........
The sound is sooooo much better than the DD DVD. You can hear the difference within seconds. The DD encoded disk is simply a waste of plastic. I never did listen to more than 10 minutes of it because it sounded so bad. The flac sounds great!
I've listened through the album once. It sounds crisp and clear now. But, the mix is not perfect. The surrounds for the most part aren't very discrete, although they are certainly active. They are mostly used to widen the soundstage, with discrete elements on occasion. But, what was the most odd is that the 5.1 mix is not very true to the stereo mix. Some songs sound quite different. Some vocal layers are totally missing from the 5.1 mix, or at least very quiet. At other times i found the opposite, I hear sounds in the 5.1 mix that don't appear in the stereo mix.
Here is the most obvious example: Listen to the first 2.5 minutes of "The Storm Before the Calm". At about 1:10 you hear the chorus "It's getting colder...". In the stereo mix, this is dominated by Lee Douglas' female vocals, with some processed vocals (likely Vincent) layered underneath. While, on the 5.1 flac, there is a rather unprocessed male vocal singing the chorus. I can't hear Lee's female vocals being used at all. It sounds totally different, like a totally different vocal track. Very odd. I don't remember any 5.1 mix being so different from the stereo mix. It is not bad... just VERY different.
I just checked the DVD, and it is indeed the same mix as the flac.
As others have noted, the LFE track is a bit too strong, which is a little distracting. Not a big deal. I am used to adjusting the subwoofer.
Despite the above "complaints" I think it sounds quite good. I really love the music, and the 5.1 mix is decent, despite being unfaithful to the stereo mix. If you have been delaying buying the Special Edition because of the DD format, go to Burning Shed and buy the flac download. I think it is important that we encourage the release of 5.1 music in any way we can.
Brad