Beach Boys: Pet Sounds....my new favorite DVD-A

Justin Lane · 07-24-2003, 01:03 PM

After listening to this disc yesterday and today, I can prodly say the wait was worth it. This disc is what Hi-res on DVD Audio is all about: Hi-res mono, stereo, and surround, and lots of bonus features.

The actual mixing is quite like DSOTM on SACD, where the multi-channel improves on the original stereo. As they go from the original mono to the newer stereo and surrounds mixes made from the original multi-tracks, the fidelity of the recording increases. The surround track is a bit different then some others recently as the rears are used extensively for vocals (along with front L,R) and the center channel is rarely used. Still, sitting in the sweet spot makes this mix shine, bringing out a three dimensionality that made me fell as if the Beach Boys were performing in my living room.

Turn on your system, fire up this disc, close your eyes and be swept away.

(Note: I am starting this new thread since the other thread discussing this disc here, contains some review comments but does not directly address the quality of the disc in its topic, but instead notes a delay)

J

Lee Scoggins · 07-24-2003, 01:49 PM

Thanks for the review Justin. I will be picking this up.

John Kotches · 07-24-2003, 01:51 PM

Justin,

Very nice.... Unfortunately the place I ordered from cancelled my order, as it was a duplicate.

Except I only placed one order :-(

Glad to hear you're enjoying it.

Regards,

pitchman · 07-24-2003, 03:29 PM

I picked this up on Tuesday, and although I can see why some may be slightly put off by the mix, I am incredibly pleased with this purchase!

In terms of content, this disc is a blueprint for "how to do" DVD-A. It wreaks of quality and each side is chock full of audio, video (extensive video segments, at that!) photos and insightful liner notes. From start to finish, this is a carefully constructed, well-crafted disc that every Beach Boys fan should experience. There are some interesting easter eggs, too, like the Beach Boys discography section which features 60 seconds or so of an audio track from each album as the cover is displayed, or the extra audio bits tucked away after the conclusion of "Summer Means New Love."

Is it a perfect disc? Well, I guess that depends on your own personal sonic sensibilities.

Is it worth the $16 I paid for it? ABSOLUTELY!

Ken Stuart · 07-24-2003, 04:26 PM

One feature of this disk which should be in all DVD-A's is that there is an option to automatically display the lyrics for the section of the song being played. In other words, you can select that option, put away the remote, and the TV monitor will automatically advance the lyrics display as needed so that you can read (or sing) along.

Quote:

Is it worth the $16 I paid for it? ABSOLUTELY!

Where on earth did you get it for that price? I have not seen it for less than $21...

**HTF Ads**

Rich Malloy · 07-24-2003, 05:01 PM

My first impression: disappointment.

IMO, this is a very poor surround mix, the worst of all my DVD-A discs, but more importantly the original mix sounds terrible.

I want to live with this disc for awhile and hear the various mixes a few more times before coming to final conclusions, but right now I really agree with this review: http://www.highfidelityreview.com/re...umber=19059725

Quote:

THE ORIGINAL MIX: "There is a 96kHz ‘Advanced Resolution Mono’ track also on offer. You don’t have to listen long to that track to realize that it is of distinctly lower fidelity than the others. It has a thin and tinny quality to it; reminiscent to some extent of a single speaker AM radio."

Note that the original mix doesn't even get an MLP-encoded DVD-A track, but rather a PCM 96K on both the DVD-video and DVD-audio sides of the disc. I happen to think it sounds a bit better than the reviewer, but it's not particularly good. Those who have the DCC gold disc of the original "Pet Sounds" mix claim it's not merely better, but greatly so.

Quote:

THE SURROUND REMIX: ‘Pet Sounds’ on DVD-Audio is characterized by several traits that simply do not make sense to the surround music enthusiast. First, there is a virtual absence of use – not a “judicious” use – of the center channel in all tracks. There is also a virtual absence of low bass, such that the LFE channel sub-woofer is never in play. Finally, there is a method of vocal imaging, often heard, which is dominated by the left front speaker and the surrounds, while the right front is muted and the center is silent.

I listened extensively to the dedicated 96kHz two-channel track on this DVD-Audio disc, and in comparison, the 96kHz 24-bit 5.1 MLP mix can probably be best described as a “different,” but slightly worse, with aggressive surrounds added. Slightly worse, I say, because, on several occasions, sound that was present on the stereo mix got lost or receded in the 5.1 track, but with the “addition” of some very uncompromising surround content. In fairness, the aggressive surrounds do show moments of adding genuine value, such as filling the room with some orchestral accents, as toward the end of ‘Let’s Go Away For Awhile’.

