HiRez Poll Beatles, The - Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band [BluRay]

[rusinurbe]

Just listening to this today for the first time in probably 3 years thank you BBC4 for repeating a documentary on the album.
I was very disappointed with this at the time mainly because Love had spoilt us.
It's better than I remember, though I do still think more liberty's could have been taken with the surrounds. The album deserved to be built with homage to the stereo mix rather than mono.
Enjoyable all the same

 

[Shikoku]

Review #4

Again, another super late post on a 5.1 release...

PACKAGING
EU edition. Loved the way the whole things looks like an EMI tape reel box (Nice!), the LP like sleeve to hold the CDs/BR, the bonus inserts (the Mr. Kite poster...Should I frame this?), and the book are all classic!! Not a big fan of the 3D box sleeve though. Once a few beers are kicked back, it's tough to pop that puppy back onto that heavy box.

CONTENT
The 5.1 BR was filled with a variety of stuff. Aside from the 5.1/ stereo version, the videos were not especially new but were great to have in the set. The remastered mono disc was perfect. However, I haven't compared the Sgt Pepper box mono with the mono box version (Same? Different?) The bonus discs were good (but sparse). More of the sessions could have been included. The Strawberry Fields sessions alone could fill a complete disc.

Afterthought: Is it me, or are all the menus on the Beatle box sets annoying? I prefer simple bottom screen menus were you can navigate to tracks, audio, extras.

5.1 + FIDELITY
Of the 3 big box sets, like some, I felt this one was the weakest in terms of 5.1. I put it back on today and tried to listen to it with different ears. It's interesting that the 1st two tracks are very concert hall/live based and tend to dominate the front speakers on my set up...much like some live 5.1s or some concert pieces. Then "Lucy in the Sky" hits and boom! 5.1 fun!! The tracks that worked well for me in terms of good 5.1 were things like:

*Lucy in the Sky
*Fixing a Hole
*Mr. Kite
*Within, Without You
*Lovely Rita
*Day in the Life

These tended to be the more trippy tracks as well. For me, the other tracks weren't bad, just I was expecting more. They didn't need to go all Flaming Lips with the entire mix, just a bit more punch in the rears at times would have been welcomed and a tad more bass.

All my 5.1 drivel aside, the fidelity was really wonderful. I personally enjoyed the vocals a great deal throughout the disc. Basically, each track seemed to have a different auditory feel to it.

SCORE
7.5

 

[artwwweb]

Apologies if this has already been posted (I tried searching), but here's a link to a review of the Atmos mix of Sgt Pepper. https://www.soundandvision.com/content/sgt-pepper-meets-dolby-atmos.

While looking for that, I also came across this good article about the stereo and 5.1 mixing of Pepper. Inside Track: Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band

Note also that the screen grabs in the second article, which show the multi-tracks used in detail, can be downloaded as hi-res images so you can read the text - see the download link under the media section at the end of the article. (I didn't realise until I'd already struggled to read the lower res versions!)

 

[tezzalavell]

SGT PEPPER REMIX . I ripped my Bluray . Did some minor remixes on the surrounds and increased the levels. Added Penny Lane after LSD and Strawberry Fields after Lovely Rita. Made a 15 track album. Put the 96/24 WAV files on a USB stick plugged it into my receiver and WOW WOW.
Poor Martin Jnr only had 4 tracks of purity to mix with . Feel a bit sorry for Him !!
I now have a beautifully balanced very immersive , active rears 15 track complete Sgt. Peppy .
The music was never an issue !
Everything is now a 10 10 10 .
Do the same and Enjoy what is and always will be the pinnacle of Music!

 

[tezzalavell]

SGT PEPPER REMIX . I ripped my Bluray . Did some minor remixes on the surrounds and increased the levels. Added Penny Lane after LSD and Strawberry Fields after Lovely Rita. Made a 15 track album. Put the 96/24 WAV files on a USB stick plugged it into my receiver and WOW WOW.
Poor Martin Jnr only had 4 tracks of purity to mix with . Feel a bit sorry for Him !!
I now have a beautifully balanced very immersive , active rears 15 track complete Sgt. Peppy .
The music was never an issue !
Everything is now a 10 10 10 .
Do the same and Enjoy what is and always will be the pinnacle of Music!

