"Sparkle in the Rain" Separating Fact from Fiction

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patrick1 said:
Hey- I ordered the HFPA, and got my replacement yesterday. It came with what I think was the Box set booklet, for it is of a larger sized format, and also with much more written information included as well. Sweet!
Click to expand...

Is your replacement disc Blu-Ray or DVD-A? Cause if you got the Blu-Ray with the box booklet, that's good! Hope I have that luck! :)
 
rtbluray said:
Is your replacement disc Blu-Ray or DVD-A? Cause if you got the Blu-Ray with the box booklet, that's good! Hope I have that luck! :)
Click to expand...

HFPA Blu-Ray! Super nice booklet, but it won"t fit in the case. Considering how much more, way more!, information is included, I can deal with that.
 
A replacement package from the UK today here on Long Island, NY

History:
I purchased the blu-ray from Amazon US -Ordered February 14, 2015 / Received March 24
Made the email request to '[email protected]' on March 25th for the replacement blu-ray directly to Universal UK as announced over at the SuperDuluxe Edition -
Received an email response indicating that they were working on a fix a short time after -

Received today (June 18, 2015) a padded envelope with a replacement booklet & DVD:confused:
I guess I gained on the deal? I have now gained the detailed booklet + Promo Videos of the boxed set at the lower Pure Audio price.
Will listen & compare hopefully later tonight.

By the way, the booklet is in great shape even though it road in the envelope unprotected.
 
I purchased the dud BD from wowhd.co.nz, e-mailed [email protected] and the replacement BD just arrived in my mailbox in New Zealand in a flexible clear vinyl (not that sort of vinyl) sleeve in a paper envelope (no padding). No booklet for me. Oh well.

I couldn't discern anything visibly different about the replacement disc artwork compared to the dud BD except that the background colour is yellower on the replacement BD.

I did a 5 minute check:

1. The new stereo mix sounds like it probably should (not mono anyway)

2. Vocals on the 5.1 PCM mix are noticeably louder in the centre channel than the dud BD

3. The 5.1 PCM mix sounds cleaner and not as ear-splitting as on the dud BD

Hopefully, I'll get a chance to give it a full spin tonight.
 
Just gave the replacement DVD a spin in comparison to the Blu-Ray.
The "mono" stereo mix has been corrected.
The channels of the 5.1 mix seemed to have been balanced better and the overall harshness in the mix has been toned down.
To my ears, it is improvements all around or maybe it is just a placebo effect. I think SW improved on the sound as best he could. Never liked the production on this one.

Sadly though, my DVD player (a Pioneer Elite SACD/DVD-A) gets hung up on all the videos and the DTS & Dolby 5.1 mixes. The only options that play are the High Rez Stereo & the MLP 5.1 Lossless.

Throwing it into the Blu-Ray player had better results with every thing accessible with the exception of the MLP which does not even come up as an option.
 
Some members of the SH forum listened to their corrected discs and are saying the 5.1 mix is barely different than the first attempt (I must add they didn't like it the first time around).
Do they need to get their ears checked? Because to me there is a definite improvement... but I haven't got the pressed disc to check.
 
Plan9 said:
Some members of the SH forum listened to their corrected discs and are saying the 5.1 mix is barely different than the first attempt (I must add they didn't like it the first time around).
Do they need to get their ears checked? Because to me there is a definite improvement... but I haven't got the pressed disc to check.
Click to expand...

I guess you could argue about what is meant by "the mix". In my estimation, it is the speaker balance level and harshness that was improved upon. The mix of elements (instruments, effects, vocals)wasn't redone in the last 3 months.

Keep in mind that the original production of this in the '80s sound harsh. Steve W could only polish a turd so much.

This was always my least favorite Simple Minds release (the songs never caught with me & I abhor the sound of it) - never could figure out why it ranks so high in their discography. My fave will always be New Gold Dream
 
splinter7 said:
I guess you could argue about what is meant by "the mix". In my estimation, it is the speaker balance level and harshness that was improved upon. The mix of elements (instruments, effects, vocals)wasn't redone in the last 3 months.

Keep in mind that the original production of this in the '80s sound harsh. Steve W could only polish a turd so much.
Click to expand...


I'd like to address this. Here is a message from Steven I'm permitted to share:

"The set of 5.1 files originally used was erroneously printed with some balance problems - these reject files for some reason ended up being the ones used first time around. This had the effect of rather swamping the vocals and other instruments - should now be fixed. I also asked for a completely flat transfer this time around.
When I was briefly home I did listen to the raw files again to make sure it and it sounded pretty good to me (given the rather 80’s swampy production) - mainly guitars and bass across front, the big drums a little further out, vocals in centre channel, and predominantly keyboards, backing vocals and textural elements in rears.

If you fold down to stereo it should now sound close to the original mix, that’s always the test.

Hope that clears things up!
S"
 
This is starting to get more confusing and somewhat annoying again.

Check out this update from SuperDeluxeEdition today:
Many of you who have requested replacement DVD/Blu-rays for the Simple Minds Sparkle in the Rain reissue should have now received them. If you are unaware, there were issues with the 5.1 mix and the hi-res stereo mix was in mono! Anyway for a while Universal were sorting this out directly, but the situation now has changed and all retailers including Amazon now have corrected stock. This means two things – you can order the box or blu-ray confidently and know you will get the ‘right’ version and if you have the old version you can request a replacement from the retailer from which you bought the items. The old information about going back directly to Universal Music is now out-of-date and should be ignored.
Click to expand...

http://www.superdeluxeedition.com/feature/saturday-deluxe-20-june-2015/

Now I haven't received my replacement disc yet, even though I requested it immediately when the email address went out. Mail from the UK to the US can be very slow at times (I'll give them that), but I still think it shouldn't take this long for it to get here.
I might try emailing amazon.co.uk Customer Service for a replacement, but somehow I don't feel as confident that I'll get the right disc through them anyhow...
 
