moving to accept DTS or DTS96/24, as lossy formats, may violate the principles of the poll, covering high quality lossless digital recordings.

I was glad to see bluray audio included as these discs are of similar nature - bit rate etc - to DVD Audio and SACD

The format that I wonder may or could quality is... bluray video where the audio track is at least 24 bit 48kHz 5.1. I think that many high res discs of the future are likely to be in this format, and there are existing discs that qualify on the audio quality front (which can be done via DTS-HD MA; TrueHD or LPCM).

With the flexibility that digital audio/video provides, I personally listen to the audio tracks of my blurays rather than the watch the video. The same way I enjoy a DVD-A or SACD.

Examples of discs on my end that could end included:
1984 Dire Straits - Alchemy bluray (DTS-HD MA 24bit 96kHz 5.1 2010 release)
2003 The Cure - Trilogy Live in Berlin Bluray (DTS-HD MA 24bit 96kHz 5.1)
2008 Foo Fighters - Live at Wembley Stadium bluray (LPCM 24bit 48kHz 5.1)
2009 Kings of Leon - Live at the O2 London England bluray (Dolby TrueHD 24bit 96kHz 5.1)
2010 U2 - 360 at the Rose Bowl bluray (DTS-HD MA 24bit 48kHz 5.1)
2010 Porcupine Tree - Anesthetize bluray (DTS-HD MA 24bit 48kHz 5.1 2010 release)
2010 Sting - Live in Berlin bluray (DTS-HD MA 24bit 96kHz 5.1)
2011 Nirvana - Live at Paramount bluray (LPCM 24bit 48kHz 5.1)

Others that come up in my search already appear as they are bluray audio or in another format (Grace for Drowning, Black and White Night, Moving Pictures, Damn the Torpedoes...)

Cheers

Stuart