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

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he's gotten more vitriolic, less subtle....

All true. However, this isn't the only message in his recent tours. Yes, the political side of his recent Us & Them and This Is Not a Drill tours has been very overt. But the overriding message has been one about finding and recognizing our common humanity. The sentiment he had when he wrote "strangers passing in the street/by chance two separate glances meet/and I am you and what I see is me" or "I recognize myself in every stranger's eyes" is the overall message of these concerts.
 
If anyone is still curious about this topic, here you have the actual disc labels in the boxset.
I was at Warner's HQ in Madrid today, in a 5.1 listening party. I'll tell the story and upload some pics tomorrow
 

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If anyone is still curious about this topic, here you have the actual disc labels in the boxset.
I was at Warner's HQ in Madrid today, in a 5.1 listening party. I'll tell the story and upload some pics tomorrow
I have to say, I can't figure out what the picture of the sink has to do with the album (I'm sure it's was a pic from the inside of the original gatefold). That looks like it would be more at home on a "The Wall" disc. :)

I will be interested to see if the discs in the box sets distributed here in the US and Canada are different. The stand alone discs were different.
 
I have to say, I can't figure out what the picture of the sink has to do with the album (I'm sure it's was a pic from the inside of the original gatefold). That looks like it would be more at home on a "The Wall" disc. :)

I will be interested to see if the discs in the box sets distributed here in the US and Canada are different. The stand alone discs were different.
It looks to me like its just various shots of the power station. Or am I being Captain Obvious here?

Would a toilet have been better?
 
I have to say, I can't figure out what the picture of the sink has to do with the album (I'm sure it's was a pic from the inside of the original gatefold). That looks like it would be more at home on a "The Wall" disc. :)

I will be interested to see if the discs in the box sets distributed here in the US and Canada are different. The stand alone discs were different.
Yes, it was a photo in the gatefold and later included in the CD booklet.
 
Well, I was yesterday invited (thanks to a friend at animalspinkfloydmagazine.com) to the 5.1 premiere of Animals in Warner’s HQ in Madrid. Warner is has restored a long unused railway station in Madrid (Principe Pio) and stablished there their main offices plus recording booths, a disco, a concert hall and listening rooms.

The audience was a small set of people, some of them invited by Warner, some others by most likely the only decent rock radio station in Spain (RockFM).

We were all warmly greeted and invited to enter the foyer where cold beer was waiting for us. After a short chat, we came into the listening room, who was said to be a state-of-the-art space by Warner guys. One the one hand it was, with a nice 11.2.6 setup. The two subwoofers were impressive, fronts were mid-sized and all the rest of the speakers were kind of small satellites (I couldn’t tell the brand). I was looking for room treatment (could see none, apart from the noise proof door) and there were window glass planes in one of the largest walls. This kept me wondering about the acoustics, but more on that later.

Views from the room were impressive and could not be more fitting, as you could see the active part of the station -industrial design-.

There were no proper seating places, but some tall tables with snacks. I placed myself where I thought the sweet spot was going to be and after some more chat from Warner and RockFM people and taking a first look at the Animals boxset, the playback began.

After tenths of listens at home, I was very curious to hear something being played in surround in what should be a demo room. I’ve never heard any recorded music in surround (apart from some few live gigs and the excellent last room of the Pink Floyd exhibition) out of home, so I don’t have a reference about how good or bad my system is.

Open minded, Pigs on the Wing started and it was quite loud. Knowing the crescendo that comes shortly after in Dogs, I prepared my ears for the extra boost of tinnitus I have today. This is where the nasty surprise came, as the system didn’t appear to have been properly calibrated. The fronts were dominating the rears and drums drowning down most of the synths in the rears. Only in the more quiet sections you could clearly distinguish the two rears. Moving yourself backwards helped though. The treble was boosted like hell, and vocals and cymbals sounded quite bad. The bass, on the other hand, was excellent, and the moments when the subwoofer kicks in during P3TO and Sheep were chest shattering. I’m never able to play the music that loud at home and while I appreciated the wonderful bass, the way the highs sounded spoiled a little bit the experience.

