DVD/DTS Poll Rush - Snakes And Arrows [DD/PCM 96/24 DVD]

QuadraphonicQuad

Help Support QuadraphonicQuad:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Rate the Audio-DVD of Rush - SNAKES AND ARROWS


  • Total voters
    40
I really can't understand all the stink in this thread about how bad it is...

OK, so I'm a freak and find this MVI (OK, the format DOES stink) VERY satisfying...

Very good mix, not terribly active in the rears , but up there- a 9 for me...hey, the Yes Fragile SUCKS compared to this (yes, I'll get flak for this, but you are a very cool bunch, I don't care...) :=)

Cheers!
 
I (unfortunately) prefer the stereo mix. (n)

I just can't listen to the Dolby Digital. Older Rush is much better than this also. The one thing I do like is shipping MP3s on the disc so you can copy this to your i-Pod, but even better would be a CD/DVD-A combo :D
 
I can't believe I haven't voted in this Poll. I'll have to give it another listen and place my vote. I don't remember it being a terrible surround mix like the low ratings depicted here. I mean, it's all over the place! :mad:@:

Edit: I had a chance to listen to this disc. Now I know why I listened to it a couple of times after it first came out, then put it away. Most of it sounds like they mixed it to two-channel high resolution and flipped the DPL switch. Overall, I give it a 5. Most of the tracks are quite decent.
 
Last edited:
Well...the music is not that badly mixed..
IT'S THE VOCALS that are "warbled"...WTF????

They get vocals wrong sometimes. I don't get it. Look at the "Quadrophenia" tracks as well. I think the actual instrumental mixes are quite good there, but the vocal is mixed in so widely that it just kills it.
 
I'm listening to the surround mix of S&A as I tap this out on my phone. :)

I'm listening to the disc via a Pioneer DV-757Ai into a Sony STR DB-1080 using the 5.1 analogue outs on the Pioneer. Not awesome kit but all my Porky Tree DVD-A discs sound great (as do SW's solo releases).

S&A in surround is very full-on right from the start. I'm definitely finding that there has been little use of dynamic range in this Rush release. Bit of a shame. When I listen to their older stuff, I always want to keep turning it up, but with this release I find my ears getting tired and I want to turn it down. I know this is a rock album, but a band of Rush's experience and stature don't need to compress their dynamic range and blaze away the whole time. I'd love to hear more subtlety in these songs.

Geddy's vocal is much less than crisp and clear on many of the tracks. Wish the surround channels had been used to better effect with the harmony vocals instead of sticking them all over the main vocal.

There's a lot of richness in the sound of the bass and drums. I like that but it does get a little "swampy".

Overall, I gave it a 5. I'd like to have found a more interesting and involving use of the 5.1 mix. It could have really opened up the sound of the recording over and above the stereo mix but it doesn't.

I enjoyed the video diary on the making of the album which is partly why I gave the disc a 5 seeing that it was really the only major benefit to already having S&A on CD. Perhaps that was a bit harsh but the trouble is, once you know what is possible with a 5.1 mix anything which hasn't been given much attention is going to be a bit of a let down.

Come on Rush! Give us a glorious 5.1 version of Clockwork Angels and all will be forgiven.
 
The last 3 Rush studio albums have been problematic for me: great music, but poor fidelity. I purchased Vapor Trails Remixed hoping to get some improvement In sound quality (which it achieved to a small degree) and now I've purchased this disc hoping for the same... And again there's been a little improvement. The surround mix provides slightly more separation, but overall there's still a "muddy" sound quality. The surround mix is mostly extended stereo, but there are enough moments of activity in the surrounds to remind you that someone is actually at the mixing board. Overall, this is an improvement over the stereo version (unlike The Signals DVD which is actually worse). I give it a 6.
 
MVI... uuuggghhh. Like listening underwater.