But wait there's more!

Steven Wilson also posted this today on SDE:

Hello folks, me again. I’m still on tour, but I did check the 5.1 mix this time before it was authoured and it sounded good to me, it certainly should sound quite different to the previous disc. To the guy listening to the Dolby version, it sounds like you are playing back from a laptop (?) and need to turn off the audio compression – some software players default to having this on with Dolby, and if so the audio will pump up and down (better to listen to the DTS version anyway to be honest).

If anyone is not finding that the front speakers are predominantly anchoring the drums, bass and guitars, with keyboards and backing vocals mostly in the rears, and lead vocals clear in the centre speaker (previous version had them somewhat swamped due to a significant imbalance of the drums in the other channels), then there could be an issue with playback. The 5.1 mix is simply a spatially expanded version of the stereo, so if the new stereo sounds correctly balanced to you (and being a big fan of Simple Minds, I certainly aimed to match the original as closely as I could) but the 5.1 mix does not, then something may have gone wrong with the 5.1 reproduction and/or channel assignment on your system (even when it seems correct on another disc).

And if that all checks out but you still don’t like the sound of it, then I guess it’s just the mix that let you down, in which case my fail!
SW
Click to expand...

http://www.superdeluxeedition.com/n...-rain-replacement-dvd-update/#comment-1171889

I do appreciate Steven taking the time yet again to post on this subject.
 
Well Snood received a replacement disc today, but it was the DVD-A and a real nice booklet, instead of the Bluray me has.

I sent off an email to both email addys available. Dunno if the DVD-A is an upgrade and should be happy with it, but still gonna try to get the bluray from Universal if at all possible.
 
Snood said:
Well Snood received a replacement disc today, but it was the DVD-A and a real nice booklet, instead of the Bluray me has.

I sent off an email to both email addys available. Dunno if the DVD-A is an upgrade and should be happy with it, but still gonna try to get the bluray from Universal if at all possible.
Click to expand...

I wouldn't however send back the DVD-A and booklet in order to get a replacement Blu-ray if that's what they instruct you to do. As far as I'm concerned, if you ordered a Blu-ray and you want a replacement of it, you should be able to get it from them without having to send the DVD-A and booklet back as that's their error.
Plus, you'll have the best of everything if you have the correct DVD-A, Blu-Ray, and booklet. :banana:
 
Still waiting for my replacement DVD & Booklet to arrive via Burning Shed.

I received the following email on June 3rd:

Simple Minds - Sparkle In The Rain
Actions
Burning Shed Support 6/03/15 Keep this message at the top of your inbox

Hi

Please accept our apologies for the delay on this.

Universal have (finally) confirmed that replacement Blu-Rays and DVDs have been made. The booklet has also been reprinted with corrections.

We will soon be stocking correct versions of the 4cd/1dvd box set and also the Blu-Ray.

You do not need to buy them again!

We are hoping to receive replacement discs and booklets next week and we will automatically send them straight out to you.

Thanks again for your patience.

Kind regards


Lisa
Click to expand...

So, I guess I'll have to keep patient. :beer2:)
 
I spun the whole PCM 5.1 album this weekend and all sounds good to me - way better than the dud BD (makes you realise how messed up the dud was in the first place).

Good on the manufacturer for making it right and Mr Wilson for taking the time to post - great stuff.

Now, back to the tunes...
 
rtbluray said:
I wouldn't however send back the DVD-A and booklet in order to get a replacement Blu-ray if that's what they instruct you to do. As far as I'm concerned, if you ordered a Blu-ray and you want a replacement of it, you should be able to get it from them without having to send the DVD-A and booklet back as that's their error.
Plus, you'll have the best of everything if you have the correct DVD-A, Blu-Ray, and booklet. :banana:
Click to expand...

Snood's thought exactly :banana:
 
Making it short here:
The corrected Sparkle in the Rain is absolutely brilliant.
I've listened to the LPCM Stereo only so far but that's all I listened to on the original disc and this is another brilliant Steven Wilson job.
The original release was a collapsed POS this is enveloping and expansive like the original CD only tons more.
Listening to the DTS-MA as I write. So F'ing good.
Superbly crankable. I'll have to sober up to write a more coherent review but if you ever liked this album this is the one to have.
Regardless of the bright 80's production this version is beautiful.
I don't care what your favorite Simple Minds recording is this kicks absolute ass.
Steven Wilson has done it again, trust me it's fantastic.
Did someone post that certain members at SHF are unhappy?
No sh!t? I'd be surprised at nothing less. Please, the bricks over there are never satisfied so all is normal.
After I heard that folks were getting their replacement discs I drove down to the car dealership where my car is getting worked to get my mailbox key out of my car.
Damn glad I did.
I guess that wasn't so short after all was it?
 
i received my replacement Blueray disc the other day. I gave the 5.1 a quick listen and as usual SW has done an excellent job on the mix.
 
Is there anyone here who bought the blu-ray from Amazon Canada (amazon.ca)? If so, can you confirm that they have the replacement disc? I talked to one of their customer service agents on the phone to try to get that information but they didn't know. I'd like to send them my order knowing that there won't be any hassles.
 
Wow, what a surprise. I had a package in the mail today from Universal Music. A single, replacement disc. Works for me....I'll give it a listen. If it is good to go, I'll toss the defective disc...OK, OK. I'll probably keep it. But I'll stick the replacement disc "in it's place". In other words, they just sent me the replacement disc in a simple paper sleeve. Nothing else. :banana:
 
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