I was to shy to say anything about the sound quality to the Warner guys and didn’t want to sound pedantic either, so I kept my mouth shut. It left me wondering how people on the top of the game who should have access to the best equipment and technicians don’t have a perfectly calibrated demo room. Either that or I cannot trust my ears, who knows.

After a bit more of chat (Warner, RockFM and attendees could not have been nicer), I headed back home. I tried to get some hints from Warner guys about what’s to come, but I got just poker faces when I mentioned Steven Wilson mixing first David’s record, Dark Side in Atmos and The Wall in 5.1. Not a response, just a plain poker face. They only confirmed that something big is being prepared for the Dark Side anniversary in March next year and they only let slip that they plan to do some projection in the railway station façade.

A very nice evening and a heartfelt thanks to the people that invited me. Next listening session should be Dark Side of the Moon, or so they said.

Some pics attached were you can see the room (and the speakers) plus the railway station views from the demo room windows. If you play the video attached here: Así nos los pasamos en la escucha de la reedición del 'Animals' de Pink Floyd, you will be able to see me (the tall, bald guy in while T-shirt). Enjoy!
 

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Well, I was yesterday invited (thanks to a friend at animalspinkfloydmagazine.com) to the 5.1 premiere of Animals in Warner’s HQ in Madrid. Warner is has restored a long unused railway station in Madrid (Principe Pio) and stablished there their main offices plus recording booths, a disco, a concert hall and listening rooms.

The audience was a small set of people, some of them invited by Warner, some others by most likely the only decent rock radio station in Spain (RockFM).

We were all warmly greeted and invited to enter the foyer where cold beer was waiting for us. After a short chat, we came into the listening room, who was said to be a state-of-the-art space by Warner guys. One the one hand it was, with a nice 11.2.6 setup. The two subwoofers were impressive, fronts were mid-sized and all the rest of the speakers were kind of small satellites (I couldn’t tell the brand). I was looking for room treatment (could see none, apart from the noise proof door) and there were window glass planes in one of the largest walls. This kept me wondering about the acoustics, but more on that later.

Views from the room were impressive and could not be more fitting, as you could see the active part of the station -industrial design-.

There were no proper seating places, but some tall tables with snacks. I placed myself where I thought the sweet spot was going to be and after some more chat from Warner and RockFM people and taking a first look at the Animals boxset, the playback began.

After tenths of listens at home, I was very curious to hear something being played in surround in what should be a demo room. I’ve never heard any recorded music in surround (apart from some few live gigs and the excellent last room of the Pink Floyd exhibition) out of home, so I don’t have a reference about how good or bad my system is.

Open minded, Pigs on the Wing started and it was quite loud. Knowing the crescendo that comes shortly after in Dogs, I prepared my ears for the extra boost of tinnitus I have today. This is where the nasty surprise came, as the system didn’t appear to have been properly calibrated. The fronts were dominating the rears and drums drowning down most of the synths in the rears. Only in the more quiet sections you could clearly distinguish the two rears. Moving yourself backwards helped though. The treble was boosted like hell, and vocals and cymbals sounded quite bad. The bass, on the other hand, was excellent, and the moments when the subwoofer kicks in during P3TO and Sheep were chest shattering. I’m never able to play the music that loud at home and while I appreciated the wonderful bass, the way the highs sounded spoiled a little bit the experience.

I was to shy to say anything about the sound quality to the Warner guys and didn’t want to sound pedantic either, so I kept my mouth shut. It left me wondering how people on the top of the game who should have access to the best equipment and technicians don’t have a perfectly calibrated demo room. Either that or I cannot trust my ears, who knows.

