Got it, heard it - amazing. I thought the previous incarnations of this album were good, but boy ... Unbelievable clarity, with some instruments that you knew were there before but could only hear faintly now clear as daylight in the mix. The one thing I would note is that I think the drums are less to the fore than before, but this may just be that the incredible presence of the lead instruments has just mentally relegated their importance.
Warning - I suspect that unless you have your speaker balance set just right, this album will punish you.
Got my copy today, listened to the album first in 5.1 and then partially through in stereo. Initial impressions are as follows:
1.) Great job on the 5.1 mix. Very appropriate, and slightly on the agressive side which is good for this album.
2.) 5.1 mix really brings the vocals to the forefront when compared to the stereo mix. As Andrew pointed out, this mix is very detailed and lets the listener into the nuances of the recording.
3.) Stereo mix sounds nice. Can't say it sounded better then the most recent Warner remaster without comparison, but it certainly didn't sound any worse from memory.
Got my copy today too from Amazon-UK. I agree with the other reviewers - absolutely stunning. Just as the CD was the cutting-edge of incredible clarity, this is too, only in 5.1 surround. I was surprised for the better that the surrounds were as active as they are - things coming out of the blue that were not as present on the CD- guitars, hammond B, percussion, etc.. Very nice reverb on Mark's voice gives a larger-than-life sound. This mix just envelopes you and is nothing short of amazing. I can't compare to his solo work in hi-res as I don't have them yet. This is on par with the best SACD's out there in my opinion. But, did you expect anything less from the pioneer M.K.?
I guess I'm going to voice the "Minority Report" on this forum too... This disc doesn't suck by any stretch of the imagination, but it just misses the mark of being reference class for me.
Here's where I think it falls short:
1) Inconsistent mix of lead vocal between phantom center, hard center and L/C/R which is distracting.
2) Nothing is done to integrate the front and rear soundstage -- there is no front to back imaging. Without it, you don't gel the two so they are two disparate elements. Compare this to DSotM, Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots or any number of AIX Records titles to understand this point.
I'm not saying it's anywhere near the bad Silverline releases, it's far closer to reference class than that. But (at least for me) it doesn't quite make it there.
Now that I'm done discussing the weaknesses, let's talk about the positives. Seven great tunes, two really good tunes. Twenty years old, 16/44.1K capture and sonically it's first rate. Yes, mixing and mastering equipment have made great strides since this was captured 20+ years ago. Let's be honest though, if the initial capture was crap no mixing and mastering equipment could have saved it.
So, I would give it a 4/5 for surround mix, 5/5 for music content and 4.5 or 5/5 for sonic quality.
Wow, just blew me away. MK's vocals are more stunning than ever. My wife was equally impressed.
I'm also hyped about the upcoming Best of Dire Straits SACD mentioned in the notes. I just hope there is enough interest that they release the entire catelog on SACD.
Our top 5 for audio quality are in no particular order:
Brothers in Arms Alison Krause & Union Station Live DSOTM Avalon Peter Gabriel Up
Whoa!! Did I missed something in the notes? There's a mention of the upcoming "Best of Dire Straits and Mark Knopfler" but it didn't say whether a SACD will be available. Of course, I will get the SACD version if available.
I should have my copy within a couple of days. I have the XRCD and I'm curious as to how they compare. The XRCD sounds superb, betting than many SACDs and DVD-As.