HiRez Poll Pink Floyd - 1970 DEVI/ATION (ATOM HEART MOTHER) [Blu-Ray Audio]

GOS said:

I "think" Ssully addresses this, or at least comments in post 33.

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Hi Gene, I'm not sure. I was expecting some dripping rather than loads of it. It really sounds like it just cuts off, rather than finishes.

Mike the Fish said:

Hi Gene, I'm not sure. I was expecting some dripping rather than loads of it. It really sounds like it just cuts off, rather than finishes.

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I hope to be listening to my copy tonight.

I didn't particularly enjoy it :couch (Although I quite liked Fat Old Sun.)

Yikes, it's true! The Blu-Ray version seems to be cut short. I've known this album for decades and "Breakfast" ends with water dripping, no fade-out, in all versions I've heard.

I've heard several quad conversions of this, from both vinyl and tape. The last quad transfer I used to have before getting the Blu-Ray version was Jimfisheye's Q8 conversion. It definitely ended with the water dripping for a good while, as did all the others. There was no fade out. The dripping just stopped at some point.

This Blu-Ray version ends way before that. I can hear no dripping at all. Just some dialogue, and then, the end.

Does anyone have ripped the blu-ray, and extracted the audio track ? It would rule out an authoring error... (I don't own the blu-ray)

François said:

Does anyone have ripped the blu-ray, and extracted the audio track ? It would rule out an authoring error... (I don't own the blu-ray)

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Pretty sure someone mentioned it was an authoring error. I will check it later if no one beats me to it here.

edit... definitely an authoring error. It drips for about forty seconds until the end on the bluray RIP.

Mike the Fish said:

I'm not familiar with this album, but I thought my copy finished unusually suddenly. On Breakfast there's some talking and a single drip and it's back to the menu without a pause. Is that what I'm supposed to be hearing?

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Nope. The PCM track on The Early Years is 12:58 long. The drips reappear around 12:20 (while the water is still draining) and go on until the end. From about 12:40 onward the drips are the only thing to be heard (and only in the rear channels). So, there should be about 18 seconds of drips alone, to end the track. No fadeout either.

Right! How do we contact the Floyd about this?!

You have to be kidding.

Mike the Fish said:

Right! How do we contact the Floyd about this?!

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For what, a replacement disc with a few more drips ? It's nothing get over it..

Deek57 said:

For what, a replacement disc with a few more drips ? It's nothing get over it..

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Thanks for the advice. Yes if it was just a series of repeated drips that had already been played then I can see your point, but it cuts off before that loop of drips: there's other audio that is on the disc that isn't played. I'd expect it to be correct for £35.

Mike the Fish said:

Thanks for the advice. Yes if it was just a series of repeated drips that had already been played then I can see your point, but it cuts off before that loop of drips: there's other audio that is on the disc that isn't played. I'd expect it to be correct for £35.

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As far as I understand, it doesn't replicate a particular effect of a Vinyl record: the locked groove. That's too bad, but not an error. Apparently other releases of AHM on digital formats each had their own ways to represent the locked groove. What other audio elements are missing?

fac23 said:

What other audio elements are missing?

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I don't know as I don't have the stereo mix. I'll have to check on Spotify. I've stuck the DVD version in and it appears to be around three seconds shorter than the BD... It seems odd that there's not several seconds of silence at the end before it jumps back to the menu which also makes me wonder if it's an authoring/mastering error.

On the BD it cuts off a few seconds after "My head's a-blank" with no fade and straight back to the menu, whereas on the stereo mix on Spotify the SFX continues for about 38 seconds before the drip loop is isolated. It's not about the drip loop, per se, it's about the missing audio leading up to it.

Mike the Fish said:

I don't know as I don't have the stereo mix. I'll have to check on Spotify. I've stuck the DVD version in and it appears to be around three seconds shorter than the BD... It seems odd that there's not several seconds of silence at the end before it jumps back to the menu which also makes me wonder if it's an authoring/mastering error.

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The stereo mix is readily available on Youtube too.

AHM quad mix - so good, a 9 (7-10 = 9 avg)

The titular track = 10++, for some (??) reason just smashes the rest of the album

To quote Geddy Lee, 2112, III. Discovery

"What can this strange device be?
When I touch it, it gives forth a sound
It's got wires that vibrate and give music
What can this thing be that I found?"

Not only the fidelity but it being a pioneer in surround and the use of 4 channels. The "fullness" of the studio PF was able to record and reproduce is the best of any band I've ever heard (in 1970).

Sure, today we may look on this as average use of surrounds but in 1970 this must have been mind blowing

I just really like they way the entire PF group must have been on the same page when it came to surround. It's like they all thought alike in that respect and were not only pioneers of surround but IMO the MASTERS of it.

I can only imagine what the group (from 1970, not today) could do today in a proper Atmos studio. Would be a revelation indeed.

Mike the Fish said:

On the BD it cuts off a few seconds after "My head's a-blank" with no fade and straight back to the menu, whereas on the stereo mix on Spotify the SFX continues for about 38 seconds before the drip loop is isolated. It's not about the drip loop, per se, it's about the missing audio leading up to it.

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Thanks for clarifying. I've just checked my disc. The full audio is there on the Blu-ray (incl. the additional ~40secs) when accessing the content through alternative means, but when played through an actual Blu-Ray player the track stops prematurely. Looks like the video stream breaks and causes the audio to stop as well. An authoring error. :/

Extracting the audio and video track separately you'll notice that the video track is actually shorter than the audio track, hence the premature cut off...

Seems like pretty poor quality control with this set...

Listened to the quad mix for the first time yesterday.

As an album, Atom Heart Mother has been climbing up to my list of best Pink Floyd albums for last few years. I like this album very much and the quad mix is very discrete and I was surprised at the amount of bass and ambiance.

Fantastic album, sound and mix. TEN out of 10.