HiRez Poll Love and Rockets - SEVENTH DREAM OF TEENAGE HEAVEN [Blu-Ray Audio]

[Fourpointone]

As it happens I accidentally double-ordered this disc and so another one arrived all the way from the US today. (I live in the UK.) This one too is MONO throughout! All stereo and multi-channel tracks are mono only, by which I mean you get an identical track in all channels.

So I now have three of these discs, all of them all mono. They all have the same matrix info, which is follows:

A0102753472-A511 1000
IFPI LY25

If anyone else thinks they have a surround sound version of this disc, I would have to say that either they are encountering a psychoacoustical illusion and it's actually mono, or more likely, they have a disc with a different matrix number.

Please could I appeal to anyone with a functioning copy of this disc to check the matrix number and print it here?

 

[The Rang]

I’ll open up my sealed copy (too late to return to Amazon if there is a problem) this weekend and see what happens

 

[MrSmithers]

They all have the same matrix info, which is follows:

A0102753472-A511 1000
IFPI LY25

If anyone else thinks they have a surround sound version of this disc, I would have to say that either they are encountering a psychoacoustical illusion and it's actually mono, or more likely, they have a disc with a different matrix number.

Please could I appeal to anyone with a functioning copy of this disc to check the matrix number and print it here?

Hey Foupointone,

I have the same number printed on my disc, the first line anyway. And I can definitely confirm I have the surround version! Here's a pic from the first song...

 

[sukothai]

As it happens I accidentally double-ordered this disc and so another one arrived all the way from the US today. (I live in the UK.) This one too is MONO throughout! All stereo and multi-channel tracks are mono only, by which I mean you get an identical track in all channels.

So I now have three of these discs, all of them all mono. They all have the same matrix info, which is follows:

A0102753472-A511 1000
IFPI LY25

If anyone else thinks they have a surround sound version of this disc, I would have to say that either they are encountering a psychoacoustical illusion and it's actually mono, or more likely, they have a disc with a different matrix number.

Please could I appeal to anyone with a functioning copy of this disc to check the matrix number and print it here?

I have the disc - same matrix number, but the waves and sound certainly aren't mono to me. There's not a lot of discreteness, but some here and there. Here's the waves for one of the songs:

 

[LuvMyQuad]

As it happens I accidentally double-ordered this disc and so another one arrived all the way from the US today. (I live in the UK.) This one too is MONO throughout! All stereo and multi-channel tracks are mono only, by which I mean you get an identical track in all channels.

In face of the screenshots above, might we ask how you've determined all the tracks are mono?

 

[Fourpointone]

Thank you very much for helping.

LuvMyQuad, this all started because I was trying to rip the tracks to my PC and DVD Audio Extractor only gives a mono option - not even stereo, let alone multichannel. I ripped the disc and sure enough, got a single mono track.

I then put the disc in my Oppo and the playback appeared to me to be mono, though I was probably suffering from confirmation bias at this point!

I then tried using other software to rip the disc/MTS file but got error messages.

No doubt I am going to end up eating humble pie here but looking at those waveforms above, it does look to me as if FL and FR are identical in the first case and virtually identical in the second case and would therefore sound mono. Same with SL and SR - virtually identical so mono-sounding again, though technically not mono. What's not clear from just looking is whether there is any difference between fronts and rears.

Can anyone suggest a way of ripping the blu-ray to get waveforms like those? Like I say, DVD Audio Extractor (used with AnyDVD) only gives mono and I can't find another way to rip the disc. I have plenty of software here.

 

[MrSmithers]

Thank you very much for helping.

LuvMyQuad, this all started because I was trying to rip the tracks to my PC and DVD Audio Extractor only gives a mono option - not even stereo, let alone multichannel. I ripped the disc and sure enough, got a single mono track.

I then put the disc in my Oppo and the playback appeared to me to be mono, though I was probably suffering from confirmation bias at this point!

I then tried using other software to rip the disc/MTS file but got error messages.

No doubt I am going to end up eating humble pie here but looking at those waveforms above, it does look to me as if FL and FR are identical in the first case and virtually identical in the second case and would therefore sound mono. Same with SL and SR - virtually identical so mono-sounding again, though technically not mono. What's not clear from just looking is whether there is any difference between fronts and rears.

Can anyone suggest a way of ripping the blu-ray to get waveforms like those? Like I say, DVD Audio Extractor (used with AnyDVD) only gives mono and I can't find another way to rip the disc. I have plenty of software here.

I'd try MakeMKV first, backup the disc (check the last decrypt box) and then from the resulting mkv use that in DVD Audio Extractor. I'd also check the settings in DVDAE to make sure you select 'All 6 channels' as you go through. There's an option on that some way through the process I'm sure...

