HiRez Poll Adams, Bryan - RECKLESS [BluRay]

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Rate the BDA of Bryan Adams - RECKLESS [BluRay Audio]

  • 5 -

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • 4 -

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • 3 -

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • 2 -

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • 1 - Poor Surround, Poor Fidelity, Poor Contact

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Total voters
    65
Love this disc.

Jon, I hear you when you say not everything can be a 10, but I just don't see any fault with this. I have to give it a 10.

The mix is exactly as it should be for this music - Clearmountain simply did everything right here, as far as I'm concerned. I love how the 80s reverb/echo stuff goes into the rears, revealing the raw music in the fronts while building immersion using the rears. Discrete elements are plenty and used in the right places.

If you are really concerned this isn't discrete, listen to the breakdown about halfway through "Run to You".

The sound quality is perfect, with the bass being bombastic but not overpowering - so clear and defined! Among all my rock discs, this is one of the top contenders in terms of bass and overall dynamics. I wish they all sounded like this.

As for the music, well, love or hate the guy I guess. I love him. :) Not a bad song here.

EDIT: wish the bonus tracks were in 5.1 as well, but hey... :)
 
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That is really sad given how terrible the dynamics are. My old CD is DR13, the stereo on the new Blu-ray is DR8. Blech.

This disc has more punch to it than either two copies of the album I have (MFSL CD & Original LP). This disc will be the one I'll be listening to for quite some time. To be fair, I have not played the stereo version yet, other than the bonus tracks.
 
Listening to this now for the 1st time.... IT ROCKS!!!!
Man, I used to play this LP when I was ("there he goes again...!") a DJ in an FM station from 84-86.... it really is a revelation..
and BTW...I LOOOOVE THE REVERB and DDLs in the rears!!!!!!
 
I give it a 9, which like Jon says is no diss at all. I just reserve 10 for mix, sound, and all time favorite material. This isn't my all time favorite material, but still pretty good, mostly remembered from radio plays. Surprising the album title came from a title track that didn't make the album. I have to say I'm not that hot on delayed rear channels, a little too much. But still an enveloping experience, with a discrete mix.
 
Hi SMS

I had something similar happen to me on the HFPA site. My Songs From the Big Chair coupon code returned a "The code has already been used by someone else", even after refreshing the page. I wasn't worried as these are usually just mp3's. I just received Reckless in the post, entered the code and the Songs From the Big Chair download was now available, so I'm downloading the FLACs now.

Maybe if you log out and then log in in a day or so, Reckless might appear in your list?

Best of luck.
 
Hi SMS

I had something similar happen to me on the HFPA site. My Songs From the Big Chair coupon code returned a "The code has already been used by someone else", even after refreshing the page. I wasn't worried as these are usually just mp3's. I just received Reckless in the post, entered the code and the Songs From the Big Chair download was now available, so I'm downloading the FLACs now.

Maybe if you log out and then log in in a day or so, Reckless might appear in your list?

Best of luck.

Thanks! That worked! I logged in to my HFPA today and now I see Reckless is available for download.
 
I gave Reckless a spin last night for the first time and did comparisons between the 5.1 PCM, Dolby TrueHD and DTS-MA on parts of those songs that I'm most familiar with.

Overall, I prefer the 5.1 PCM as I noticed a bit more detail in the guitars compared to the Dolby TrueHD, but the Dolby TrueHD was a close second. As I've come to expect, the Dolby TrueHD was more front-heavy with a bit more kick to the bass.

I'm typically not a fan of DTS-MA when there's a PCM or Dolby TrueHD alternative and the same applies here. The DTS-MA isn't bad, it's just got the usual DTS "spaciousness" on it (fine for movies - music though, I dunno) and I prefer the other audio codecs or whatever they are.

The music itself I found to be fun, earnest, 80's rock - big smiles, foot-tapping, air-guitar and a bit of air-drumming ensued.

The 5.1 mix itself isn't the greatest but it's sufficient for the style of music - keeping in mind that Bob Clearmountain did this before Bob Marley's Legend (I think I read that somewhere). Bob sure favours the centre channel on both Reckless and Legend, and to great effect too. After hearing Legend and The Yes Album earlier this year, I recently upgraded to a Kef 600C and I'm glad I did. That speaker does a phenomenal job with the bass compared to my old Mission (the bass on Tears for Fears' Shout really stands out in the centre also).

The 2.0 non-album tracks sound really good too in terms of the music and fidelity. Good to see non-album tracks appear on a BD and I hope future BD releases take this approach - it's not like there's not enough room on the disc. Glad to see they play directly after the 2.0 album mix too, so you can just hit play and it'll play through all 2.0 songs on the BD.

