Pink Floyd - "Animals" 5.1 Surround Sound Mix (Blu-Ray & SACD editions out in September 2022!)

[~dave~~wave~]

Now that we've all bought it, more YouTube hype will premier in about 23 hours.

Video now active.
Two minutes only with comments from the Big Three.
Interesting stills of them in the new Britannia Row studio.
Where Gilmour states there were "teething problems."

 

[JohnN]

Should I be concerned that my disc has a porcupine on it?

Just beware man.

Dogs of war and men of hate
With no cause, we don't discriminate

 

[jaypfunk]

Here's another Doc from 3 weeks ago.


and another from 4 weeks ago


Posting in case anyone missed the older ones, I did. It annoys me that they don't just put them out all at the same time together.

 

[ergalthema]

I listened to this last night. It's the most I've enjoyed a surround mix in a long time. Beck's Sea Change and Flaming Lips' Yoshimi got me into surround mixes back in the early 2000s, but I hadn't really loved anything since (despite listening to dozens of surround mixes including Atmos with height speakers).

I like Pink Floyd, but just casually. So, I don't know the original mix of Animals that well. I'm sure some purists might have issues with the newer one.

Regardless, I really like this. I prefer active mixes with plenty going on in the rears, etc., but most of them seem to be "too much" for me. I appreciate how Animals is mostly focused up front, with one or two elements popping out into the 3rd dimension. Instead of constantly being surrounded by a barrage of instruments from all directions, things just momentarily go behind (for the most part - there were also effective sections with instruments all around). To me, the instruments sound more clearly separated than Fragile, Pawn Hearts, or even the newer Tom Petty and Grateful Dead Atmos mixes. With Animals (and Sea Change and Yoshimi), it's like I knew what to focus on as opposed to feeling overwhelmed and unsure. I look forward to repeated listenings to further understand why I prefer this over so many others.

 

[The56Kid]

Glad to see some of you expressing your take on this mix. Don't worry, you won't get banned from the group for not being "sheep"...

So the majority of us who are loving this mix are ‘sheep’ because we’re in agreement that it’s a great mix? Ahhhh, ok.

 

[par4ken]

I listened to this last night. It's the most I've enjoyed a surround mix in a long time. Beck's Sea Change and Flaming Lips' Yoshimi got me into surround mixes back in the early 2000s, but I hadn't really loved anything since (despite listening to dozens of surround mixes including Atmos with height speakers).

I like Pink Floyd, but just casually. So, I don't know the original mix of Animals that well. I'm sure some purists might have issues with the newer one.

Regardless, I really like this. I prefer active mixes with plenty going on in the rears, etc., but most of them seem to be "too much" for me. I appreciate how Animals is mostly focused up front, with one or two elements popping out into the 3rd dimension. Instead of constantly being surrounded by a barrage of instruments from all directions, things just momentarily go behind (for the most part - there were also effective sections with instruments all around). To me, the instruments sound more clearly separated than Fragile, Pawn Hearts, or even the newer Tom Petty and Grateful Dead Atmos mixes. With Animals (and Sea Change and Yoshimi), it's like I knew what to focus on as opposed to feeling overwhelmed and unsure. I look forward to repeated listenings to further understand why I prefer this over so many others.

You are in good company for liking the mix, checkout the posts in the poll thread. For myself I like mixes with lots going on constantly in the rear. I'm not a big fan of front oriented mixes. Still I'm happy to have this as sound quality and content are excellent!

 

[ProgRules]

considering a commando raid to grab the multi tracks and fix this. Who's with me?

Count me in, as long as we don't stop until we've liberated the MCH mixes of Obscured by Clouds, Meddle and the Wall. Along with those multis to fix any errors there too, of course.

 

[JimHansonDC]

Count me in, as long as we don't stop until we've liberated the MCH mixes of Obscured by Clouds, Meddle and the Wall. Along with those multis to fix any errors there too, of course.

Done. I'm kinda getting pumped about this. I assume then we require a command performance by Steven Wilson to do the mixes.

 

[jaypfunk]

I bet the guys saying how weak the bass is or lack of this or that regarding the 5.1 are not listening to it on a proper setup. They are probably using their PC with some shitty surround Logitech speakers.

This thing sounds great in 5.1. Look at my profile to see what I am playing it thru.

