DVD/DTS Poll Magenta - Metamorphosis Collection [DD DVD+CD]

[LizardKing]

Good try! I know Rob Reed (Magenta) is a big surround fan and most of their work sounds pretty good too (not brickwalled), so I think there's a good chance he'd be up for this if it's financially viable.

If you are keen - flick a message to them also - can't hurt trying...

The Dolby Digital sounds like it suffers from the "dialnorm" issue - its a bit center channel heavy to me...another reason for a hi-rez FLAC...

 

[LizardKing]

Got this recently - looks like its hard to get now....

FYI - I've just sent an e-mail to [email protected] asking if they can make a hi-rez download of this available....

Hi

I recently purchased all of the Magenta DVDs with 5.1 Dolby Digital mixes (Chameleon, Seven and Metamorphosis) – which I really like .

I’d really prefer a better quality sound (hi-rez) version of these made available.

Is there any chance of offering a higher quality download – perhaps via a FLAC 5.1 download??

An example of this is the recent Anathema album which you can get as a download from Burning Shed here:
https://www.burningshed.com/store/24/product/436/3813/

I’d be willing to purchase 5.1 download these were made available ….

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It can't hurt trying!!!

I just got this response back:

Hi Mike ​

Its something we're looking into.​

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Dolby Digital is the easiest and cheapest to put out.​

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We are almost certainly going to use DTS on future surround mixes.​

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The downloads is something we're looking at.​

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Glad that you like the 5.1 mixes, its something that we wish would catch on as its a great format for prog rock​

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Thanks again​

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Magenta

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Sounds promising.....on the DTS front and for downloads....

 

[LivingForever]

Cool! Good to know they're thinking about it...

I will be seeing Magenta live in London in a few weeks' time, if I manage to speak to Rob I'll ask him in person.

 

[LizardKing]

More follow-up - Sounds hopeful for a download.....

I had to correct him about DVD-Audio though :

Sent: Thursday, 7 June 2012 10:45 a.m.
To: Magenta catalog [[email protected]]


FYI - Actually DVD-Audio doesn't require a special disc.. but does require special authoring.

Cheers
Mike
________________________________________
From: Magenta catalog [[email protected]]
Sent: Thursday, 7 June 2012 9:16 a.m.
To: Mike .....
Subject: Re: Receipt for Your Payment to tigermoth productions

Hi Mike
DVD-Audio needs to be pressed on a special disk, I Think.
Where DTS and DOLBY can go on a normal DVD.
Its all about cost really.
I think download would be the answer.
Its just that its a small market ….BUT something we love doing
Magenta


On 6 Jun 2012, at 21:57, Mike wrote:

> Thanks
>
> More albums with 5.1 would be great! Any ETA?
>
> DTS would be better, but i'd personally prefer a DVD-Audio with hi-resolution lossless audio, or a Hi-rez download...
>
> Regards
> Mike
​

 

[Neil Palfreyman]

Let me start this review by putting my cards on the table and stating that I've been a huge Magenta fan since discovering them around 2006 (acoustic gig, supporting Pendragon I think.) I have since collected everything they have ever produced, have seen them live numerous times and got to know them quite well too.

I should also add that they're another band that I loved long before I discovered that they, or rather Rob Reed (the musical genius behind the band) were keen on surround sound. So I was near ecstatic to discover that they had brought a version of Metamorphosis out in 5.1 To be honest this was an album that I found quite hard to get into and it didn't fully click into place until I saw them play most of it live at a gig many years ago. From that moment on I rate the album as one of their best. Rob is clearly a huge fan of Yes and much of his earlier work pays very close homage to that band. Metamorphosis is a different beast; the influences are there but this is absolutely all Rob Reed, though it's clearly something Yes could have produced had they carried on writing good material

My biggest single comment on this album is don't be put off by the fact that it's only DD The mix is absolutely staggering. The channels are very discrete, very clear and make phenomenal use of the surround field - the instrumentation/vocals are meticulously placed, without being in any way gimmicky. It's easily the best DD I have heard by a country mile - I have no idea how Rob has pulled this off. In my opinion the guy is up there with the great Mr Wilson in terms of his understanding of how surround should be mixed and used for complex music. We have everything in this album; drum rolls that pan, guitars and synths doubled across channels, layered vocals, delay effects in the surround field and it's all done to fit perfectly with the phrasing/feel of the songs. Pure magic.

My rating is a very, very solid nine and I have marked it down only because there's no hi-rez format and, actually, I feel very stingy doing even that!

To close; I really, really hope Rob continues his commitment to surround mixes. To my knowledge he's done 5 titles in surround to date: Three Magenta studio albums: this one, the re-issue of "Seven" and the "Chameleon Project", the live DVD "Magenta Live at Real World" (which also includes a bonus 5.1 mix of "Joe" from the album "Home") and, of course, the incredible Kompendium (which is in 24/96) In my opinion all are top quality and are worthy additions to any surround collection.

 

[grill]

FYI
http://www.amazon.fr/gp/offer-listing/B001TYFTGG/ref=dp_olp_new?ie=UTF8&condition=new

 

[Neil Palfreyman]

Yes, that's the DVD that the review is based on - good to see it's still available in some places. btw don't let the cover put anyone off either; it's *not* metal (not that there's anything wrong with metal!) - it's "classic" Prog.

 

[Ge Someone]

This is one of the few discs where I feel a need to twiddle my receivers settings in order to get some better low end. That said, it is a record I like and the surround mix of the (long) title track is great. The rest is OK. There's also hours of extras, like analyzing the multi tracks, making of etc.
One of the reasons this has to be turned up a lot is because the dialog normalization (a Dolby thing) is wrong. This makes it 7 dB quieter on a set that obeys that parameter (mine does, I sometimes wish it could be ignored).
All in all, still recommended for lovers of progish material.

 

[paligap]

I like this disc, but I also have to turn it up at least 10 db higher than my other discs.

 

[MIDIQ]

I like this one quite a lot. Great music and great mix. Ivote 9.

 

[AYanguas]

I see Magenta:Metamorphosis (Special edition CD+DVD) by £10.00 in tigermothshop store:
Magenta : Metamorphosis

But now also Metamorphosis – Magenta (5.1 FLAC) download from IAA by $17.99 USD:
Metamorphosis - Magenta (5.1 FLAC)

Would the 5.1 mix would be the same in both offers?

Any quality differences apart from the DD from DVD and possibly losless from FLAC 5.1?

 

[AYanguas]

I see Magenta:Metamorphosis (Special edition CD+DVD) by £10.00 in tigermothshop store:
Magenta : Metamorphosis

But now also Metamorphosis – Magenta (5.1 FLAC) download from IAA by $17.99 USD:
Metamorphosis - Magenta (5.1 FLAC)

Would the 5.1 mix would be the same in both offers?

Any quality differences apart from the DD from DVD and possibly losless from FLAC 5.1?

Asked on tigermothshop and Rob confirmed that "both are the same mix…just different formats…"

 

[madscot]

I got this yesterday, am on my 3rd listen now, I saw this on ebay for £4.99 and took a chance knowing i’d probably like it, considering it’s DD it sounds great, the music is right up my street, it goes from gentle prog (Mike Oldfield) to quite heavy on a couple of occasions, a very easy 9 for me. I am enjoying it so much i’ve just bought a Robert Reed solo album (Sanctuary part II) in 5.1 as well