There are vocals in all the channels but I quite like the effect this gives. And there's defo discrete elements used in the rears... Hope you get up and running soon and get to enjoy this disc...

 

[sukothai]

The last track is Mono (it is just a 28 second credits track.) Deselect it and you will get the other options.

 

[LuvMyQuad]

The last track is Mono (it is just a 28 second credits track.) Deselect it and you will get the other options.

That would do it...

 

[Fourpointone]

The last track is Mono (it is just a 28 second credits track.) Deselect it and you will get the other options.

Oh no! I can't believe it was that simple. Yes, the last track is indeed mono and of course DVD Audio Extractor always "dumbs down" to the least good track in the selection so it gave me all of them in mono.

Then, when I played the disc in the Oppo, I could hear no audible separation between left and right and that appeared to confirm that it was mono.

Then, when I tried to rip the MTS file, I got error messages from all the software I tried to use. That must have been because of the odd mono track at the end but it seemed to confirm to me that there was something wrong with the whole disc.

Well, first of all I humbly apologise for making a mistake. This disc is not true mono, except for one short track at the end.

What I would say, though, is that with the greatest respect I have never heard a stereo or multichannel disc with less separation than this and to all intents and purposes, it is mono in terms of separation between left and right. If you listen on headphones, all of the sound is in the centre of your head and there is nothing on either side. The waveforms confirm this.

Now I've been able to rip it in multichannel, I'll do a bit more analysis to see if there's any difference between the fronts and the rears. But I must say when I was listening on my Oppo, it sounded like a mono recording being played back through all four speakers. But I will have another listen.

Very sorry to everyone for making a mistake and getting it wrong.

 

[himey]

Oh no! I can't believe it was that simple. Yes, the last track is indeed mono and of course DVD Audio Extractor always "dumbs down" to the least good track in the selection so it gave me all of them in mono.

Then, when I played the disc in the Oppo, I could hear no audible separation between left and right and that appeared to confirm that it was mono.

Then, when I tried to rip the MTS file, I got error messages from all the software I tried to use. That must have been because of the odd mono track at the end but it seemed to confirm to me that there was something wrong with the whole disc.

Well, first of all I humbly apologise for making a mistake. This disc is not true mono, except for one short track at the end.

What I would say, though, is that with the greatest respect I have never heard a stereo or multichannel disc with less separation than this and to all intents and purposes, it is mono in terms of separation between left and right. If you listen on headphones, all of the sound is in the centre of your head and there is nothing on either side. The waveforms confirm this.

Now I've been able to rip it in multichannel, I'll do a bit more analysis to see if there's any difference between the fronts and the rears. But I must say when I was listening on my Oppo, it sounded like a mono recording being played back through all four speakers. But I will have another listen.

Very sorry to everyone for making a mistake and getting it wrong.

Please don't judge multichannel music and post on a multichannel music forum by only listening to only 2 of the 6 channels! Just like the remarks you have made regarding this excellent release, it is stupid.

 

[Fourpointone]

Please don't judge multichannel music and post on a multichannel music forum by only listening to only 2 of the 6 channels! Just like the remarks you have made regarding this excellent release, it is stupid.

That's not quite right, himey - as I said in previous posts, I played the disc as normal on my Oppo using my normal surround setup (4.1) and this "confirmed" my belief that it was mono.

I've now had a look and listen to the tracks. There is little if any separation between FL and FR on the tracks I've listened to and this is confirmed by the waveforms shown above which are virtually identical in both channels. The rears are mostly just ambient sound - the only reason the rear waveforms look different from the front waveforms in the screenshots shown above is because all the bass, or in some cases the bass and drums, is in the fronts, but otherwise the rears just echo the fronts, which echo each other. Just occasionally you catch a little something that is more in one channel than another but there is very little separation, either between left or right or between front and rear. The only channel that is noticeably different from the others is the centre! But that doesn't produce any left/right separation of course.

Anyway, that's case closed for me and thank you very much again everyone for helping me out. I'm not going to vote on this disc because I've never voted on anything yet and I would like my first vote to be positive and enthusiastic. Obviously a lot of people are enjoying this disc and that's good.

 

[himey]

That's not quite right, himey - as I said in previous posts, I played the disc as normal on my Oppo using my normal surround setup (4.1) and this "confirmed" my belief that it was mono.

I've now had a look and listen to the tracks. There is little if any separation between FL and FR on the tracks I've listened to and this is confirmed by the waveforms shown above which are virtually identical in both channels. The rears are mostly just ambient sound - the only reason the rear waveforms look different from the front waveforms in the screenshots shown above is because all the bass, or in some cases the bass and drums, is in the fronts, but otherwise the rears just echo the fronts, which echo each other. Just occasionally you catch a little something that is more in one channel than another but there is very little separation, either between left or right or between front and rear. The only channel that is noticeably different from the others is the centre! But that doesn't produce any left/right separation of course.

