Official QQ "What's your Go-To Surround Demo Quality DVD-AUDIO"?

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'Nick Of Time' - Bonnie Raitt !

My thanks to Dan for getting me hooked on it and to Gabe for trading with me for a copy.
 
Eagles - Hotel California
Beatles - LOVE
Doors - L.A. Woman
Fleetwood Mac - Rumours
 
I try to pick stuff they like and are familiar with. Among mainstream albums for example Hotel California or Brothers in Arms.

Agree! I try to pick stuff they like and are familiar with. Hotel California seems to fit that bill.
 
#1 and there is no doubt - the Alan Parsons mix of "TDSOTM", exceptional example for reference on how can be done a surround mix. but i'm guess it's doesn't count albeit mix are official and there isn't my fault that PF had ignored my willingness to pay for such DVDA (n)

Renee Fleming (DECCA) - beautiful work and example on how to do capture, mastering and mixing into surround of the classical voc.

pretty much everything that came from AIX Records. seems Mark Waldrep pay huge attention to every of his recording and mixing. not all are my favorites (well, preferences of genres) but all sounds great and i usually use it when have to introduce HR surround to someone
 
In order:
Dire Straits Brothers in arms ("Music for Nothing.." opening 20 seconds.....)
Steely Dan Gaucho
Foreigner 4 Opening of Jukebox Hero with the Bass moving around is outstanding.
 
I have more SACD's then DVD-A but as the thread is about DVD-A
Depeche Mode - Violator
Talking Heads - Fear of Music, Remain in Light
Donald Fagen - Nightfly
 
Beck - Sea Change
Fagen - Kamakriad
Steely Dan - Gaucho
Fagen - Morph the Cat
Flaming lips - Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots
Talking Heads - Brick
 
For a 'modern' recording, I LOVE the DTS Demonstration CD - the very first one they issued that had Seal, Alan Parsons, Shoeless Joe, etc... it's a fantastic introduction to 'modern' surround sound - as is Boyz II Men's DTS CD. For quad stuff, like SQ through the Fosgate Tate II, the CBS "An Introduction To the World Of SQ Quadraphonic Sound" can't be beat. I love it so much I wish I had a DVD-A reel conversion of it!

Also, "Company" can't be beat either - especially for the "on stage with the performers" impression given by the quad mixing.
 
The fagen disc kamakiriad "teahouse on the tracks" is wild. I love the way production paid close atten. to the format, seperation and use of imageing.
and I like the magnification album especially "In the presence of" the last track in that group, hits you in the gut with bass. I suppose you could never achieve that without dvd audio
 
The fagen disc kamakiriad "teahouse on the tracks" is wild. I love the way production paid close atten. to the format, seperation and use of imageing.
and I like the magnification album especially "In the presence of" the last track in that group, hits you in the gut with bass. I suppose you could never achieve that without dvd audio

I once had a visitor get scared when that came up, jumped up startled, "what the F is that!!" My pit bull goes ape shit barking too
 
If my audience expresses no musical style preference, I have four discs that I use to do a quick demo.

1. Gordon Goodwin's Big Phatt Band Swinging For The Fences. (Silverline DVD-Audio).

Amazing recording quality and mix. Somehow a huge big band with horns, woodwinds, guitars, keys, drums and percussion gets mixed without anything getting buried. Individual saxophones stay focused even within a section of saxes.

2. Sacred Feast Directed By Paul Halley Gaudeamus. (DMP SACD).

Recorded at Trinity College Chapel, Hartford, Connecticut, 5/23/1998. Six microphones feed direct to six channels of a Phillips DSD recorder.

The music is pure liturgical vocal music. No instruments other than human voice. The recording somehow brings Trinity Chapel and interposes the hall into my 20 by 12 by 9 foot room.

3. Jen Chapin Revisions (Chesky SACD).

Ms. Chapin covers many of Stevie Wonder's great songs. In my opinion (humble or otherwise), this album has the overall best acoustic bass recording I've ever heard. The instrumentation follows a minimalist presentation that highlights Ms. Chapin's superb vocal range.

4. Herbie Hancock Head Hunters (Sony SACD).

The second track, Watermelon Man has a main theme with eerily immersive wood-pipes, bringing a child-like smile to adult faces. Herbie Hancock embraced surround sound way back in the quad days, so the great mix is no surprise. I also believe that a comprehensive demo should include some well recorded analog material that was recorded on analog.

If my audience wants to hear only classic rock, I start with Gold Dust Woman from Rumors.

Next I play Lazy from the SACD of Machine Head (which is sourced from the quad master).

I finish with Money For Nothing from Brothers in Arms.

After I've played these three tracks, I ask what if any difference they were able to hear between the recordings. Occasionally, someone will say they think that Brothers in Arms was recorded digitally, and the others were analog. No one ever notices that I slipped in a quad recording!

If the request is for newer music, I play some Boz Scaggs' Dig, and a little Guitar Noir by Laurence Juber. Both are really well recorded, and it covers acoustic as well as electric instruments.

I know I'm missing something from this list. I have so much great music to choose from.

Did you ever have to make up your mind? And pick up on one and leave the other behind. It's not often easy and not often kind.

