Anyone in the mood for a long post?
I’ve been A/B’ing the SACD the new DVD of “Tubular Bells” to help me decide what I think of the new mix. Truthfully, I don’t have a system that will allow me to quickly switch between the two, so all I could do was to make notes while listening to one, then make more notes while listening to the other, and then compare. Here are some things I noticed.
First., let me mention that my entire system (Pioneer player, RCA amp, JVC satellite speakers and sub) cost less than $500. I know that there is a technical difference between DTS and Dolby Digital, but these differences are not revealed on my system. I really can’t detect much of a difference between the SACD and Dolby Digital for that matter (on a technical level), but I accept that there is one and that I’m either blessed or cursed to have a system like mine. Maybe if I had more than one player and an A/B switch for quick comparisons it would be more obvious.
All that said, most of the time, the center channel balance sounded right to me, though sometimes it jumps out a little too loud. I trust what Neil posted on this subject, but if I turn the center channel down 4 db on my amp, the piano during the first few minutes sounds buried.
Overall, the sound of the DVD is a bit brighter to me. Sometimes that works to the advantage of the mix, sometimes it doesn’t. The glockenspiel during the first few minutes is so bright I can’t detect the actual notes being played. In fact, it sounds like one note. Is that actually a glockenspiel, or some bell-like percussion instrument?
(All times refer to the DVD)
6:07 – the guitars sound much more shrill and harsh on the SACD, so I prefer the DVD for this section
6: 56 – The SACD mix has nothing in the rears during this section. The DVD has the instruments spread all around, but balance is all wrong. I think there may even be some new instruments added (either newly recorded or left out of the original mix). It’s a toss up here. Neither mix gets this exactly right.
7:42 – Mike has mixed this section to reflect the original stereo mix, with the strummed guitars being the most prominent sound. I prefer Tom Newman’s decision in the quad mix to bring out the guitars playing a melody and put the strumming guitars back in the mix. I’ll take the SACD for this section.
11:30 – The bright-sounding keyboard playing the variation of the TB theme is way to loud here on the DVD. Not only do I not like how this sounds, but its entrances and exits sound very abrupt. I also dislike the massive reverb added to the guitars on the last pass of the theme. Gotta take the SACD for this section.
14:18 – The piano continues too loudly into the next section on the DVD for my taste.
15:06 – The SACD quad mix has nothing in the rears except for tambourine in this section. The DVD mix spread everything around, and I prefer it.
17:26 During the entire repeating guitar/bass riff section, the quad mix virtually eliminates the organs which makes this section very boring for me. On the other hand, from this point forward, the organ pedal notes are way too loud. Good thing I’ve got a volume knob on my sub in addition to a volume control for the sub on my amp. Despite that, I’ll take the DVD mix here.
20:25 – the “reed and pipe organ” seems to be a new recording. It sounds completely different than the ones on the original stereo mix and the quad mix (which are each different from each other). This must have been added live during the original mixdown and doesn’t exist on the multitrack tape.
As I mentioned in another post, the recording of the tubular bells on the DVD is different from either the original stereo or quad mix, and to my ear, sounds like a sample. It’s certainly processed oddly if it’s real
The organ pedal tone, as loud as it is, fades gradually on the DVD into the final solo guitar section, but disappears abruptly on the SACD.
The solo guitar at end enters too loudly on the DVD and really sticks out. The quad mix has the solo guitar quieter so it seems to rise gradually out of the other instruments. Score another for the SACD.
And with that, I’m done. It’s late, and I’m too tired to do an A/B comparison of “Part 2.” Maybe tomorrow (if one of you doesn’t beat me to it).
But I’ll make one more observation. I still only hear one distorted guitar, and a Spanish guitar but no acoustic guitar, no matter what Vivian says.
J. D.