Pink Floyd "Animals (2022 Atmos mix)" Blu-ray Audio incl. hi-res Dolby Atmos; 5.1 and stereo mixes (2018 remix)

[edisonbaggins]

For my first Atmos listen, I constantly got up to check whether the surrounds and heights were active AT ALL.
Occasional SFX aside.

I do not recall doing that for any of my 5.1 listens, a year or so ago.

I have not had a chance to A/B. Is there more discrete activity in the 5.1?

All I know is that I was not disappointed by the 5.1 and I am by the Atmos.

 

[LuvMyQuad]

For my first Atmos listen, I constantly got up to check whether the surrounds and heights were active AT ALL.
Occasional SFX aside.

I do not recall doing that for any of my 5.1 listens, a year or so ago.

I have not had a chance to A/B. Is there more discrete activity in the 5.1?

All I know is that I was not disappointed by the 5.1 and I am by the Atmos.

Wow. If the discreetness took a hit... Is no good. Do you run 7 floors for Atmos?

 

[edisonbaggins]

Wow. If the discreetness took a hit... Is no good. Do you run 7 floors for Atmos?

7.2.4

 

[mrcond]

For my first Atmos listen, I constantly got up to check whether the surrounds and heights were active AT ALL.
Occasional SFX aside.

I do not recall doing that for any of my 5.1 listens, a year or so ago.

I have not had a chance to A/B. Is there more discrete activity in the 5.1?

All I know is that I was not disappointed by the 5.1 and I am by the Atmos.

If I am not mistaken (someone please correct me if I am), given that you have a 7.2.4 setup, the elements that were in the side surrounds in 5.1 are now in the rear surrounds in the Atmos mix. So perhaps you reacted more favorably to the 5.1 due to being closer to the surrounds action? Just speculation, of course, but that is the sense I got listening this time around. Even though all my channels are level-matched, there is a difference in directional perception.

That all being said, I do prefer the Atmos mix to the 5.1 on my system.

 

[Albert Dagger]

For my first Atmos listen, I constantly got up to check whether the surrounds and heights were active AT ALL.
Occasional SFX aside.

I do not recall doing that for any of my 5.1 listens, a year or so ago.

I have not had a chance to A/B. Is there more discrete activity in the 5.1?

All I know is that I was not disappointed by the 5.1 and I am by the Atmos.

The 5.1 and Atmos share a lot, to the level that the bed channels of the Atmos mix seem the same or very similar to the 5.1. It's mainly a quad approach to mixing but is now enhanced by extra information in the heights. I ripped the Atmos mix and then decoded it to 5.1.2 using Music Media Helper to check the content of the height channels (downmixed to stereo). There is stuff in there. Occasionally, it is discrete, but most of the time, it lifts the soundstage of the 5.1 mix.

I think we would be praising this Atmos mix if it weren't for the existence of the 5.1 mix, which was released two years ago. On its own, this is—by a fair margin—the best way to experience this album, in my opinion.

 

[himey]

There are parts where I prefer the 5.1, and other parts where I prefer the Atmos mix. Both mixes are very active. Glad to have both, bring on The Wall now please!

 

[BillSamm1]

Just got it. Haven't listened yet BUT...

Is there anyone else who absolutely hates those black plastic hard buttons that hold the disc in the package? It feels like the disc could all too easily be cracked when trying to remove and replace the disc. Same issue with a Porcupine Tree set I have. Any ideas?

 

[timothyemerson]

Just got it. Haven't listened yet BUT...

Is there anyone else who absolutely hates those black plastic hard buttons that hold the disc in the package? It feels like the disc could all too easily be cracked when trying to remove and replace the disc. Same issue with a Porcupine Tree set I have. Any ideas?

Yes. I've had a white plastic one in a Digipak crack a CD before.

I keep a stack of them slim CD single cases on hand to store discs for when I strike anything too snug.

 

[SomethingAnything]

The 5.1 and Atmos share a lot, to the level that the bed channels of the Atmos mix seem the same or very similar to the 5.1. It's mainly a quad approach to mixing but is now enhanced by extra information in the heights. I ripped the Atmos mix and then decoded it to 5.1.2 using Music Media Helper to check the content of the height channels (downmixed to stereo). There is stuff in there. Occasionally, it is discrete, but most of the time, it lifts the soundstage of the 5.1 mix.

I think we would be praising this Atmos mix if it weren't for the existence of the 5.1 mix, which was released two years ago. On its own, this is—by a fair margin—the best way to experience this album, in my opinion.

Perhaps Guthrie approached it from the perspective that he had already done most of the work. And so now he was being brought back in to make a few tweaks for Atmos. If the original goal had been atmos from the start (with 5.1 perhaps a by-product of that, ala S Wilson), we may have had a different outcome. Speculation, but I think reasonable speculation. It was, historically speaking, the way the cards happened to fall.
I am disappointed. I was ready to replace my 5.1 copy, but i guess i won't now. There are so many other opportunities these days and my credit card has limits.

 

[mandrix]

Just got it. Haven't listened yet BUT...

Is there anyone else who absolutely hates those black plastic hard buttons that hold the disc in the package? It feels like the disc could all too easily be cracked when trying to remove and replace the disc. Same issue with a Porcupine Tree set I have. Any ideas?

Absolutely do not like them.

 

[ogrequad]

Question: If I do not have Atmos capability, is this worth it to hear the Atmos mix folded down to 5.1 or can I just stick to my 2018 version? How different are the mixes?

