To Brian Moura . . .

[Martinf]

Brian,

Please can you not post on this site, as you have a very strong held personal bias towards SACD, and therefore your presence is not appropriate. Thank you.

 

[JonUrban]

ADMIN NOTE: Brian is a very strong contributor to this site, and his work on the SACD section is OUTSTANDING. If he has a preference for this format, that is fine with me.

This is a place for multichannel music fans to come and discuss ALL formats and media, from classical to rock, CD-4 to Matrix, Q8 to Q4, and SACD to DVD-A.

We will not force anyone or anybody to impose their will on this group, be it with what they post, or what they believe.

I have created this forum in sections. If there is a section that you do not like, do not read it.

Brian is a cornerstone of this group, and he has my 100% backing. Let's not turn this place into a flaming pile like some other places on the web.

Martinf, I did not delete your post because you are a posting member. However, I would implore that we all just try and get along, OK?

:-jon
FORUM ADMINISTRATOR AND BOARD OWNER

 

[Quadzilla]

Although I am new here, I can't believe that in this day and age there is ANYONE who would attempt to silence an objective voice in this forum. I started as an enthusiastic DVD-A fan, but after wasting a LOT of money on substandard product ... Uriah Heep, Wishbone Ash, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Sex Pistols ... need I go on??? ... I bought a very inexpensive multichannel SACD player and the Jeff Beck Blow by Blow release. I have just purchased Tubular Bells, and I am really looking forward to a good listen.

Listen guys, if someone doesn't soon get this Silverline trash under control, and gets some more good quality DVD-A releases out there, it will be the free market that will kill DVD-Audio

 

[Martinf]

1. Clarification
Maybe I should have made myself more clear, I meant that Brian should really stick to the SACD section of this website, as this section is called: "DVD-A Multichannel news" -- as he is no supporter of the DVD-A format.

Sorry for the confusion.

There is a place where we can go "head-to-head" and that is called: "Hirez-Highway" -- which myself and Brian both frequent. We do not want this forum to become a loony asylum too.

2. Silverline
As for Silverline, some time ago I wrote to John Trickett, and he assures me that the problem has been recognised, and is being dealt with. Here is an extract:-

"You are correct in that some of our releases of the Sanctuary catalog have used the stereo masters as source material. The original multi track recordings for some of the artists were lost or were not in a condition that could permit playback. In these cases we spent a great deal of time restoring/re-mastering the audio, mixing the tracks and bringing them up to 96/24 from the analogue source through a creative process – no DSP processing or using an electronic matrix.

I agree with you that, in hindsight, we should have limited our releases to discrete 5.1 sourced from multi-track tapes. As is common in the early stages of a format there are those who like to dwell on the occasional missteps rather than the successes. I am reminded of the early days of the DVD Video format in this regard."

3. Warner Hybrids.
Paul Vidich, head of DVD-A at Warner Music Group tells me the following:- "We are very familiar with the double sided CD/DVD A disc. We've done samples and have investigated this format at length. Our goal is to put out this type of disc, but we are now researching ways to apply special printing to the playable sides. We think that print on each side is an important consumer feature. Double sided discs are the short term solution and dual layer discs are the longer term solution.."

 

[ct]

On the issue of quality of DVD-A discs: Where DVD-A really stands out are in the original recordings, mixings, releases of new material: i.e. AIX, TACET, Surroundedby Entertainment, and a few of the original releases by 5.1 entertainment (Big Phat Band). I think HODIE could be if they got over M. Cobra's fixation with his doctoral theseis (tempo's). I think the Warner releases are quite good, even though none to my knowledge are new recordings. As far as Silverline, I recently got the Bob Marley release and was really disappointed by the quality, especially the base track. So I simply don't buy much of their "stuff". I know better. But the more I listen to the "new" stuff - the more I realize now good the format is, and can be. I have no comment on SACD because I was an early DVD-A adopter, and like muti-channel much more than stereo. I'm happy where I am.

 

[Martinf]

CT, you mention >> I think the Warner releases are quite good, even though none to my knowledge are new recordings << , but if you look at their expanding classical repertoire on DVD-A, there are quite a few. The most recent is St. Matthews Passion — a superb recording in every way. About 2 hours 40 mins of pure 24 bit, 96kHz surround. I also have the live 2001 Harnoncourt Strauss concert among others. And the Beethoven Symphonies — more recent hirez recording. And there are numerous others. On the contemporary side, I also have the Mana, Suenos Liquidos, recorded in 1997, which is a band singing in Mexican, but it sounds fantastic.