The menu is a step up from previous BD menus too. Looking very similar to 2L's BD menus. In future, it would be good to see menus be the sideways-scrolling type that would allow to you navigate directly to any song to queue it up, or to read other content, without the need to interrupt what's currently playing. A Play All feature would be good too, along with allowing lyrics to be accessed via the Subtitle button.

All in all, a great job. Very entertaining and that's what it's all about. Let's hope Mr Clearmountain and Mr Wilson keep being able to churn these gems out for us.
 
I just did a software decode of track 7 in both PCM and DolbyTru HD with DVD Audio Extractor and compared the waveforms and they are bit for bit identical in every way I was able to measure/examine. An difference one hears is due to system decoding or human perception issues. I suspect the DTS (also purported to be lossless would be the same also).

I'm not arguing that they don't sound different, just that it is all in how processors handle the different formats, both formats (and I assume the 3rd also, just more work to check it, I can if someone insists) contain the exact same data.

Screen Shot 2014-12-03 at 8.35.47 AM.jpg
 
Hi Cheezmo

Yeah, it's interesting what the graphs show, eh? I've read plenty about how when the different audio formats are decoded, the information is identical and therefore, any difference that one hears is imagined. There are some strong opinions on the subject out there and if there's one thing the internets doesn't need, it's another argument!

I'm interested in what you guys think about the perceived differences between PCM, DTS-MA and Dolby TrueHD. Don't want to hijack the thread though, maybe I should start another one?

Anyway, my BD player bitstreams out and the receiver does the decoding. Change the audio on the BD player between the DTS-MA and Dolby TrueHD on Bob Marley's Legend, and you can hear the sound move to the front/centre (or perhaps the front/centre gets louder - I have to reduce the volume when switching between the two as Dolby is usually louder than DTS) and with more of a bass kick on the Dolby TrueHD audio option. It's probably the most noticeable change I can recall when switching between audio formats. Not sure if the waveforms for these two streams are identical but if they are, then there's definitely something else going on that the graphs aren't showing.

I suspect that there is something else happening. If both DTS and Dolby were doing the exact same thing and sounded exactly the same, there would be no benefit in one over the other, and I'm guessing that the only reason one would be chosen over the other would be for whatever deal could be wrangled on the license to use the software?

I also seem to recall, possibly on this forum that Andy Jackson said that James Guthrie hates DTS. I'm guessing that this could only be for how it sounds.

Anyway, something to yap about if anyone feels inclined. I find PCM/Dolby/DTS to all be pretty close in terms of how they sound, so I'm probably splitting hairs but then again, the average mp3-listening punter would probably accuse all of us of that!
 
I am certainly not saying the difference is imagined. Just that it has to be in the DTS and Dolby Digital decoding/post processing not in the underlying PCM data which is identical. I'm curious if they each have some proprietary tweaking they do to the signal after decoding.
 
Absolutely, and I suspect there must be some secret fiddling of the signal that's going on in the depths of our receivers also.

Also interesting is how some SACDs and a few DTS audio tracks can be so ear-splittingly harsh with their high end. Genesis - And Then There Were Three SACD is a wince-inducing offender. Probably one of the reasons how Dolby got the name Dulby. Poor Dolby.

Anyway, this thread has gotten off track. Bottom line: Bryan Adams - Reckless BD = good times. Buy one!
 
Thanks! That worked! I logged in to my HFPA today and now I see Reckless is available for download.
My Reckless download showed up post-facto too.
My download for Songs from the Big Chair, however, is still "Underworld - Dubnobasswithmyheadman" instead - sigh.

Amateur hour at HFPA, I am afraid. At least there is progress.
 
I'm giving this disc on first listen an '8.5'.

Unfortunately, that's not a voting option, so I will have to listen to the mix again very carefully and decide whether to go up to a '9' or down to an '8'.

What I will say on first listen is that the "Summer of 69" surround mix is about as perfect as it can be, while others fall short.
 
I'm giving this disc on first listen an '8.5'.

Unfortunately, that's not a voting option, so I will have to listen to the mix again very carefully and decide whether to go up to a '9' or down to an '8'.

What I will say on first listen is that the "Summer of 69" surround mix is about as perfect as it can be, while others fall short.
I enjoy Heaven and Somebody even more than Summer of 69. I think Somebody is perfect.
 
Track-by-track breakdown on my 2nd listen through:

First off, I love how loud and present the vocal is on this disc. Sometimes the vocal is mixed too low on other surround mixes, but not this one!

