Wayne, Jeff - WAR OF THE WORLDS [SACD]

[JonUrban]

It's an SACD, so there is no DD or DTS surround component. You need an SACD 5.1 player with a 6 Ch in capable receiver (unless you have iLink or Denon Link).

[mattB2]

The concert DVD is due for release on Monday (6th). There doesn't seem to be any info on the WotW site about sound formats but I would assume that Dolby 5.1 would be a minimum given the quality of the surround sound used at the concerts. I'll post further info once my copy arrives.

[Dolby CP-200]

It's an SACD, so there is no DD or DTS surround component. You need an SACD 5.1 player with a 6 Ch in capable receiver (unless you have iLink or Denon Link).

JonUrban

Cheers for that information I’ve now twigged on to what you are saying mate, SONY make a few DVD players with (SACD) capabilities looks like a little trip to the Ebay in the future to see if theirs a cheap model going around, again thinks for making that part clear to me.

Cheers also Matt.

[mattB2]

My copy of the new DVD has arrived and it's fabulous. It's one of the best filmed concerts that I've seen and the DTS surround mix is terrific, very active and involving (there's also DD 2 and 5.1 mixes) with the rears being used for all sorts of effects and instruments. I'm reluctant to say that it's better than the original album but the surrounds are much more active and the live concert adds a lot more edge to the playing - I always preferred part 1 over part 2 but the performances in the new part 2 mean I'll be playing it a lot more now. Highly recommended (but I think it's only available in PAL at the moment) and a great surround experience.

[mch007]

A 10 on strength of very entertaining surround mix. One of my favorite mixes

[0tto]

nice release with well done 5.1 mix. bad side only, a repetitive musical themes
which make this listening at some moments quite boring. perhaps would be more
interesting in DVDA with picturesque slideshow during playback.
anyway, i voted 9

[Analogueghost]

This is one of my very favorite surround discs. I love the music, I love the mix and it always manages to impress as a demo. 10/10.

[Neil Palfreyman]

I got this out to play again tonight before rating it (if you haven't worked out I'm going through my entire collection before I rate them on QQ) and I find myself completely blown away by it, so much so that I really cannot work out why I haven't played this more than I have since buying it!

Isn't this exactly what surround sound was created for? A huge epic of an album, groundbreaking when it first came out and now earth shattering in 5.1. The use of the surround channels for both audio and effects is very well thought through and hence very effective. The clarity, detail, dynamics and balance are all as close to perfect as you can get. Not only does the mix present the material in all it's glorious detail, it really breathes with no harsh edges or bad fades between channels. What it does is creates a huge soundscape that's complex but not cluttered. Absolutely perfect for the material. Stunning.

[Failed Muso]

My wife is from Chobham, Surrey and her mum still lives there. Horsell Common is just around the corner and so this album has a particular poignancy to us, especially as we've regaled our children with the story and played the album full whack in the car as we've driven around some of these locations in the story. Trips to Woking and visits to the Fighting Machine and Capsule sculptures have their imaginations running wild and I have to admit, mine too

Anyway, when this re-release was announced, I couldn't wait to get it, especially for this 5.1 SACD mix. I'd read a lot about it and how Gary Langan (of Art of Noise/ZTT fame) and Gaëtan Schurrer restored and remixed the whole thing. There's a really good article in Sound on Sound about the whole process. I saw that there was a Collectors Edition and as the release coincided roughly with my birthday, I decided that my birthday cash would be spent on that. I ventured into Woking town centre, thinking that if anywhere in the country, nay the world, would have the full on Collectors Edition, it would be Woking, a town steeped in WOTW & H.G. Wells lore and history. So imagine my dismay when both Virgin and HMV said they had no stock and could only order it in. Well, as I don't live there, I refused to order it and so picked up the 2 disc SACD version to tide me over. In a way though, it was probably just as well because, some considerable time later, I found a brand new, sealed copy of the collectors edition on eBay for almost half the RRP!

As others have said, this really is a superb example of brilliant and considered multi-channel mixing. It adds to the whole experience, an experience that started so many years before on stereo vinyl. A lot of time and thought has gone into this.

The Collectors edition is a splendid piece, with all the other discs (4 bonus CD's and a DVD documentary) housed in a 12"x12" hardback book with some amazing words and pictures.

Not long ago, they released "The New Generation" version with more contemporary artists and actors and I still can't bring myself to accept it. I appreciate that Jeff Wayne might have wanted to try new things or contemporise it for a younger audience, but my two young kids, who are both under 10, and even my eldest who is in his twenties, love the original, not for who the performers are, but for the incredible story and brilliant storytelling. Now, had they released TNG as a 5.1 SACD, I would almost definitely give it a try, but alas, this wasn't to be.

The original is, in my humble opinion, beyond betterment. It is so ingrained in our culture as to transcend many other similar works. And in 5.1 SACD, it has never sounded so good.