As a further comment to the above it is a not in anyway an attempt to distort voting . It would have got a 10 from me anyway ( all you had to do was raise the surround levels on your RX) . After a careful bit of remixing and adding of tracks I would give it a 15 if I could !!

 

[JediJoker]

Poor Martin Jnr only had 4 tracks of purity to mix with . Feel a bit sorry for Him !!

He did not. He was able to go back to the pre-bounced masters rather than the final 4-track that was used at mixdown for the original mixes. This is well documented and discussed ad nauseam here on QQ (and elsewhere).

 

[ar surround]

Did some minor remixes on the surrounds and increased the levels.

I'm curious as to what kind of minor remixing you did on the surrounds. Also, how much did you increase the levels of the surrounds? I went with the generally consensus of 3dB, but I think that I should have gone to 4dB for my tastes / system.

 

[tezzalavell]

I'm curious as to what kind of minor remixing you did on the surrounds. Also, how much did you increase the levels of the surrounds? I went with the generally consensus of 3dB, but I think that I should have gone to 4dB for my tastes / system.

Thx for asking a non acidic question. I looked at each song separately obviously , in audition . Sgt P was the worst as far as active rears . So I isolated the guitar solo to the level of the fronts , hard limited a tad so as to increase both surrounds about 5db . The other tracks were mainly low rear issues. I did selective instrument level increases where possible so as not to affect the overall sound. In the main though I hard limited the rears as much as I thought I could get away with and upped the levels between 3 and 5db which increased activity and immersion and made for a much more enjoyable listen . The hard limiting gives a lot more scope for manoeuvrability either upping the rears the same level or different levels based upon whether you want to increase a specific sound. I appreciate you asking

 

[Strilo]

Any chance of getting a list of specific changes you made? I'd love to play around with this a bit myself.

 

[tezzalavell]

Any chance of getting a list of specific changes you made? I'd love to play around with this a bit myself.

Hi , sorry but I just did it adhoc never wrote anything down more or less did what i said on the previous post. I think maybe you have taught me a lesson for the future . I should have written down the adjustments to every song ( as I altered all on rear levels and made minor adjustments to instruments ) in case I had to go back to something .
Sorry again

 

[fredblue]

..i ummed and ahh'd so much over the 5.1 on this one back when it first came out (was it really 3+ years ago already!?) to such an extent i didn't even vote (!) well procrastination no longer will ye be the thief of time (insert drum roll )
for having revisited it after a wee while since last listen and factored in all the usual things we all do when voting in these QQ Polls, i hereby award this title a considered (and imho quite respectable) "8". i thank you

 

[Mistee]

Decided to go back and get this as I discovered I was looking forward to the Revolver box set (but that's another story now, as we know). Anyway, my expectations weren't very high at all when I played it last night (the DTS option). I was expecting it to sound like one of those utterly sad concert hall mixes with mostly ambience in the rears. So I was very pleasantly surprised to find it's so so much better than that, and I'm really enjoying it. And Ringo's drumming - how great that sounds!

As I've never owned the album (being a child when they split, I was always more into their solo stuff), I'm also enjoying the songs I don't know that well or at all, (e,g. Fixing a Hole, She's Leaving Home, Within You, Without You, Getting Better...). And how great that they also surround mixed Strawberry Fields Forever and Penny Lane! I'm a big Todd Rundgren fan, so I know Strawberry Fields really well from his terrific Faithful album (yes, that really is where I first heard that song and so probably still my preferred version), and now I see just how faithful he was to the original.

And the presentation is terrific too. Like I've heard from others, you can't help be worried that they've accidentally sent you the vinyl version when you first open the box. Especially as the discs packaging is in shrink wrap (as well as the book), a nice touch.

I'm looking forward to playing the CDs at some point, but for now I'll happily keep playing the bluray.

Oh, and therefore, I'm giving this a big fat ten.

 

[ar surround]

Decided to go back and get this as I discovered I was looking forward to the Revolver box set (but that's another story now, as we know). Anyway, my expectations weren't very high at all when I played it last night (the DTS option). I was expecting it to sound like one of those utterly sad concert hall mixes with mostly ambience in the rears. So I was very pleasantly surprised to find it's so so much better than that, and I'm really enjoying it. And Ringo's drumming - how great that sounds!

