HiRez Poll Beatles, The - Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band [BluRay]

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Rate the BDA of The Beatles - SGT PEPPERS LONELY HEARTS CLUB BAND


  • Total voters
    150

JonUrban

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Please post your thoughts and comments on this 2017 5.1 release of the classic 1967 album by The Beatles.
This disc is currently only available in the deluxe box set of the album, containing 4 CDs, a DVD and a BluRay.
The DVD contains the same 5.1 mix as the BluRay, so comments about the DVD can be made in this thread, just note that you are commenting on the DVD.

Pre-release discussion thread: https://www.quadraphonicquad.com/forums/showthread.php?23202

Please do not vote until you've heard this album a few times, OK? :music

SgtP Front.jpg
SgtP Back.jpg
SgtP Disc.jpg
 
As I just posted in the thread about the release, this surround mix is pleasant, but just too conservative for my tastes. I'm sure the politics at Apple tie their hands, but surround mixes need to be approached as a seperate animal. This reminds me of Guthrie's approach. Just expand the stereo image, for the most part. A few welcome moments of isolated rear activity. But even those are usually only 60% rear, 40% front. I am extremely happy I have it, it's much better than Dolby upmixing, for example, but it's kinda bittersweet knowing what it should have been. I voted 9 because of course the content, and fidelity are stellar. But the mix I would give a 7. Not the travesty of Pet Sounds by a long shot, or 1+, but this doesn't completely vindicate Giles from that debacle. Love was the standard that should have been in mind, not the mono mix.
 
I love this mix - just one listen mind you. The package is stellar! Just the experience of opening it was a thrill. As with any new surround title, my "are the rears active" anxiety level was high. Once I settled in though I was transported. All I could have hoped for. For an album that has been a big part of my life for 50 years, it sounds completely fresh and alive. Today I am 13 again. A Special shout out to Jon for his track by track analysis!
 
Considering what Giles Martin had to work with......basically 4 tracks and miles of outtakes from a bygone era, he accomplished a remarkable feat and, IMO, this reissue literally/figuratively blows away ALL previous Sgt. Pepper releases. The utter clarity of the instruments and vocals with absolutely No background noise [hiss] is simply astonishing! While not wildly discrete, it remains faithful to the original and the occasional discrete flourishes, IMO, satisfy rather than WOW with unnecessary gimmickry.

I voted a 10!

Now, bring ON the WHITE album!
 
Most of you have read my comments in the pre-release thread and seen the wav files for all of the songs that I posted, so I am not going to duplicate that effort.

Although I think this is a great release and sounds amazing, I understand members like deepsky who are a bit disappointed in the mix. However, because of the limitations of the 50 year old technology that was used to create the audio I am going to push my vote to the top. Now it's not the greatest surround mix so it really should not be a 10, but the hell with it. It's the Beatles. I was 14 when this came out. It was a very important album to me as a kid and the surround is not horrible at all, so I go with a 10.

Besides, it made my wife happy! :yikes
 
Most of you have read my comments in the pre-release thread and seen the wav files for all of the songs that I posted, so I am not going to duplicate that effort.



Besides, it made my wife happy! :yikes


When Mama's happy everyone's happy.... Good luck later.... Ha....
 
Took the DVD straight to the car, selected DTS, cranked the volume and got in the back seat center. Whether the 17 speaker 7.1 system or Giles' superb work, I was blown away by the clarity (especially of the strings) and was VERY impressed with the use of rears and sides! No complaints about conservatism whatsoever.
10
 
I agree with many of the comments from folks that have heard this. First off, I think it sounds stunning. I can't think of any recording from that era that sounds this good. So crystal clear and simply runs circles (I think so anyway) around any other version I've heard. I love how the vocals are anchored in center and so clear and vibrant. The surround is fairly quiet and for sure, this is not a busy surround mix at all. But, I gotta say, that the whole piece of work just sounds awesome. What would this sound like if they literally lit up the surround gymnastics? It may have totally changed this album and I guess I can understand why they don't want to do that.

I really can't vote less than a 10. Amazing deluxe box too!
 
A Fab Five Point One.......This is what a special box set should be like...:worthy... Other labels take notice, the packaging, the extras and of course a selection of formats (only a vinyl missing for the money). I was like a little kid on Xmas morning today, couldn't sleep when it arrived at my P.O. and had to wait 12 hours to unwrap it.
Liked the bonus print from BullMoose, and i think the lenticular cover is excellent. Only listened to the Blu-Ray so far and am quite pleased by what it sounds like and I believe it's top notch for the material Giles had to work with. I don't think it can be improved on again, this is the peak.
I given other titles 10's after a couple listens or a slight bias for a favorite, but a 10 on Peppers is disserving.........
I Vote 10.....:woopie

Edit: After time and a new AVR, also listening to the new TWA I've knocked my score down a couple. Remember though this is still the best that Pepper has ever been.
 