While the fidelity of the disc is adequate from either of the high-resolution tracks, it is not enough of an improvement over the 1996 CD to really make you sit up and take notice. Moreover, there is information in the two-channel version that somehow is muted or lost in the 5.1 track.

What I found, and what I would suggest, is that the best way to enjoy this disc is by playing the two-channel high-resolution version through a surround processor that will convert it to multi-channel via either a Logic 7 or Dolby Pro Logic II matrix. I listened to the disc through both of those modes using a Lexicon MC-12B, and the surround version offered in both cases was far preferable to what was offered up from the MLP 5.1 track.

I so far agree with the above review except for all that extraneous stuff about no center channel usage and little LFE channel content on the multichannel mix... IMO, the former is a valid mixing decision and the latter is (or should be) the preferred way to go. I'm much more bothered by the fact that the right front channel is all-too-often forsaken, which sounds damned peculiar and just plain wrong, as though through error rather than choice. Very often, it sounds to me like those "fake processy" surround mixes, like the last two "unwrapped" bonus tracks on The Police "Every Breath" SACD or many of Silverline's worst efforts.

Quote:

Oddly enough, there are audio playback options on the DVD-Video side for both ‘Advanced Resolution Stereo’ and ‘Advanced Resolution Mono’ tracks, but a couple of our machines used to check DVD-Video compatibility (including Meridian’s 596), refused to output any S/P-DIF even with their digital output’s sample rate set to 48kHz. A Windows XP software player also failed to produce any audio whatsoever from either option. You might be lucky, but it seems likely that in most cases the only way to hear these tracks at their native resolution will be via a stand-alone player’s analogue terminals.

Oddly, my Pioneer 414 will pass the so-called "advanced resolution" original mono mix to my receiver via the digital connection, and my receiver illuminates as "PCM 96K" and plays it back without a problem. However, just as with the reviewer's equipment which could not playback some of these tracks (a frickin' Meridian!), for some reason my player/receiver won't playback the 96kH stereo mix via digital link unless I go into my player's internal menu and change the setting so that 96kH is "downsampled" to 48kH. Very peculiar. I don't know why I can play the one, but not the other. Seems like a possible encoding error.

Speaking of encoding issues, I can't use the "audio" button on my remote to toggle between soundtracks. Instead, I have to turn on a monitor (I have to have a monitor to begin with) in order to access the DTS track, the stereo track, or the mono track. Of course, this is a continuing problem on DVD-A discs.

And there always seems to be at least one unnecessary step with every action I try to take on this disc: (1) I want to change tracks, so I go to the "Setup" menu where I select the track of my choice; (2) instead of immediately playing that track, it returns me to the main menu; (3) instead of there being a "Play" selection on the main menu, I have to select "Tracklist"; (4) instead of beginning play on song 1 while displaying the tracklist, I then have to arrow down to the track of my choice (say, track one) and hit "enter". Finally, if I'm lucky, I'll hear some music. Unless of course I'm trying to play the stereo track at it's hyped "advanced resolution". Arrgghhh!

So, my first impressions are disappointment. I'm going to give the multichannel mix another shot tonight after I listen to the (downsampled to 48kH) stereo track. FWIW, the folks on the Steve Hoffman forums have reached something of a consensus that if you turn your surrounds down by at least 3db, this provides a better balance between front and rear. I'll try that tonight, as well. But, thusfar, this is nowhere near the top of my list of favorite DVD-As. Indeed, thusfar, it doesn't even make that list.

Tomoko Noguchi · 07-24-2003, 05:06 PM

Rich,

I agree with you. This is perhaps one of the worst surround sounds I have ever heard. I have played both the DVD-A side and the DVD-V side mixes and they are terrible. The mono and stereo versions are good, though.

Rich Malloy · 07-24-2003, 05:14 PM

Tomoko, I can playback the original mono mix on my setup in full 96kH resolution (the best this disc offers on either side), and it simply doesn't sound as good as previous issues. But I'm not quite so dismissive of it than the HFR reviewer.

I don't have and have unfortunately never heard the DCC Gold disc, but those who have heard it claim it's almost infinitely superior. Of course, you tend to find a bit of hyperbole about Steve Hoffman masterings on the Steve Hoffman forum, but I've known for awhile that his is considered to be, far and away, the best mastering of "Pet Sounds" ever (including vinyl masterings, apparently).

As for this disc... it surprisingly lacks a full-resolution, MLP-encoded track of the original mix, but, more than that, it just doesn't seem mastered very well in straight-up linear PCM. It almost seems like a tack-on, as though no-one really cared about it. For me, this is more disappointing than the surround remix.

Jesper · 07-24-2003, 05:27 PM

Thanks for the info Justin. Now I'm only waiting for my mail.....