As for the Sector Box Set , dude, READ THE DESCRIPTION BEFORE YOU BUY IT..buyer beware...there was NO MENTION ANYWHERE that ALL the ALBUMS were gonna be in Surround...
You sound like one of those reviewers in Amazon that SLAMS the product just cause they couldn't be bothered to READ!!!!!
Don't like it??? --SEND IT BACK!!!!
(wah wah wah)
The description did mention only one album mixed in surround but strongly suggested the stereo mixes from all 5 were in HD on the DVD. In fact, only the one stereo mix was included in HD as well. And... it was clearly the master intended to be used for the CD version. It was brick-walled like you would expect for a 16 bit portable release. They just gave you the files before they down sampled them to 44.1k and reduced the bit depth to 16 bit. Pretty insulting IMHO and it was enough for Amazon to refund me and allow a return. That added to the bad attitude.
Did I kind of suspect such a thing from the description? Sure. But I was interested enough to hear the 5.1 mix (AFTK is one of my favorites) to spend a little too much for a release with a bunch of 16 bit CDs thrown in. They crossed the line pretty badly unfortunately. I expected the same or better fidelity in the digitized stereo mixes vs. the vinyl - not a downgrade reissue.
What can I say... I love surround sound. I think any authentic mix with the right aesthetic done in surround is better than stereo every time. It doesn't have to be perfect Alan Parsons or Steve Wilson level work every time either. But I absolutely prefer an original mix done by the band/engineer during the period regardless of format vs a remix is done long after the fact and especially when it's done just to fit a newer format. (Wilson's remixes are an anomaly. The man has the perception to get all the nuances of the original that were done right into the remix and more or less 'finish' the thing with the same aesthetic as the original mix. I'm not sure if I've ever heard that pulled off before and especially with such nuanced material as he's working with.)
The stereo mixes on my vinyl copies have far more fidelity and depth and reveal much more of the music that these 5.1 remixes. And it's not subtle!
I prefer mono mixes to stereo in similar situations too. I wish every last recording ever made could be presented in surround sound but I'll take the better mix regardless of format. I can't listen to a surround mix that sounds smaller and lower fidelity than a stereo mix. I'm extremely easy to please with surround offerings but only up to that point.
I will say that these surround mixes (all the Rush 5.1 remixes) are very much better than the circa early 2000's intern mixes on many DVDA discs where they did basically a crude stereo mix up front, awkward heavy reverb in the rears, and an awkwardly isolated vocal in the center. It's just that the bar was already set pretty high with the original stereo mixes and they missed it by quite a lot here. I'd agree that this disc sounds better than any of the 16 bit CD releases of this album but that isn't really saying much.
Caress - Pictures are some of my favorite albums. This was a big letdown. 2112 was no different either. Tried to listen to it multiple times and never got more than 5 minutes in with the clumsy balance issues that were going on. Just stepped on...
Apparently I'm in the minority on this one.
Only ever heard Rush after the fact on CD? Yeah... this release is better than that. But if you have the analog releases, you may be just as disappointed. HD and surround releases should be held to a higher standard.