HiRez Poll Rush - A FAREWELL TO KINGS (2011 5.1 SURROUND MIX) [DVD-A/BDA]

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Rate the DVD-A/BDA of Rush - A FAREWELL TO KINGS (2011 5.1 SURROUND MIX)


  • Total voters
    49

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Originally only available in the "SECTOR 2" Box from Rush as a DVD-Audio disc, this title was later released as a Blu-Ray Audio disc by UMe in 2015.

Please rate this disc and comment on the mix, the music and the sound. Also note if your comments are based on the original DVD-A or the later issued BDA. (Comments prior to #23 were made while the DVD-A was the only format available)

DVD-A/V scans:
Rush A farewell To Kings Disc 700.jpg
Rush A farewell To Kings Jacket 700.jpg

Blu-Ray Audio scans:
R-6955879-1430344503-8834.jpeg.jpg

R-6955879-1430344511-8944.jpeg.jpg
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Vote #1, is a 9, but I almost gave an 8. I played it pretty loud and it is very crankable. I believe it to be a much better surround experience than Moving Pictures. Many more discrete elements, and also I heard things that I have never heard before on either LP or CD. The drums are more pronounced as well, and that is good as I found them too subdued on Moving Pictures. I mean hey, this is Neil Peart, and I want to hear him!

Not all is perfect. There is some distracting hiss in parts, and it is strange as it fades in and out sometimes. I can almost imagine Richard or some other dude going "hey there is that hiss again, tune it out". So it goes away without any real detriment to sound quality, then the music gets loud, then the song hits another quiet part and repeat "hey there is that hiss again".... It is not Steven Wilson perfect, but did not expect it. Looking forward to testing Fly By Night. Now if I can just get Hemispheres, Permanent Waves and 2112 I will be content.

I have an OPPO BDP-83, with latest Beta firmware loaded today, and I have no problem with playback of the disc.
 
Well..... I was always taught "if you have nothing nice to say.. don't say anything at all!'' sorry but this was a major blunder! as with Moving pictures the louder the better the mix became. The hiss is so loud in parts its distracting ( Dolby anyone?) The Drums go from up front to lost in the mix and not song to song but within the same songs ! Im not sure if it was my Blu Ray player but there was up to a min between songs. The ending Fade on Closer To The Heart is very abrupt! And my biggest gripe is as far as i remember Geddy used a Rickenbacker on this recording . The Bass goes from being weak to overpowering and sounds like a Fat Fender ! why was all the clank EQ out? Before all the back lashing starts let me first say that i am very happy to see new music come to the 5.1 format RUSH has always been in my top 3 bands. I will listen to this but it seems like the problems may come from the original multi tracks, I am a Bass player and have worked in a studio many times and know that starting with good sounding tracks is important ! So much for the saying "well fix it in the mix" and the biggest reason for all this venting is that for the last few weeks i've been WILSONIZED ... Aqualung has been in my player and that is a fantastic surround experience ! but thats another story! I know Steve Wilson cant and probably doesn't want to mix some types of music but wouldn't it be great if we could clone him!
I hope Fly by night is a bit better !
Nova
 
Im not sure if it was my Blu Ray player but there was up to a min between songs...........the biggest reason for all this venting is that for the last few weeks i've been WILSONIZED ... Aqualung has been in my player and that is a fantastic surround experience !

The minute between songs has to be your player. What unit are you using? Some have commented on compatability problems with different players, but I have had no problems at all on the Oppo 980H, or the Pioneer Elite DV-47a (and it is almost 10 years old now).

I totally agree, any title will pale in comparison to the new Aqualung release, as it is just stunning!!! Too bad SW can't mix everything.

The tape hiss is apparent in a few spots. I guess I would rather hear tape hiss than to squelch the dynamic range.