"One Night Love Affair" has a nice blend of guitars and keyboards in the surrounds, but I could use a little bit more of the distorted rhythm guitars in the surrounds.
I'm loving the vocals and handclaps in the surrounds on "She's Only Happy When She's Dancin'", and the solo is also geared a little more towards the surrounds as well. This mix is definitely an improvement over track 1.
"Run to You" is my favorite track on the album, but the surround mix leaves me wanting a LOT more, specifically a lot more guitars in the surrounds. It feels too geared towards the front, with only some synthesizers prominent in the surrounds. Definitely disappointingā€¦but there are a few interesting surround moments on that track, particularly in the middle breakdown.
Never really been a big fan of "Heaven", but at least the surround mix does what it should do, which is get really big on those choruses.
"Somebody" is a nice surprise. Plenty of guitars and background vocals spread around to enjoy, along with a few other nice surprises.
Thenā€¦POW! That "Summer of 69" snare comes pounding in from all directions. This is THE surround mix on the disc, plenty of guitars spread exactly as I had envisioned it. Oh if only all of the surround mixes on this disc would be as solid as this one.
Now after that it's on to "Kids Wanna Rock", with a REALLY loud guitar solo that should have been mixed down a little more. Not a favorite song of mine either, so it's definitely a step down for me.
"It's Only Love" is a pretty good mix. Like most others, a good bit of guitars and keys filling the surrounds, but once again, the solo is a little too loud for my tastes.
"Long Gone" is another wonderful surprise. Nice spread of guitars, and the bass feels really good on this mix especially. One of the top mixes on this set for sure!
Alas the album ends with another track I'm not really fond of ("Ain't Gonna Cry") which once again suffers from a loud guitar solo, but at least this time it moves around a little bit for entertainment purposes.

Going with an '8' just cause there have been too many other stellar mixes that stand ahead of this album and mix. Still recommended at least to get the standalone HFPA. I went for the box, which has a really nice digibook style packaging (like the latest Tull reissues) which I'm very fond of. Lots of good liner notes about the making of the album, so I will look forward to reading them! :)
 
Absolutely, and I suspect there must be some secret fiddling of the signal that's going on in the depths of our receivers also.

Also interesting is how some SACDs and a few DTS audio tracks can be so ear-splittingly harsh with their high end. Genesis - And Then There Were Three SACD is a wince-inducing offender. Probably one of the reasons how Dolby got the name Dulby. Poor Dolby.

Anyway, this thread has gotten off track. Bottom line: Bryan Adams - Reckless BD = good times. Buy one!

I regularly encounter Dial Norm +dB encoding on the Dolby True on these HFPA Blu-rays and in most instances they're just quite a bit L-O-U-D-E-RRRR than the PCM..!! (which I guess could be interpreted as sounding brighter, more bass-heavy, etc.?)
 
It's a "9" from me. Not quite Bob Marley or Avalon Clearmountain gold standard but pretty damn close, it sounds authentically 80's huge for me with just the correct emphasis on the main event (BA and his guitar!) and some nice touches in the rears with all that added atmos! (y)
 
I regularly encounter Dial Norm +dB encoding on the Dolby True on these HFPA Blu-rays and in most instances they're just quite a bit L-O-U-D-E-RRRR than the PCM..!! (which I guess could be interpreted as sounding brighter, more bass-heavy, etc.?)

Hi fredblue. Just saw your response now cos I unsubscribed from this thread (so many e-mails!).

Yes, Dolby TrueHD is definitely louder than PCM and DTS-MA but there's more going on that affects the way Dolby TrueHD sounds. If you try switching between Dolby TrueHD/PCM/DTS-MA, and if you're quick on the draw to turn the volume up or down to ensure a closer apples-with-apples comparison before the sound kicks-in, you'll hear the sound move to the front on Dolby TrueHD and lose that "spaciousness" (I dunno how else to describe it; "echo" perhaps?) that DTS-MA has.

I also find Dolby TrueHD to have a big more of a "metallic" sound to the mid-range frequencies (again, I'm not sure if I'm describing it accurately) than PCM/DTS-MA.

Happy listening!
 
So, you like the DTS better in this case?


Hi fredblue. Just saw your response now cos I unsubscribed from this thread (so many e-mails!).

Yes, Dolby TrueHD is definitely louder than PCM and DTS-MA but there's more going on that affects the way Dolby TrueHD sounds. If you try switching between Dolby TrueHD/PCM/DTS-MA, and if you're quick on the draw to turn the volume up or down to ensure a closer apples-with-apples comparison before the sound kicks-in, you'll hear the sound move to the front on Dolby TrueHD and lose that "spaciousness" (I dunno how else to describe it; "echo" perhaps?) that DTS-MA has.

I also find Dolby TrueHD to have a big more of a "metallic" sound to the mid-range frequencies (again, I'm not sure if I'm describing it accurately) than PCM/DTS-MA.

Happy listening!
 
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