After a bit more of chat (Warner, RockFM and attendees could not have been nicer), I headed back home. I tried to get some hints from Warner guys about what’s to come, but I got just poker faces when I mentioned Steven Wilson mixing first David’s record, Dark Side in Atmos and The Wall in 5.1. Not a response, just a plain poker face. They only confirmed that something big is being prepared for the Dark Side anniversary in March next year and they only let slip that they plan to do some projection in the railway station façade.

A very nice evening and a heartfelt thanks to the people that invited me. Next listening session should be Dark Side of the Moon, or so they said.

Some pics attached were you can see the room (and the speakers) plus the railway station views from the demo room windows. If you play the video attached here: Así nos los pasamos en la escucha de la reedición del 'Animals' de Pink Floyd, you will be able to see me (the tall, bald guy in while T-shirt). Enjoy!

Thanks for the story. Sounds like what could have been a great experience marred by incompetence with the equipment. Another example of how clueless record co. employees can be. Illustrating that's it's a business- not really about the music except as a commodity. Which one's Pink?

What's funny/sad is their lack of appreciation for the sound likely hurt what I would think their main purpose was: to present a wonderful new mix for appreciation. How many people came away from that demo thinking surround sound sucks- way too loud and harsh-it sounds better on my bluetooth speaker?
 
Thanks for the story. Sounds like what could have been a great experience marred by incompetence with the equipment. Another example of how clueless record co. employees can be. Illustrating that's it's a business- not really about the music except as a commodity. Which one's Pink?

What's funny/sad is their lack of appreciation for the sound likely hurt what I would think their main purpose was: to present a wonderful new mix for appreciation. How many people came away from that demo thinking surround sound sucks- way too loud and harsh-it sounds better on my bluetooth speaker?
Forgot to say the attendees left with a big grin on their face. I was funny seeing their faces when the sound in Dogs opened up. I think they all enjoyed the surround experience, and this is what eventually matters
 
Well, I was yesterday invited (thanks to a friend at animalspinkfloydmagazine.com) to the 5.1 premiere of Animals in Warner’s HQ in Madrid. Warner is has restored a long unused railway station in Madrid (Principe Pio) and stablished there their main offices plus recording booths, a disco, a concert hall and listening rooms.

The audience was a small set of people, some of them invited by Warner, some others by most likely the only decent rock radio station in Spain (RockFM).

We were all warmly greeted and invited to enter the foyer where cold beer was waiting for us. After a short chat, we came into the listening room, who was said to be a state-of-the-art space by Warner guys. One the one hand it was, with a nice 11.2.6 setup. The two subwoofers were impressive, fronts were mid-sized and all the rest of the speakers were kind of small satellites (I couldn’t tell the brand). I was looking for room treatment (could see none, apart from the noise proof door) and there were window glass planes in one of the largest walls. This kept me wondering about the acoustics, but more on that later.

Views from the room were impressive and could not be more fitting, as you could see the active part of the station -industrial design-.

There were no proper seating places, but some tall tables with snacks. I placed myself where I thought the sweet spot was going to be and after some more chat from Warner and RockFM people and taking a first look at the Animals boxset, the playback began.

After tenths of listens at home, I was very curious to hear something being played in surround in what should be a demo room. I’ve never heard any recorded music in surround (apart from some few live gigs and the excellent last room of the Pink Floyd exhibition) out of home, so I don’t have a reference about how good or bad my system is.

Open minded, Pigs on the Wing started and it was quite loud. Knowing the crescendo that comes shortly after in Dogs, I prepared my ears for the extra boost of tinnitus I have today. This is where the nasty surprise came, as the system didn’t appear to have been properly calibrated. The fronts were dominating the rears and drums drowning down most of the synths in the rears. Only in the more quiet sections you could clearly distinguish the two rears. Moving yourself backwards helped though. The treble was boosted like hell, and vocals and cymbals sounded quite bad. The bass, on the other hand, was excellent, and the moments when the subwoofer kicks in during P3TO and Sheep were chest shattering. I’m never able to play the music that loud at home and while I appreciated the wonderful bass, the way the highs sounded spoiled a little bit the experience.

