Finally got a chance to listen to a few of the DVD-A's I've had piling up in the room downstairs.
George Benson - Breezin' >> WOW! Very clean and an excellent surround mix. It is definately "quad"-ish, with discrete instrument placement, but it is not that "hit you over the head" ping-pong quad that some of you hate, but very nicely done. It sounds full and clear. Sometimes stunning....
Eric Clapton & BB King - Riding with the King >> Another super title. There is quite a bit of activity in the rear, with the guitars of the two gurus clearly defined on each side of the room. Their voices play well against each other, and you can hear every detail of every lick. GREAT! This format rules!!!
Looney Tunes DVD-A >> Forget this one. I do not know WHY I bought it. It must be that same section of my brain that made me buy all of those horrible quad releases of the '70s. (You know, you are looking through some albums, and you went, "O-o-o-h! Look! A "Sounds of the '70" Quad LP! Gotta have that one, it's QUAD!!")
Anyway, the sound effects are VERY discrete, but they are the original mono tracks from the actual cartoons that are panned around the room. The voice overs are (I think) by Mel Blanc Jr, and it is not the same as having his fathers voice do the voices. This one may hold a kids attention for a moment or two, but for us "older" guys, forget it. The nostalga angle does not work. The Carl Stallings music is fine and classic, but as I said, it is mostly mono, so this really belongs on a CD, not a DVD-A.
AS a matter of fact, it should be a DVD-V!! That way, at least there would be moving images to watch.
Beethovens 9th >> WOW AGAIN! OK, I am not "Joe Classical Music". I know very little about it. I first noticed it in the afore mentioned WB cartoons when I was little, and my only other experiece was hearing it in movie soundtracks. (2001, etc.) Well, Beethovens 9th I remembered from Clockwork Orange, and for you old timers, it was the closing music from the Hunkley-Brinkley News on NBC. Anyway, I actually liked this piece, and whenever I heard it I listened.
ANYWAY, this DVD-A is beautiful. It is not so much surround as it is FULL. Does that make sense? There are discernable loctions of instruments, you can pinpoint the timpani and such, but the orchestra just swells up around you. I just stood there and listened and went "Wow, my system sounds good!" If you don't do classical, but are interested, this is a good disc to get, as you WILL recognize the music (esp track 2), and you WILL be impressed.
Later,
:-jon
George Benson - Breezin' >> WOW! Very clean and an excellent surround mix. It is definately "quad"-ish, with discrete instrument placement, but it is not that "hit you over the head" ping-pong quad that some of you hate, but very nicely done. It sounds full and clear. Sometimes stunning....
Eric Clapton & BB King - Riding with the King >> Another super title. There is quite a bit of activity in the rear, with the guitars of the two gurus clearly defined on each side of the room. Their voices play well against each other, and you can hear every detail of every lick. GREAT! This format rules!!!
Looney Tunes DVD-A >> Forget this one. I do not know WHY I bought it. It must be that same section of my brain that made me buy all of those horrible quad releases of the '70s. (You know, you are looking through some albums, and you went, "O-o-o-h! Look! A "Sounds of the '70" Quad LP! Gotta have that one, it's QUAD!!")
Anyway, the sound effects are VERY discrete, but they are the original mono tracks from the actual cartoons that are panned around the room. The voice overs are (I think) by Mel Blanc Jr, and it is not the same as having his fathers voice do the voices. This one may hold a kids attention for a moment or two, but for us "older" guys, forget it. The nostalga angle does not work. The Carl Stallings music is fine and classic, but as I said, it is mostly mono, so this really belongs on a CD, not a DVD-A.
AS a matter of fact, it should be a DVD-V!! That way, at least there would be moving images to watch.
Beethovens 9th >> WOW AGAIN! OK, I am not "Joe Classical Music". I know very little about it. I first noticed it in the afore mentioned WB cartoons when I was little, and my only other experiece was hearing it in movie soundtracks. (2001, etc.) Well, Beethovens 9th I remembered from Clockwork Orange, and for you old timers, it was the closing music from the Hunkley-Brinkley News on NBC. Anyway, I actually liked this piece, and whenever I heard it I listened.
ANYWAY, this DVD-A is beautiful. It is not so much surround as it is FULL. Does that make sense? There are discernable loctions of instruments, you can pinpoint the timpani and such, but the orchestra just swells up around you. I just stood there and listened and went "Wow, my system sounds good!" If you don't do classical, but are interested, this is a good disc to get, as you WILL recognize the music (esp track 2), and you WILL be impressed.
Later,
:-jon