 

[OldAsMono]

Us surround freaks have been rebuying our music over and over for decades. I think Pink Floyd decided all of us are getting so old that besides two years from the last release flew by and seems a century... we'll all pass before getting every single format if they don't hurry. I'll go down fighting but what were we talking about?

 

[mandrix]

Question: If I do not have Atmos capability, is this worth it to hear the Atmos mix folded down to 5.1 or can I just stick to my 2018 version? How different are the mixes?

No clue. But I don't understand why people with Atmos systems would even do that. But some do I suppose. I don't bother to listen to any but the Atmos mixes: that's what I buy them for. I don't compare anything Atmos played as 5.1. Now playing a 5.1 re mix on a disc is certainly an option I guess. Atmos as 5.1 I don't bother. Just my take on it.

 

[edisonbaggins]

No clue. But I don't understand why people with Atmos systems would even do that. But some do I suppose. I don't bother to listen to any but the Atmos mixes: that's what I buy them for. I don't compare anything Atmos played as 5.1. Now playing a 5.1 re mix on a disc is certainly an option I guess. Atmos as 5.1 I don't bother. Just my take on it.

He doesn’t have an Atmos system.

Now, I’ll listen to the dedicated 5.1 mix of a title, even if there is an Atmos mix, for comparison, and then sometimes when I determine I don’t like the Atmos mix as much as other available multichannel mixes.

But I have never chosen to listen to Atmos folded down. 7.2.4 all the way, at my place!!!

 

[mandrix]

He doesn’t have an Atmos system.

Now, I’ll listen to the dedicated 5.1 mix of a title, even if there is an Atmos mix, for comparison, and then sometimes when I determine I don’t like the Atmos mix as much as other available multichannel mixes.

But I have never chosen to listen to Atmos folded down. 7.2.4 all the way, at my place!!!

Agreed completely. That was my point.

 

[LuvMyQuad]

I listened to Atmos folded down to 5.1 for a while. I thought most releases folded down quite nicely.

 

[ogrequad]

I guess what I'm trying to get at is that, when I read about Atmos mixes, it seems that some of them are "extensions" or "expansions" of the 5.1 mix - in other words, the Atmos adds depth and height, but the basic mixing choices are similar to the 5.1 mix. On the other hand, some Atmos mixes are described as being completely different mixes entirely. For example, I bought the recent Machine Head super deluxe primarily for the quad but also because it has a new Atmos mix that is different from the other mixes that I own. Even mixed down to 5.1, the Atmos is a different listening experience entirely.

Based on what I have read about this Animals Atmos mix, it seems to take the former approach - expanding on the 2018 5.1 mix - but can someone confirm that?

FWIW, I did end up buying the standalone Dark Side Atmos Blu-Ray and thought it sounded way better than the Immersion and SACD 5.1 mixes, even mixed down, so I'll probably cave at some point and re-buy Animals as well! I'm just curious about how different it will sound on my 5.1 system.

 

[himey]

I guess what I'm trying to get at is that, when I read about Atmos mixes, it seems that some of them are "extensions" or "expansions" of the 5.1 mix - in other words, the Atmos adds depth and height, but the basic mixing choices are similar to the 5.1 mix. On the other hand, some Atmos mixes are described as being completely different mixes entirely. For example, I bought the recent Machine Head super deluxe primarily for the quad but also because it has a new Atmos mix that is different from the other mixes that I own. Even mixed down to 5.1, the Atmos is a different listening experience entirely.

Based on what I have read about this Animals Atmos mix, it seems to take the former approach - expanding on the 2018 5.1 mix - but can someone confirm that?

FWIW, I did end up buying the standalone Dark Side Atmos Blu-Ray and thought it sounded way better than the Immersion and SACD 5.1 mixes, even mixed down, so I'll probably cave at some point and re-buy Animals as well! I'm just curious about how different it will sound on my 5.1 system.

The differences between the 5.1 and Atmos of DSOTM is much greater than the two Animals mixes. I always thought the DSOTM 5.1 was much too tame, and the Atmos mix fixed that issue greatly. 5.1 Animals on the other hand isn't tame at all, and neither is the Atmos.

 

[ogrequad]

The differences between the 5.1 and Atmos of DSOTM is much greater than the two Animals mixes. I always thought the DSOTM 5.1 was much too tame, and the Atmos mix fixed that issue greatly. 5.1 Animals on the other hand isn't tame at all, and neither is the Atmos.

Thanks for the reply and for the comparison with DSOTM - that's exactly the sort of info that I was looking for here. I love the 2018 Animals 5.1 mix, so again, I'm just debating about whether it is worth the double dip for someone without Atmos capability. I'm certainly happy that I did so for Dark Side.

 

[DrKlahn]

Thanks for the reply and for the comparison with DSOTM - that's exactly the sort of info that I was looking for here. I love the 2018 Animals 5.1 mix, so again, I'm just debating about whether it is worth the double dip for someone without Atmos capability. I'm certainly happy that I did so for Dark Side.

I haven't had a chance to listen to it yet, but have been following the thread. My impression is that the 5.1 being as good as it is, you probably wouldn't gain much if anything from a mix down (may even sound worse).

The only thing I would say is that these discs tend to cost a lot if the go out of print and the cost to buy the Atmos copy isn't much. So, if you think you might expand your system at some point might be worth the $25 to get it.