As I've never owned the album (being a child when they split, I was always more into their solo stuff), I'm also enjoying the songs I don't know that well or at all, (e,g. Fixing a Hole, She's Leaving Home, Within You, Without You, Getting Better...). And how great that they also surround mixed Strawberry Fields Forever and Penny Lane! I'm a big Todd Rundgren fan, so I know Strawberry Fields really well from his terrific Faithful album (yes, that really is where I first heard that song and so probably still my preferred version), and now I see just how faithful he was to the original.

And the presentation is terrific too. Like I've heard from others, you can't help be worried that they've accidentally sent you the vinyl version when you first open the box. Especially as the discs packaging is in shrink wrap (as well as the book), a nice touch.

I'm looking forward to playing the CDs at some point, but for now I'll happily keep playing the bluray.

Oh, and therefore, I'm giving this a big fat ten.

You might be aware Mistee that most members prefer this album with the fronts reduced by -3dB (some go to -4dB) to achieve a more balanced and immersive mix. If you haven't already done so, please give it a try as it makes the 5.1 a much more enjoyable listen.

 

[Mistee]

You might be aware Mistee that most members prefer this album with the fronts reduced by -3dB (some go to -4dB) to achieve a more balanced and immersive mix. If you haven't already done so, please give it a try as it makes the 5.1 a much more enjoyable listen.

Thanks. I'm not sure how to do that, but I appreciate your letting me know! Since my previous post, I have discovered the videos also have 5.1 audio options, not that I've checked them out yet. Those thoughtful additions are always important, I think, and contribute to listeners deciding to give a high overall rating.

 

[austinsignal]

I'm very new to the forum - so this may have been posted before, but I couldn't find it. Fun reading if you're into such things... Making of Sgt. Pepper remix

 

[mikusguitarius]

I'm very new to the forum - so this may have been posted before, but I couldn't find it. Fun reading if you're into such things... Making of Sgt. Pepper remix

Welcome!! And thanks for the link

 

[Mistee]

I'm very new to the forum - so this may have been posted before, but I couldn't find it. Fun reading if you're into such things... Making of Sgt. Pepper remix

Yes, thank you. I've not long ago bought this box set (in readiness for the new Revolver, hah! - we all know how that worked out), and it's still in high rotation for me. The article looks great. I'll print it off and pop it in the box set.

 

[shokhead]

I've played this disc every which way. It's just ok, gave it a disappointing 6. If they do MMT I sure hope it's better.

 

[THX1136]

Just listening to this today for the first time in probably 3 years thank you BBC4 for repeating a documentary on the album.
I was very disappointed with this at the time mainly because Love had spoilt us.
It's better than I remember, though I do still think more liberty's could have been taken with the surrounds. The album deserved to be built with homage to the stereo mix rather than mono.
Enjoyable all the same

When I read your comment it made me smile. I bought the album in mono back in 67 as I did not have a stereo to play it on; only my mom's old portable record player with what was most likely a very heavy tonearm and a non-flexible stylus (didn't want to damage the stereo vinyl and trash it). When I finally heard the stereo mix I was wondering "Why did they leave out this part? Why did they mix that at a lower level? Why did they change GMGM? etc. I really didn't like the stereo at all since so much stuff (in my mind) had been omitted or altered from what I knew. Now it's quite all right. I still prefer the mono mix, but I enjoy the stereo too. I'm certain the multi-channel version would be enjoyable also (still haven't heard that).

Also, anyone that can hear a difference of 1dB in level has my total respect (sincerely). For me it has to be a 2dB difference for me to hear it. Cool stuff, eh?

 

[Doug G.]

I have a similar story in that I still had my Voice of Music mono record player I got for Christmas in 1956, in 1967, so I bought the mono version and later I got the stereo version. We had stereos in the house but...The difference is, I was in awe of the stereo version right off the bat but then again, I have always liked stereo compared to mono.

The sad part of this is I loaned my mono version to my cousins and it came back with all kinds of little scratches on it like they left it laying around and moved it around. I never loaned them another record.

I love the Blu-Ray and the sessions CD's, especially the instrumental part of "With a Little Help From My Friends" where it is there, by itself, prominent, instead of being down in the mix. Pretty magical.

Doug