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Took the DVD straight to the car, selected DTS, cranked the volume and got in the back seat center. Whether the 17 speaker 7.1 system or Giles' superb work, I was blown away by the clarity (especially of the strings) and was VERY impressed with the use of rears and sides! No complaints about conservatism whatsoever.
10

Damn that's Hard Core:yikes
 
I've listened to the 5.1 high-res version several times now. The first play impressed with its clarity, detail etc. but the surround mix came across as a bit too tame. So I replayed the entire album with just the surrounds on and the fronts off as I wanted to hear what Giles Martin did back there.

There is a lot more going on in the surrounds than one might think. Although much of this content is often duplicated in the fronts, there are distinct level changes (and perhaps phase changes) that appear from time to time in the surrounds. The problem is that these subtleties can go unnoticed because the surround channels seem to have been mastered at too low a level compared to the fronts and center. So the next time through I cranked up the surrounds by 5 dB above my reference level. The results were magnificent.

The only track on which I prefer the Love mix is Mr. Kite. I prefer the Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds mix on Sgt Pepper. Regarding A Day In A Life, this track with the surrounds cranked up is staggering. While I also like the mix of this song on Love, I've always felt it a bit too discreet...with not quite enough sound coming from the rears much of the time. On Sgt. Pepper I believe that Martin has created a superior mix with more use of the rears along with enhanced impact and bass content. It really punches you in the gut. (For those of you with full range surround speakers, you'll discover that there is a lot of deep bass content in the surrounds throughout the album.) [Edit 5/28/2017: I should note that I don't use dedicated subwoofers, rather I route the LFE channel to both the fronts and surrounds; so I'm hearing some LFE content in the surrounds as well as whatever else is placed there.]

Overall I rated this one a 9 just in case the The White Album and Abbey Road are released and best Sgt. Pepper by a tad when it comes to the surround mix.
 
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A Fab Five Point One.......This is what a special box set should be like...:worthy... Other labels take notice, the packaging, the extras and of course a selection of formats (only a vinyl missing for the money). I was like a little kid on Xmas morning today, couldn't sleep when it arrived at my P.O. and had to wait 12 hours to unwrap it.
Liked the bonus print from BullMoose, and i think the lenticular cover is excellent. Only listened to the Blu-Ray so far and am quite pleased by what it sounds like and I believe it's top notch for the material Giles had to work with. I don't think it can be improved on again, this is the peak.
I given other titles 10's after a couple listens or a slight bias for a favorite, but a 10 on Peppers is disserving.........
I Vote 10.....:woopie

Thankfully they have left vinyl for a separate release

bonus points from me for that.

I would have left this on the shelf if they had included it.
 
Wonderful package, excellent essays and notes, and all that amazing music, beautifully rendered in terms of clarity and impact. As Paul might say - "what a great little album..." Indeed! I gave it a 9, reluctantly, as the surround mix could just have been a bit more adventurous. Loved the 5.1 on Strawberry and Penny most - while the album was just a tad too conservative for my ears... What a delight to be enjoying this new package 50 years later!!
 
For all of the sonic clarity of this release, it's just not an exciting, engaging or interesting surround mix, playing this hot of the heals of 'Songs from the Wood', and 'Idlewild South' (RIP Gregg Allman), this is just plane disappointing.

As Giles could go back to prepare bounce tracks he had more 8 12 and 16 tracks to play with no excuse for not producing a more interesting mix, I can only feel that the monophiles over on the H site liking it.

The best I can give this at the moment is 5 and that's for the clarity.
 
I'm ecstatic about this release! This is the best this album has ever sounded in terms of fidelity, and the content is timeless. I have to believe that, in terms of surround mix, this is about the best that could be done using the original 4 tracks. I've tried mixing some of the Sgt' Pepper's tracks that were "out there" on the internet, and I've never been able to approach anything close to satisfactory. There are several songs that I find perfect "as is" in terms of surround (Strawberry Fields, Penny Lane, Fixing A Hole, and Within You Without You all have what sounds like "discrete" activity in the rears... I still raised the surround levels 2dB on these songs because I like a little extra "surroundiness", but it probably wasn't necessary). For most of the other tracks I found that raising the rears about 3dB was perfect in terms of a balanced surround presentation. A few songs led me to some extra "futzing around" (I can't help it!), because they didn't have much going on in terms of surround activity (specifically Lucy In The Sky, She's Leaving Home, and When I'm Sixty Four). On Lucy, there's a nice sitar-like instrument and some muted acoustic guitar in the rears which really add to the experience if you raise the rears by 5dB (however, I had to lower the rear vocal sections with the high harmonies so they didn't become overpowering). She's Leaving Home sounds really rich if you raise the rears 5dB (it really brings the orchestra into the room and the harp sounds very discrete in the right rear). Finally, When I'm Sixty-Four really benefits from the 5dB treatment (at first listen this track disappointed me a little, but with the boost it's become one of my favorites for surround.) As stated by others, the packaging, bonus goodies, and video content is top-notch and help justify the purchase price. I wanted to give this a 10 because of what it is, but being realistic and somewhat objective, I give this a 3 for content, 3 for fidelity, 1 for surround mix, and 1 bonus point for all the goodies. This is a must have for anyone who likes the Beatles (isn't that everyone?), but not necessarily for someone looking for an impressive surround mix out of the box. 8.
 