I want to start by saying I like the 5.1 mix a lot, however like Moving Pictures they could have done a bit more to suit me, hence it is a minor grumble. The soundstage is opened way up compared to the stereo, with immersive as well as supplemental discrete usage of the rear channels. This is obviously what the band wanted and like the Pink Floyd releases, I respect the artists decision. "A Farewell To Kings" and "2112" are my favorite Rush albums, so I am very happy to get AFTK in 5.1, heck I would have bought it just for the hi-res stereo alone. It is clean and crankable.........nice! I truly believe that LOUD is the way Rush want their music to be experienced.

I'm going to give this an 8. Knocking it one point for having to buy the unneeded CD's (again), and another for a surround mix that could have been a tad more adventurous.

In conclusion this is a great upgrade for a must own classic album.

Dennis
 
know Steve Wilson cant and probably doesn't want to mix some types of music but wouldn't it be great if we could clone him!

I could be totally wrong, but based on the facts that a) Steven Wilson picked "Moving Pictures" as one of the 20 albums he'd like to mix in surround sound (Sound + Vision Magazine, December 2009), and b) Alex Lifeson played a guitar solo on "Fear of a Blank Planet", I'd be inclined to think that Steven Wilson wouldn't spend more than 3 seconds coming up with his answer if they'd ask him.
 
Im using a Samsung BD-c6500 player i also have a pioneer dvd player i could try ! After hearing what Steve did for Aqualung im sure his phone will be ringing more ! Cant wait for THICK AS A BRICK i hear its almost complete!
 
Really to me kind of a let down while it has it's moments most of the time I felt like I was listening to a upmix. Then the issue of some really weird hiss comes and goes and the bass is really weird in spots, I did hear a few minor things I had not heard before but really is just so-so. One has to wonder what could have been done if someone else had done the 5.1 mix.
 
Missed Opportunity?

The 5.1 mix is probably the most balanced of the "trilogy" released recently. Geddy's bass is finally present, with some nice growling moments, and all the instruments (layers) are equally represented in the mix. There is no overbearing element in this mix.

The reason for the title is that I would have done it differently. Let me go back a little: When I saw Rush live on the Presto tour in 1990, they played Xanadu about 2/3 of the way through the set. The live set-up had speakers hung above the rear portion of the floor area of the arena and when the electric guitar comes in (~1:50 on the studio recording) it came from the back speakers and panned to the mains. Spectacular to hear when they were performing live and you had good floor seats. And, that cue has always been there when I listen to the album. (Maybe I was just overcome by all the fumes in the room....)

Although the surround mix is substantial enough on this album, a little more channel separation and a more daring use of the 5.1 format might have really taken it over the top. And, the LFE channel is somewhat lacking, which seems to be a feature of the current re-mixes. If Richard Chycki is on a learning curve with the surround format, he is making some valiant attempts at mastering the format. But, I hope that he really "gets it" before attacking Hemispheres or 2112.

Winning track: "A Farwell to Kings" (???)

Most questionable choice in the mix: The guitar strum attack in "Cinderella Man." It really jumps out and pretty much spoils the intro and bridge of the song.

Anyhow, a very solid, but not spectacular release. I must re-interate that the remastered MLP stereo tracks are really worth hearing and I hope that they continue with the lossless format for all the Rush albums (how about some more blu-ray audio releases guys).
 
Hello. I had to wait to get the OPPO firmware disc before I could play this on the BDP-83 (E-mail OPPO NOW and request the disc. It will be sent today!). Now that I have, I find this to have the best sound and 5.1 mix out of the lot. Which made me wonder why the others lacked in comparison, as far as aggressiveness goes. Hmph!
 
Hello. I had to wait to get the OPPO firmware disc before I could play this on the BDP-83 (E-mail OPPO NOW and request the disc. It will be sent today!). Now that I have, I find this to have the best sound and 5.1 mix out of the lot. Which made me wonder why the others lacked in comparison, as far as aggressiveness goes. Hmph!

Good to see the firmware helped you out, but just out of curiosity, why did you request a cd instead of downloading the firmware update and put it on a USB drive? Downloading seems a lot easier and you can do it when ever you want without having to wait for the cd to arrive.
 
