DVD/DTS Poll Bjork - Volta [DTS/DD DVD]

[Bob Romano]

Please post your comments, thoughts and observations on Bjork - Volta (DTS/DD DVD-V)...

 

[rusinurbe]

I have listened to this a couple of times now the DTS anyway, I like what i hear, true to Bjorks for Music wise a mix of old and new sounds.
The Mix is good, but what lets this down is:
1) NO true DVDA track (This album could really blow your mind in full Hi Rez)
2) The packaging Who the £*^& thought packing tow discs in flimsy paper sleaves inside a series of interlocking cardboard sleeves and then puting that in a box close by a sticker must need their head examined.

Two marks lost one for each of the above.
9 for the music 7 overall.

 

[neil wilkes]

I could not agree more with what the previous poster has said.
That really does sum this up - perfectly.
The packaging is a complete nightmare, no doubt about it. It really almost encourages users to make, erm, backups. Trying to use just the pressed version will ruin the box in no time at all.
Also, the lack of the HiRez mix is allegedly because Warners refused to go with SACD, and Universal refused to go with DVD-A. From my understanding, the Label had got them both to split the mastering costs - so they "compromised" with lossy encodes.
Someone needs to get in touch with Bjork's management & point out the asininity of this behaviour as this would indeed be stunning in High Rez.

Negatives over now, this really is a great album. No denying it.
The authoring is streets ahead of the appalling "surrounded" box set & the music is superb. The mix is a very aggressive one, and the more I hear it the better it gets - each play seems to reveal things I missed the time before. Top effort, highly recommended.

 

[JonUrban]

OT: Did anyone ever find out why her "brick" was switched from the planned DVD-A to DD DVD-V's? Her own website showed the DVD-A artwork. Was that more UMG vs WB? Seems odd since UMG had already released DVD-Audios (unless they had signed an agreement with Sony that they would stop to get the "aide" on the Eltons & Claptons)

 

[neil wilkes]

Jon.

I am reliably informed it is because of a complete inability of Universal (Sony) and Warners to agree.
The costs of the box set were split between the 2 companies.
Warners wanted DVD-A.
Universal wanted SACD
Neither would back down, so they compromised with DVD-V.
Silly, silly bastards.
What really makes me wonder is why OLI (The Record label) allowed the distributors to dictate release format. The Label - and presumably Bjork - allegedly wanted High Rez. Yet they allowed the distributors to dictate the content.

 

[ssully]

I could not agree more with what the previous poster has said.
That really does sum this up - perfectly.
The packaging is a complete nightmare, no doubt about it. It really almost encourages users to make, erm, backups. Trying to use just the pressed version will ruin the box in no time at all.
Also, the lack of the HiRez mix is allegedly because Warners refused to go with SACD, and Universal refused to go with DVD-A. From my understanding, the Label had got them both to split the mastering costs - so they "compromised" with lossy encodes.
Someone needs to get in touch with Bjork's management & point out the asininity of this behaviour as this would indeed be stunning in High Rez.p

What's it in now, DTS 24/96? If so, it's probably about stunning as it gets.

 

[neil wilkes]

DTS 96/24 is something I cannot make my mind up about.
It uses the exact same bitrate as DTS Core Audio does (1509kbps) so the sole difference has to be in the number of quantization steps.
I think I can hear an improvement - but I am not sure if it is real or imagined.

 

[EMB]

The package is nice to look at...and that's the only good I can say about that... The album is decent--if not great Bjork--but the mix is creative and effective, making it all the more enjoyable. A '7'....

ED

 

[kap'n krunch]

Bought this when it came out in 07 for $29.99 in Best Buy before I had my Quad system.
Yes, she gets weirder every time, but there is a certain charm to her madness and this one is a "return to form" after "Drawing Restraint" which I don't consider a real album anyway..
I love her clichés/style.
Some songs are annoying but others are great.
The DTS sounds great and it is a VERY aggressive mix with plenty of stuff going on in the rears.
The textures of the extended brass section and the crazy Oriental instruments are delightfully panned throughout the bubble.
Yes, the authoring is much better in here than in the Surrounded box set.
I don't give a rat's ass about the packaging, AAMOF, I think it compliments the music perfectly-it's wacky stuff!
Very highly recommended.
A 10 for me.

 

[Chris Gerhard]

I haven't played this one yet although I purchased all of the Björk DualDiscs. I had barely even heard of her before this release so all of the discs are my first experience. It is all a little strange and I was afraid this one is among the strangest so it has been sitting in wait for the right opportunity. I think it will be this week.

Chris

 

[humprof]

Björk has a new podcast where she talks with writer Oddný Eir and musicologist Ásmundur Jónsson about her albums. She gets a little woo-woo in places, as she's wont to do. But it's pretty fascinating. Here's the Volta episode:
https://pod.link/bjork/episode/74966b8c25f88df15b8df42ae29f38a7