I was to shy to say anything about the sound quality to the Warner guys and didn’t want to sound pedantic either, so I kept my mouth shut. It left me wondering how people on the top of the game who should have access to the best equipment and technicians don’t have a perfectly calibrated demo room. Either that or I cannot trust my ears, who knows.

After a bit more of chat (Warner, RockFM and attendees could not have been nicer), I headed back home. I tried to get some hints from Warner guys about what’s to come, but I got just poker faces when I mentioned Steven Wilson mixing first David’s record, Dark Side in Atmos and The Wall in 5.1. Not a response, just a plain poker face. They only confirmed that something big is being prepared for the Dark Side anniversary in March next year and they only let slip that they plan to do some projection in the railway station façade.

A very nice evening and a heartfelt thanks to the people that invited me. Next listening session should be Dark Side of the Moon, or so they said.

Some pics attached were you can see the room (and the speakers) plus the railway station views from the demo room windows. If you play the video attached here: Así nos los pasamos en la escucha de la reedición del 'Animals' de Pink Floyd, you will be able to see me (the tall, bald guy in while T-shirt). Enjoy!
Goes to show you that the "PRO" guys can't even get it REMOTELY right...

BTW, I love the pics from Principe Pío...I hope it was isolated enough that during the middle of the album you couldn't hear "PROXIMO TREN DESTINO CHAMARTÍN ...VÍA 2!!" I have great memories of walking into a dilapidated "Estación del Norte" in 1991 and taking many pics of old stuff (elevators!) before it all got a "new coat of paint"...
 
I ordered the deluxe edition from Amazon Canada (I have prime membership too) way back on 3rd July. I was pleased to get the price which dropped from $130 to $90 but yesterday was release day and I got no shipping notification. Then I got an email from Amazon saying that the expected delivery is now between November 6th to December 8th!! What a joke. Has anyone else that ordered from Amazon.ca had this happen or had it delivered or being delivered soon?
I’m just wondering if it’s because I’ll be paying less that I get shoved to the back of the pile.
 
Wondering if anyone has both Blu-Ray and SACD and compared them?
Debating if it is worth having both…🤔
I have both. Casual listening to one and then the other the next day, I didn't notice any difference in sound quality. I wouldn't expect any noticeable difference, I would assume that the SACD was sourced from PCM masters. At some point I'll try to do more listening comparisons.

As the discs are reasonably priced why not get both (especially if you are a Floyd fan)? The packaging of the SACD is much nicer than that of the Blu-ray. On the downside you don't get the setup test tones with the SACD.
 
WARNING!

The instruction as written may be hazardous to your equipment. I was taught that an amplifier should always have a load - this means that every channel of the amplifier should have a speaker or a resistor connected to it. To run an amp with the speaker outputs turned on, but with no load, might damage the amp. Can anyone else chime in with the electronics theory on this?
That is only true with vacuum tube amplifiers. Solid state amplifiers are perfectly happy with no load.
 
I would assume that the SACD was sourced from PCM masters. At some point I'll try to do more listening comparisons.

As the discs are reasonably priced why not get both (especially if you are a Floyd fan)? The packaging of the SACD is much nicer than that of the Blu-ray. On the downside you don't get the setup test tones with the SACD.
I would too, but its been said that Guthrie uses a Sony DSD workstation. So this could wel be DSD sourced.
 
It is impossible to mix in DSD, it is a 1 bit format. It is possible it was mixed in DXD which is an 8 bit version, but even mixing with 8 bit depth sounds problematic to me.
Incorrect. It's currently impossible to process DSD natively—e.g. apply effects—but simply changing levels of individual mix elements is possible without conversion to DXD. Alternatively, one can digitize the tracks to DSD, then mix in the analog realm, and capture the result back to DSD. At a guess, the latter is probably Guthrie's workflow. He's an old school engineer and probably owns a large-format analog console at his Das Boot facility.
 
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