I think I prefer this over the Moving Pictures disc...

The tape hiss is a bit annoying but overall it sounds great. Not quite SW or ES quality, but not too bad...

One issue I have with this disc - and the Moving Pictures DVD-A is that the "indicator" of where you are in the menu isn't visible. Moving Pictures works fine on my Pioneer, but on my Oppo BDP-83 SE its not displaying... Not a biggie as I can use the page up/down controls on my remote, but still.......Anyone else have this issue???
 
OK, at last they got this one right!
GUITARS in the rears! Along with the birds chirping at the start of "Xanadu"...
Geddy's voice is NOT overpowering as in MP....and his bass has the GROWL!
Not "(overly)compressed , so , easy on the ears.
Great sound stage and well balanced---info on the rears( Neil's cymbals!)!!!
Seems they went a "bit" beyond "Extended stereo" this time..
Well, since Alex and Neil are Virgo, they are "perfectionists" and don't want to mess "a la SW" with the mixes...

Tape Hiss, get over it!!!! I prefer tape hiss than no noising ...I would eliminate it from Audio altogether, except in extreme cases...

Great packaging and I LOVE the plastic sleeves that the discs come in.

One gripe...they could have made a mini replica of the poster on "Hemispheres"...and the CDs should have the same print as the LPs(OK, that's 2 gripes)....one more gripe...all of the photos from the booklet were on the MP DVD-A...yeah, they're ugly folks, but , don't you have some more???

As for the rest of the CDs, they do not sound like coming from a 96/24 remaster, it'd have "trickled down" and made the sound livelier; but on the other hand, their LPs from this era were not very top heavy....

Ans since it's one of my favorite bands , it's a 10!!!!!
 
Just saw this on the Power Windows Website. Anyone experience a problem with theirs? They don't say what the specific problem was.

UPDATE: Rush.com has announced that the replacement disks for the Sectors boxed sets are now available:

"Replacement 'Fly By Night' CDs and 'A Farewell To Kings' DVDs are now available.

For US & Canadian fans, please contact Universal customer services team on:
e-mail: [email protected]
Phone: 1-800-288-5942

For fans in the UK & Ireland please contact:
UK e-mail: [email protected]
UK Phone: +44 (0) 845 250 0965

For fans in Germany please contact:
Germany e-mail: [email protected]

For fans in any other country please contact your original Sector store where you made the purchase for assistance in getting your replacement discs. Universal will ensure corrected discs get to the Sector-buying fans worldwide as soon as they possibly can." - Rush.com, February 7, 2012

The band confirmed the problem back in December, shortly after the sets first went on sale:

"We are aware of some slight technical issues surrounding the CD of 'Fly By Night' inside the Sector 1 box set release and the DVD for ‘A Farewell To Kings’ inside the Sector 2 box set that some fans are experiencing. It stems from a production flaw and it is currently being addressed. As soon as production is completed a formal announcement of how to replace the discs will follow shortly. Please be aware that there may be a time delay in shipping and receiving the disc and we sincerely apologize for this inconvenience – Geddy, Alex & Neil" - December 2, 2011
 
I was listening to this yesterday in the car and I'm very happy with the mix. I've seen some comments elsewhere on the forum from people who's opinion I respect not liking this mix, but I have to respectfully disagree. I give it a 9.
 
I was listening to this yesterday in the car and I'm very happy with the mix. I've seen some comments elsewhere on the forum from people who's opinion I respect not liking this mix, but I have to respectfully disagree. I give it a 9.

I think it's great compared to the two mixes which arrived at the same time, but there was much more than could have been done here. It's yet another place where punches were pulled unnecessarily. Better than the other two, though? Sure.
 
This album definitely represents Rush's high mark (so far) in the world of 5.1 mixing.
I think Steven Wilson would do a much better than job with the mix than Chycki has done, but I'm grateful that we got 4 albums all mixed in 5.1 on DVD-A by Rush last year, and I hope more will come in the future.
 
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