 

[jaypfunk]

The fact that several people have commented on getting weak bass while others (myself included) are saying it is very strong makes me wonder if there is something about this disc that certain bass management settings don't handle properly. For example, is the bass all in the LFE channel with none mixed to the front left and right, and people have their LFE set to off? I don't know, just thinking out loud since it is very strange to be getting polar opposite reactions. I don't doubt people hear what they hear.

The fact that several people have commented on getting weak bass while others (myself included) are saying it is very strong makes me wonder if there is something about this disc that certain bass management settings don't handle properly. For example, is the bass all in the LFE channel with none mixed to the front left and right, and people have their LFE set to off? I don't know, just thinking out loud since it is very strange to be getting polar opposite reactions. I don't doubt people hear what they hear.

If someone has a proper 5.1 set up and somehow have LFE turned off something is wrong with them.

 

[sjcorne]

With Animals (and Sea Change and Yoshimi), it's like I knew what to focus on as opposed to feeling overwhelmed and unsure.

Interesting take, to me Yoshimi is a prime example of an overwhelming surround mix with its constant motion.

 

[madscot]

Your Blu-ray disc is different from mine. All three of mine have the pig and sheep.

View attachment 83854

That isn’t a blu ray! It clearly states “stereo” on it with no mention of blu ray or 5.1 mix

 

[Bill B]

That isn’t a blu ray! It clearly states “stereo” on it with no mention of blu ray or 5.1 mix

In my original post (#2228) I was explaining that I had all three discs (bluray, sacd and rbcd) and that they all had the same picture (pig and sheep) except for the border colors. Then someone else pointed out that their blu-ray did not have that picture. I wanted to show them an example and since all three of my versions had the same picture I just grabbed the one that was handy which in this case was the cd (the blu-ray was still in the Oppo). I never said it was a blu-ray, I just wanted to show them what it looked like.

 

[drphibes]

I want to thank everyone who commented on the superior bass, complete with some timings of especially noteworthy moments. My amp and sub settings had been changed. Fixed now.

If you're not hearing That Bass, check your settings. Something is wrong.

 

[fredblue]

Bass in a Surround setup maybe merits its own discussion, idk?

anyway, fwiw, even though i've learned so much about Surround over the years, especially since i found QQ, my first Subwoofer in 1997 (an REL) came with a flimsy little information pamphlet.

it had but one passage in it regarding Subwoofer placement.

seemingly throwaway, it turned out to be invaluable to me over the years.

that info sheet referred to something called "the crawl test".

basically, lug the Sub into the primary listening position (the MLP, the sweet spot) and playback Bass-rich content.

while this is happening you literally crawl around the room on your hands and knees until you get to a position where Bass is more prominent, not boomy or overloud but full and smooth.

this spot is where to put your Subwoofer.

then you calibrate everything as usual with whatever setup system your Receiver may have or whichever method you prefer.

ultimately of course Subwoofer performance depends not just on optimal placement but what you feed it with and i've found that setting all your Speakers to 'Small' with a Crossover of 80Hz in your Processor or Receiver is a good place to start and then take it from there.

 

[Sal1950]

Europe vs US Blu-ray editions? I'm in Europe and my Blu-ray has got the inflatable pig picture

Burgundy border here too. They like fucking with us don't they? LMAO!!

My US Special Edition came with a $100 bill signed by David Gilmour inside it.
Thanks Dave, you know I'm a huge fan.

 

[JohnN]

Glad to see some of you expressing your take on this mix. Don't worry, you won't get banned from the group for not being "sheep"...

Time for the sheep to move on to Feb. 1977 and listen to Songs From the Wood. More 5.1 gold.

To make you feel much better than you could know

 

[JohnN]

My US Special Edition came with a $100 bill signed by David Gilmour inside it.
Thanks Dave, you know I'm a huge fan.

Not one million?

 

[barfle]

I can't find the pig and sheep label pic anywhere in my BD packaging. The dog label is there alright. My bluray disc has no red border and shows the pig balloon.

My packaging looks like yours, but the disc is different, with a pig and a sheep looking over a fence, with a maroon border. I'm about to give it a spin.

 

[ar surround]

Questions for our UK friends regarding the cover on the album:

Why is it called Battersea? Was there actually an amusement park there? In his movie, Gorgo was kept captive there until his mama rescued him.