 

[Quadwreck]

You actually got a response from Silverline? You are probably the only person ever to have one. Maybe you can auction it off at Ebay.

 

[Martinf]

My earlier comment about Mr Moura was made mainly because I though it a bit odd that he came onto the DVD-A section as a "moderator" when I know that his preferences lie firmly somewhere else (i.e. just go to HighFidelityReview, for example, where he is the SACD columnist).

It’s just that, to me, it seemed like there was a conflict of interest going on, especially as I understood that there was already a DVD-A moderator here.

BTW, I have no doubt that Brian does a fine job on the SACD section!

 

[timbre4]

I'm glad to see this dialog not be so serious.

I don't care what the audio format is as long as I can get the surround music titles I want.

timbre4

 

[AllAroundSurround]

<blockquote><strong><em>Quote:</em></strong><hr> because I though it a bit odd that he came onto the DVD-A section as a "moderator" [/quote]
The handle as a moderator follows you to where ever we go on the site ! I moderate DVD-v DVD-harware and d.t.s. sections and it goes where I go, just that I can't delete or edit etc. out of my area! Only Jon And Cai can Delete edit Anywhere as Administrators / Owners etc,. Hope that clears things up!
Rob:

 

[ct]

Martinf, I basically agree with your comments on the Warner classical releases - I certainly like the Barenboim and Harancourt releases, including the Dvorak, and also the Mahler 2nd. My point, I was lead to believe that although new releases they were upsampled during mastering. I wrote after listening repeatedly to three new AIX releases, the Mozart 16 and 41 symphony, the Scarlatti-Beethoven Woodwind pieces, and the Hayden Trio. They were recorded, mixed, and mastered in 96/24 and are fantastic. Considering the earlier comment by an individual who stated he was leaving the format because of Silverline releases (I have to admit liking the Grieg collection released last year by 5.1), I thought it worth commenting on the releases by Aix, Tacet, Surrounded by which are, in my opinion, exceptional. Should add unfortunately the Bach St. Matthews passion has not been released in the U.S.; I put in an order for Mana on your recommendation. Thanks.

 

[Cai Campbell]

This place is NOT the Audio Asylum and it never will be. I have stopped visiting AA altogether and removed it from my favorites list. While a lot of great information can still be found there, there is still too much white noise and BS to wade through. I've come to the conclusion that it just ain't worth it. Still, if you want to get into silly fistycuffs over which format is better, it's still a great place to go.

This forum is for people who enjoy surround-sound, no matter what format. I hope I'm not stepping on Jon's toes, but as the "other" board administrator, I will not tolerate personal attacks or messages that attempt to ignite a format war.

 

[Martinf]

It seems logical to me that someone tagged as a "moderator" on a DVD-A section should ideally not be someone whose byline is recognised in all other such forums on the internet as someone who posts stories almost exclusively for the benefit of the SACD fraternity.

Now, I have since been enlightened by your colleague Rob, that the aforementioned was simply tagged as a "moderator" from another section, and that was not his capacity on the DVD-A section. In which case, I apologise to Mr Moura if any offence was caused.

As a magazine editor and qualified journalist myself, if I was in a similar position, and if I felt that my byline could convey a perception of a conflict of interest to readers in, say, a competing publication, then I would use a different moniker so as not to confuse.

 

[Cai Campbell]

I see your point. I suppose it is unfortunate that ezBoard adds the "moderator" moniker when such does not apply to the current forum. However, I would not be adverse to Brian actually being a moderator for a DVD-A forum if he were so inclined. He may very well prefer SACD as a format, but I do not get the feeling that he is opposed to DVD-A. In fact, I get the feeling that Brian is quite knowledgeable about surround-sound in general. As I have alluded to, this place is about surround-sound first and foremost. The actual media is a means to an end, and so far we have thankfully remained on fairly neutral ground in that regard.

As to what goes on in other forums, to be honest, I could care less. If someone has an agenda and their participation here plays into that agenda, I don't care so long as this forum remains friendly, fun and informative. We don't purport to be some authoritative publication and choose not to deal with the "responsibility" issues that go along with such a publication. This is simply an open public forum for surround-sound aficionados. The only real "rules" are that people treat each other with respect and try and keep on topic.