Dream Theater self-titled in 5.1 DVD-Audio (1 Viewer)

http://www.dreamtheater.net/order

They previously released an album in 5.1 Dolby Digital, but I was surprised to see the DVD-Audio logo on the disc itself!

No video or menus, just straight into the music. How it should have always been!

Interesting -- the online product listing doesn't mention DVD-A at all.

I got the 96 kHz/24 bit release from HDTracks...is there any advantage to the DVD Audio?

Is HDtracks 5.1?

I might get the whole shebang if they really are sold out of just the 5.1 disc.

schan1269 said:

Is HDtracks 5.1?

Click to expand...

I don't think the Dream Theater release is, but I'm one of the old-schoolers that prefers my music in good old 2 channel stereo.

I checked. Nothing at HDtracks is more than 2.0. Which is the reason I still haven't downloaded anything Hi-Res.

The MIX

For the second time in Dream Theater’s career, they’ve released an album in 5.1 surround sound.

The first time was Systematic Chaos in Dolby Digital 5.1. My guess is that Portnoy had something to do with this. While I applaud them for the effort, the surround mix was terrible. It was more like surround ‘separation.’ Cymbals? What cymbals?

I have a bunch of albums in surround sound. I consider myself a home theater and surround music enthusiast. I was FLOORED to hear that this album was getting a 5.1 mix.

So many questions!

1) Who pushed for the 5.1 surround mix? The band? Chycki? Roadrunner?

2) Why aren’t they making a bigger deal about this?

3) Why the HELL is Roadrunner out-of-stock of the deluxe edition? Were they ever in stock? - http://store.roadrunnerrecords.com/dream-theater-dream-theater-deluxe-edition-cd-dvd.html/

4) Is this a lossy Dolby Digital release? Or true DVD-Audio PCM uncompressed? (surprisingly the latter!)

5) For the LOVE OF GOD, can they go back and re-mix their back catalog in 5.1? Start with Falling Into Infinity!

I’ve listened to the album ONCE in 5.1 Surround Sound. WOW! This is how it should be done.

FORGET about STEREO. That should be the bonus disc!

HD TRACKS is okay, but in my opinion, there is a much bigger distinction between 5.1 and stereo VS. HD stereo and stereo. If you’re not listening to this in 5.1 YOU ARE MISSING OUT!

In fact, I don’t think I will EVER listen to “Dream Theater” in stereo.



The MUSIC

I’m not going to break this down track by track. Let’s look at the 30,000 foot view.
There’s a saying called, “Never Happened.”

Batman & Robin. Robocop 3. Speed 2. THEY NEVER HAPPENED.

Get it?

Dream Theater’s A Dramatic Turn Of Events NEVER HAPPENED.

I listened to ADTOE twice. The second time was just to make sure I actually heard what I heard the first time.

I finally ‘heard’ what non-fans hear when they listen to Dream Theater. NOISE. MEEDLIES. DERIVATIVE.

Much in the same way Neal Morse unfortunately just re-writes his own music to churn out album after album, ADTOE was the final nail in the coffin for Dream Theater.

They had already started doing that a few albums prior, to an increasing degree. And I’m not even talking about the songs included in Portnoy’s AA Saga.

On top of that, Mangini never got his shot to show us what he could do. I’ve been a fan of his since he toured with Vai back in the 90s. Obviously he was the perfect replacement for Portnoy. Unfortunately, he was just a drum machine on this album. A Portnoy clone.

“Dream Theater” FIXES ALL OF THAT!

Some honest-to-god new territory for the band that has seemingly done it all!

Melodies you can hum to. Unfamiliar, yet heavenly guitar and keyboard tones. And of course, Mangini gets his shot. And boy does he RIP IT UP! Christ!

At times this sounds like a movie soundtrack, although the Six Degrees overture will always be in the top spot for that.


Look forward to any feedback regarding other people’s enthusiasm towards the 5.1 mix.

In case you aren't aware, Amazon has it for sale. - http://www.amazon.com/Dream-Theater/dp/B00DJ80VLS/ref=sr_1_1_title_0_main

Highly recommended!

Brian

Scott Hanson said:

I got the 96 kHz/24 bit release from HDTracks...is there any advantage to the DVD Audio?

Click to expand...

It's in 5.1 vs. Stereo.