Anyway, that's case closed for me and thank you very again everyone for helping me out. I'm not going to vote on this disc because I've never voted on anything yet and I would like my first vote to be positive and enthusiastic. Obviously a lot of people are enjoying this disc and that's good.

So much I disagree with I will politely move along...

 

[Jeddia]

I'll put this as lightly as possible... What the hell is wrong with you? This is a beautifully mixed disc. One of my top 5. If you can't hear it, your systems sucks or your ears are failing. Incredible mix on this release. Immersive and warm. Absolutely top-notch.

 

[LeperLord]

Thank you for the kind words - you have no idea how much that reading this means to me.

@Jeddia
I know what you mean about "If There's A Heaven Above" - it was perhaps the hardest track to mix out of all of them, and I have often thought it could stand a tweak given a 2 year gap between mixing it & getting the release happening & if I redid it, I would change a couple of things. Hell, I will probably do this anyway & run an extended version. The hard part is that tghere are parts for 3 versions on the same multitrack - the version we know from the UK vinyl, the Canada mix (which is totally different in sound - could it be that this was the version you know as I followed the UK version more than the Canada version but softened those staccato acoustics on the intro a little bit - incidentally, these are not delays but a gated reverb that is sidechained to a muted kick drum on a pre-fade send. There was also the parts for the "God & Mrs Smith" version and the extensions for the 12" mix.
All in all, I will do another couple of versions & try to get Beggars to provide download links for existing customers.
Re "Ball Of Confusion", the possibility to redo the 12" UK mix is indeed there - and again, I followed the single edit for this and not the UK or US 12" mixes, both of which are quite different so that again might explain the differences you (correctly) point out.
On Dog-End, so much of the tracking has been heavily layered and it was a bit of a fight with all the different parts, and I definitely wanted this to be reminiscent of a house falling on you and am really, seriously pleased that you liked it.
I also took a few liberties - the original stereo was very 80's in sound & I tried to bring it a little more up to date by losing some of the reverb washes that John A Rivers - who was a huge help to me in providing little clues & tricks he had pulled - had done on the original and strove for clarity as much as I could.
Saudade - this is a portugese word describing an emotional state somewhere between deep melancholy & nostalgic reverie, and as such would not have suited an aggressive mix.

I would love to do "Express" - that is a much more aggressive album (although with it's subtle moments like the acoustic version of "An American Dream", "All In My Mind" and "Love Me") with cracking tracks like "Kundalini Express" and ""Yin & Yang" - the USA version of "Ball Of Confusion" is included in the recent remastered version and for some reason "Lucifer Sam" was previously associated with "Express" rather than "Seventh Dream" even though the multitracks are in the "Seventh Dream" reels.

Please spread the word with this one - Beggars want to do more but the accountants are insisting on seeing how this one goes first.

Now the end of June cannot come fast enough.Thats when my surround system is delivered

As many as there are in surround so far i am certain this will be a fave

IMHO all classic tracks on this gem.

i would love for there to be more from this genre

Maybe even some David J

Cheers

 

[LeperLord]

I gave this a 9. It felt as though the first song was really testing my tweeters, but the rest of the songs sound as good as I remember, with the addition of surround. And I really appreciate the addition of "Ball of Confusion" as a bonus track.

Now that my palate has been whetted with this album in 5.1, I hope to be able to spend my money on Express and Love And Rockets! And then, since we're talking about the Beggars Banquet label, how about remixing some of these from my library in surround; Pixies, Dead Can Dance, Peter Murphy, Bauhaus, Gary Numan and Ratatat. Please!

BTW - I was able to get my disk on Amazon.

"Pixies, Dead Can Dance, Peter Murphy, Bauhaus, Gary Numan and Ratatat. "

What a fantasy right there mate

Esp DCD,Numan and Bauhaus

 

[LeperLord]

ohhh, this one is a classic!!!
Wish we could get Swami Wilkes to mix some Cocteau Twins in MCH!!!!!

"
Cocteau Twins in MCH!!!!!


"

HELL YES!!!!!

Imagine Liz voice and that bands heavenly sound in surround

 

[Tres Discrete]

Just got this...more L&R please

 

[C.C. 95]

A) it's great they did this
B) Very surprised they didn't do EARTH, SUN, MOON instead (since it was their "breakthrough" record).
C) Still, I would much rather have TONES ON TAIL in 5.1 (IMO The better post-Bauhaus band).

 

[haikubass]

A) it's great they did this

Good news - at least 4 more mixes are on their way!