HiRez Poll The Kenny Wayne Shepherd Band - THE TRAVELER [Blu-Ray Audio]

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Rate the BDA of The Kenny Wayne Shepherd Band - THE TRAVELER


  • Total voters
    19

rtbluray

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Please post your thoughts and comments on this new Blu-Ray audio release with both 5.1 and Atmos mixes.

CCON_1039__144755__08052019103342-5391.jpg
 
No Atmos here, so I can only rate the 5.1 mix.

I've listened to the album twice now and here are my early thoughts. Musically, I like most of the songs - just not as much as his album Ledbetter Heights, which I've had for many years. His music seems to have gone more country. Still rocks out, but less blues feel.

The mix is interesting. It changes placement in many songs but is most aggressive with the panning of KWS guitar solos. The surround speakers mix feels just a little low to me. I enjoyed it more when I turned them up a bit. Of course, everything sounded better cranked up. Even though there is a lot of guitar throughout, I never felt any fatigue. Even at 24/48 it sounded very clean to me.

A solid "8" from me.
 
No Atmos here, so I can only rate the 5.1 mix.

I've listened to the album twice now and here are my early thoughts. Musically, I like most of the songs - just not as much as his album Ledbetter Heights, which I've had for many years. His music seems to have gone more country. Still rocks out, but less blues feel.

The mix is interesting. It changes placement in many songs but is most aggressive with the panning of KWS guitar solos. The surround speakers mix feels just a little low to me. I enjoyed it more when I turned them up a bit. Of course, everything sounded better cranked up. Even though there is a lot of guitar throughout, I never felt any fatigue. Even at 24/48 it sounded very clean to me.

A solid "8" from me.
Funny I thought it sounded best with rears and heights turned up 4db also
 
Regarding the song "Tailwind"... on my rip of the 5.1 DTS layer, the slide guitar solo sounds a bit low in the mix as compared to the lead vocal. For those of you with Atmos, does it sound low in the mix? Does it come from the ceiling/heights? Just curious.
 
Regarding the song "Tailwind"... on my rip of the 5.1 DTS layer, the slide guitar solo sounds a bit low in the mix as compared to the lead vocal. For those of you with Atmos, does it sound low in the mix? Does it come from the ceiling/heights? Just curious.

I’ll crack mine open tonight and fire up Atmos


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Played the 5.1 mix on the main system when it showed up last week; was immediately surprised at the discrete elements in the rears and some wild panning on the guitar solos. Played it on a 5.1 system with pretty high end speakers at a friend's house in San Diego and it was pretty impressive in fidelity and soundstage. My friend is a pretty big KWS fan and pointed out there are always a couple cover tunes as Kenny doesn't typically doesn't write enough songs for an album. Still need to fire it up on the 5.1.2 ATMOS system in the living room when it's my turn. ;)
 
Reviewing this based on the 5.1 mix: I'm so happy that we've gotten a disc of NEW music with a hi-res surround mix for a great price... and it's fantastic! Musically, I love the album... a great mix of blues/country/rock with excellent guitar solos throughout... and a couple of really good covers of some of my favorite tunes. In terms of the mix, we get a variety of discrete elements from the rears throughout ranging from horns, keys, percussion elements, background vocals, & rhythm guitars. We're also treated to guitar solos panning all over the place intermittently. The fidelity sounds great to me, nothing muffled and plenty of muscle in the low end. I'm loving this. 9.
 
Regarding the slide solo in "Tailwind": it's probably just a "me" thing, but I really wanted the level of this solo to be louder in the mix on the DTS 5.1 (I don't have Atmos capability), so I went back and ripped the 7.1 DolbyTrueHD layer, and there, isolated in the "bottom" 2 tracks (I'm not sure what you call those channels) are the background vocals and, more importantly, the slide solo that I was looking for! so I basically doubled up the slide solo in the fronts and backs making it much more prominent (and central) in the room, while still maintaining the little pans at the end of the solo into the surrounds. Just an FYI for anyone as picky as me, lol.
 
Regarding the song "Tailwind"... on my rip of the 5.1 DTS layer, the slide guitar solo sounds a bit low in the mix as compared to the lead vocal. For those of you with Atmos, does it sound low in the mix? Does it come from the ceiling/heights? Just curious.
Its a loud as the voice and starts off front left and then you also hear it in the other speakers.
 
OK, so I just listened to first 3 songs. Started off in Atmos, it sounded great, very, very full, excellent overall presence across the whole room. Switched to DTS Master (easy to do with Oppo with the red/green buttons) and it instantly sounded thinner. Would I have noticed the "thin" sound had I started off with DTS Master? I doubt it.

In this case, the Atmos layer is a clear cut winner in terms of overall sonics. It's simply more pleasing and wide. :)
 
Just listened to Gravity, an EXCELLENT song!! I went one step further and went to each speaker to see what was going on. In a few sequences, the harmony vocals were in the main fronts, and the main vocals were in the front Atmos speakers. Pretty cool how things are parsed out. I'd say this is one of the more obvious use of my 4 additional Atmos speakers I've heard. Very cool.....
 
OK, so I just listened to first 3 songs. Started off in Atmos, it sounded great, very, very full, excellent overall presence across the whole room. Switched to DTS Master (easy to do with Oppo with the red/green buttons) and it instantly sounded thinner. Would I have noticed the "thin" sound had I started off with DTS Master? I doubt it.

In this case, the Atmos layer is a clear cut winner in terms of overall sonics. It's simply more pleasing and wide. :)
Unfortunately I think you may be right Gene, I've only listened in 5.1 and that thinner sound is something I picked up on in certain areas of the songs, almost like a flat wall front mix with some rear elements. But I've only listened once, and it definitely helped on my system to crank it up. But then again, for various reasons, I really don't like or should have to do that!
https://www.quadraphonicquad.com/fo...mix-out-on-8-30-2019.26933/page-5#post-445426
 
I voted 8. I purchased the stereo CD when it first came out from Amazon on 5/23/19 as I am a big KWS fan. I saw him live at The Fox in Redwood City in 2018 and the same year at Hendrix Experience at The Fox in Oakland. Great, great live performer, really knows how to cook.
Being familiar with the music from this new BD I felt as others, not quite full sounding a little flat in the midrange. I did like the the discrete parts, but at times felt they where too separate as I like discrete but I also like it to somewhat blend with the other speakers. I only own a 5.1 rig.
I give the producers of this disc a big fat 10 for even putting out a surround disc with new modern blues/rock, that does not happen very much.
 
Unfortunately I think you may be right Gene, I've only listened in 5.1 and that thinner sound is something I picked up on in certain areas of the songs, almost like a flat wall front mix with some rear elements. But I've only listened once, and it definitely helped on my system to crank it up. But then again, for various reasons, I really don't like or should have to do that!
https://www.quadraphonicquad.com/fo...mix-out-on-8-30-2019.26933/page-5#post-445426
I was interested in knowing the difference in the 5.1 and Atmos mixes. I ripped each into a FLAC file. Here are the channel waveforms in Audition.Inexact, I know, but a very slight boost in surrounds on the 5.1, otherwise really similar first 6 channels. FWIW. I would expect them to sound really similar.

Gravity 5-1.png

Gravity Atmos.png
 
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