Mix: 3 (yes, it could be more imaginative, but at least we could the toms wrapping around the room, which is what we want when listening to The Professor, isn't it?)
Sonics: 1 (Dullby)
Music: 2 (Should have stopped at LP length, like all Rush records - too much filler)
Package value: 0

Sorry, 6 is as high as Baggy can go. He love some Rush. Please release on BD-A.
 
MVI... uuuggghhh. Like listening underwater.

Mix: 3 (yes, it could be more imaginative, but at least we could the toms wrapping around the room, which is what we want when listening to The Professor, isn't it?)
Sonics: 1 (Dullby)
Music: 2 (Should have stopped at LP length, like all Rush records - too much filler)
Package value: 0

Sorry, 6 is as high as Baggy can go. He love some Rush. Please release on BD-A.

Just curious, what do you consider about this album to be 'filler'? For me, most of my interest in the album drops off after Track 7, but I do like Track 9 though ("Faithless").
I must admit. As much as I love "Far Cry", they played that song WAY too much on tour since 2008. "Workin' Them Angels" is far-and-away the best song on the album IMHO, but I also really enjoyed how they brought back "The Main Monkey Business" on the R40 tour. A very underrated instrumental from them IMHO.
I hardly ever play this DVD because the Dolby encoding makes Chycki's already bad mix sound even more like crap. Not recommended unless you really are a diehard RUSH fan.
 
Just curious, what do you consider about this album to be 'filler'? For me, most of my interest in the album drops off after Track 7, but I do like Track 9 though ("Faithless").

Larger (toilet) Bowl, Bravest Face, Good News First... Ugh. Just Ugh.
At least the MVI features a glitchless version of We Hold On, which is flawed on the CD, Vinyl & mp3 versions. The 5.1 and hi-res 2.0 are glitchless, though the last cymbal strike of WHO is cut off prematurely on the 2.0.
 
Larger (toilet) Bowl, Bravest Face, Good News First... Ugh. Just Ugh.
At least the MVI features a glitchless version of We Hold On, which is flawed on the CD, Vinyl & mp3 versions. The 5.1 and hi-res 2.0 are glitchless, though the last cymbal strike of WHO is cut off prematurely on the 2.0.

Yeah, you're right. "The Larger Bowl" is not one of their better tracks from their later years.
 
Although only stereo, the new remaster from last year sounds excellent. The hi res download came with the vinyl release.
 
I don't know what to say anymore...
Last night I felt like "Working them angels" from this disc and I put it and...
heeeeeyyyyy...it sounded quite good, AAMOF , it sounded REALLY good...there is a lot of stuff on the rears and the voice is not garbled...
Mind you, since it's Dullbee, the overall quality(sic) is null, it's like listening to an mp3 at 128 in surround. If it had been released on DTS or HI Rez, that would've been the bee's knees.

I think that there has to be a special setting in your system to make it sound better- as the previous posters have pointed out, you have to have your player outputting it in a specific way to hear it correctly (bitstream and not PCM , or is it vice versa? I forget....).

I see I gave it a 10, I'm sure I had found the correct way to play it...I'd give it a 9 now , though...
 
Mix: 2. Richard "Arch" Chycki's mixes have been a mixed bag over the years, but I find this to be one of his better ones. Some nice discrete moments, decently balanced with the front-centric main elements after turning up the surrounds by 2.5dB.

Fidelity: 1. Unfortunately, the mix and/or mastering are quite loud, with little dynamic variation at all, and far too much sub-bass (I turned my subwoofer down 4dB to compensate!). This mirrors the original stereo CD mastering, so I guess I shouldn't be surprised. I'm sure the lossy Dolby data compression doesn't help, either.

Content: 2. It's not Rush's greatest album, and it may be a bit on the long side, but I still enjoy it quite a bit (and much more than the followup Clockwork Angels). Nick "Booujze" Raskulinecz's production really helped to revitalize Rush as a band. The bonus documentary was a decent watch and Neil's album writeup was a great read.

Packaging: 1. Simple, with a secure tray for the disc and liner notes. I'm sure it was priced reasonably when new, too.

Total: 6
 
Back
Top