Oh yeah, I remember now. If you come over, I'll play you some John Sebastian.

Steven.
 
I'm going to resurrect my previous thread & say that my Pink Floyd DVD/A, of DSOTM, is REFERENCE quality.
Not available in stores or online; never officially released to my knowledge.
Just listen to "Us & Them"; the Sax sounds like it's in the car; 2012/Acura/TL/SH AWD/Tech/ELS Surround
"Money" is surreal. Anyone who hears this disc is blown away. Don't even have to be a 'Floyd fan.
Clear as day, & great dynamic range
I also have DVD/A copies of WYWH, & The Wall; not as good, but damn well worth a listen
People from Goldmund Audio were mesmerized; couldn't believe an aftermarket disc, blew away the competition
 
BRAIN SALAD SURGERY that was easy last minute if Karnevil 9 3rd movement swirling around your head - Tests surround immediately then toccata to have you gasping for air
BSS also has it all videos Lyrics Picture albums to Demo why DVD-Audios Are better than SACDs
Metallica Black album Enter Sandman will BLOW YOU AWAY this tests some cool surround moments But the SUB-WOOFERS POUNDING AIR out of your lungs
Aqualung - Locomotive Breath to show what every album should sound like
Other demos
My DTS of Alan Parsons is a Demo - I wish I has the PF DSOTM DVD-A - Can anyone help me?
also Bluray of Apollo 13 DTS -MA Liftoff to orbit Shit falls off my neighbors wall now that I added a 2nd SW
 
When demonstrating surround, I try to stack the playback deck in favor of the listener so I try to find something they already like. It helps if they know something well, because then the process of discovery is usually immediate. Having said that, here are some of my go-to tracks:

Beatles - Love (recently Eleanor Rigby)
Queen - a Night on the Opera (Bohemian Rhapsody)
Eagles - Hell Freezes Over (Hotel California)
Jean Michel Jarre - Aero (just let 'er rip!)
Derek & The Dominoes - Box Set Version (Layla)
Genesis - Selling England By The Pound (Firth of Fifth)
Grateful Dead - American Beauty (Friend Of The Devil)
Pink Floyd - Immersion versions - collect them all! (often either version of Welcome to the Machine)

Non DVD-A:
Peter Gabriel - Play (Sledgehammer) DVD-V
The Who - The Kids Are Alright (Bonus track: Who Are You) DVD-V: If you have never found this, you are missing out!
Elton John - Goodbye Yellow Brick Road (Love Lies Bleeding) SACD
Dredg - El Cielo (Brushstroke: dcbtfoabaaposba etc.) SACD
Doobie Brothers - Stampede (I Cheat The Hangman) (DTS from the quad reel)
Nick Drake - A Treasury (Poor Boy) (SACD - not the best surround ever, but I love it)

I am still finding stuff with the help of you and all your recommendations, so I thank you all!

Ken
 
BRAIN SALAD SURGERY that was easy last minute if Karnevil 9 3rd movement swirling around your head - Tests surround immediately then toccata to have you gasping for air
BSS also has it all videos Lyrics Picture albums to Demo why DVD-Audios Are better than SACDs
Metallica Black album Enter Sandman will BLOW YOU AWAY this tests some cool surround moments But the SUB-WOOFERS POUNDING AIR out of your lungs
Aqualung - Locomotive Breath to show what every album should sound like
Other demos
My DTS of Alan Parsons is a Demo - I wish I has the PF DSOTM DVD-A - Can anyone help me?
also Bluray of Apollo 13 DTS -MA Liftoff to orbit Shit falls off my neighbors wall now that I added a 2nd SW


For DSOTM, you just need to BD thats in the box set, that version is MLP and even though there is a dvd a in the set, the BD is the one you want. I had the "Obsolete Production" of it but still the BD is so much better
 
America - Homecoming - "Cornwall Blank"

Pete Townshend Ronnie Lane - Rough Mix - "Good Question" - Bonus Track

Aqualung - "My God" - Bonus Track

Elton John - Tumbleweed Connection - "Madman Acros the Water (Original Version)"- Bonus Track - SACD
 
1. Flaming Lips - Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots pt 1 or Fight Test

2. Foo Fighters - Still or Over and Out

3. Dire Straits - Why Worry

4. Seal - Love's Divine

5. Fleetwood Mac - Never Going Back Again or Silver Springs


If I want to show off some awesome hiphop, then I demo NERD In Search of... Rock Star or Lapdance.


Honorable mentions: Grover Washington Jr - Winelight, anything from Beck's Sea Change,....There is just so much dvd-a goodness. I also think that Snow Patrol's Final Straw is great (How to Be Dead). You can still get the dualdisc for a bargain on amazon. It's a great album.

Basically, I find out what kind of music the person might like and play their taste in music.



I'm still holding out for a dvd-audio revival from the dead! What a great format! Blu-ray concerts are nice and all, but dvd-a is great.
 
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Keep this stuff coming. Let us know which tracks you use, as opposed to the disc name. Sure, it's subjective, but threads like this seem to generate a lot of action and remind folks who may not have played a certain disc for a while about a great track that may have slipped their mind - - - LIKE ME! :)
 
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