Like many here, I am sure, The Beatles, and this album in particular, form a significant part of our musical education. We are intimately familiar with the content, the history and the legend and we are all, for our own very personal reasons, deeply protective of it. As a young boy in the early 1970s, all I listened to were Beatles albums and Beatles singles. I did this whilst reading through my mother's Beatles scrapbooks or her collection Beatles Monthly magazines. I literally ate, drank and slept The Beatles. And for a young lad, the depth, colour and range of content, both audio and visual, of Sgt. Pepper made it an instant favourite.

I don't honesty recall whether those first listens were of the mono or stereo version, but I do recall, like many of us did back then, that when we finally bought our own, inevitably stereo, copies, we were hugely disappointed by the awful stereo mix and the hard panning.

I'd always maintained that a 5.1 mix would be something to behold and might be the best album to showcase the format. All of those layers and parts, the detail and potential for movement. So, when this was announced, I, like most, was as giddy as a school girl!

What I've discovered in the intervening years is that the mono mix is indeed the de facto benchmark for this album. When I heard it again in recent years, I was blown away by it, such was my familiarity with the awful 2 channel version. I could not believe the fact that one channel sounded so much more detailed than two, that the separation of the elements was all being handled in a single channel. And I am sure that this has hung heavy in the mind of Giles & Sam as they assembled these new versions.

Put simply, both the new stereo and 5.1 mixes serve as expansions of the mono mix. Instead of reinterpreting the content completely, using the latest technology, they have basically stated, in their work if not directly in words, that Sgt. Pepper is a mono album. It was created to be a mono album and that is simply a matter of fact. To divert from that vision would be an insult to the work of John, Paul, George, Ringo, George Martin, Geoff Emerick, Richard Lush, et al. It is my opinion that Giles set out to create the stereo and 5.1 mixes that the band would've wanted had the formats existed in the way they do now back then. So there is no wild movement or daring placement of instruments. There is no attempt to re-envision what its creators had made originally. It is a highly respectful mix that more than anything else, uses the format to deliver the mono vision across 6 speakers.

The improved formats and techniques allow ALL of the detail to shine through and breathe without destroying the essence of everything that Pepper is.

The inclusion of Penny Lane and Strawberry Fields Forever is the cherry on top of the icing on this cake. The documentary is informative, if a little outdated. It would've been nice to have had a more modern take on the album, but I'll take what I can get. The promo films are neither here nor there if you already own the 1+ package.

As for the rest of the box content, I think it is very tastefully done. The book is superb, as is the faux album sleeve that houses all the discs. The ephemera is nice to have but will probably always remain at the bottom of the box. The box itself is a lovely thing and will sit nicely on my vinyl racks.

I know some are disappointed that greater risks weren't taken with the mix and that there is a certain lack of 'adventure', but I don't think that was the remit. They were never going to make EVERYONE happy. Just look at how polarising the Pet Sounds 5.1 mix is! But this, in my very humble opinion, was the best approach and it just gets better with each listen.

A solid 10 from me.
 
After the first full listen, I didn't think I had it in me to rate this release a '10', and maybe if it was just the album itself, it wouldn't be a '10'.
However, I found it in me to give this release a '10' once I heard the 5.1 surround mixes of "Penny Lane" and "Strawberry Fields Forever".
Those 2 5.1 surround mixes offer the best Beatles listening experience (outside of "Love").
Other highlights include "Within You, Without You", "Good Morning Good Morning" and (of course) "A Day in the Life".

It's full, it's rich, it's punchy, it's enveloping, it's exciting, it's stupendous, and why?
Cause it's the f*cking Beatles!

Buy this box now before it goes away forever!

:)
 
Snood listened late last night..........reaaaaaaaally late like til 4AM over and over and then to the PCM Stereo tooooooooo

not only did Snood listen late, Snood listened LOUD:yikes so the neighbors in the court might have been annoyed :cool:

I put up the LFE plus 3 and that is all.

Loooooooooooooooooooooooved it - do think the louder ya crank it the more the rears kick in.

Snood from reading some of the reviews about rears not being as active went in thinking uhoh, but me do have a smaller room with the speakers much closer and did me mention LOUUUUUUD!!:mad:@:

then watched the making of........yeah dated, but still the George martin stuff was very informative with what they were working with at the time and currently. After watching that, Snood then listened again and was like :yikes

Couldn't be happier - yes it not perfect and other worldy space and time continuum mind bending, but very much a great happy wonderful experience. :banana:

The packaging is Stellar, very impressed - bought the album too... also very nice.

Snood gives it Overall 9 Bananas :banana::banana::banana::banana::banana::banana::banana::banana::banana:

Was hovering between 8 and 9, but bumped it a 9 cuz who woulda thunk a few years ago when Snood first joined the QQ fun bunch, at what seemed to be a time of a waning amount of surround sound releases and people talking about the good ole days back in the early 2000's and all those prior releases, that we would be seeing this Icon and all kinds of other awesome releases being released. Goes to show you what the power of the dancing Bananas can do :worthy:banana:

Oh, one more thing CRANK THIS SHIIIIIIIIIIIIIT UP!!!!!! :banana::banana::banana::banana::cool:
 
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