It's Looking Good - The Beatles In 5.1! (1 Viewer)

[Al B. C]

From the Minneapolis Star Tribune (and from another forum).

Speaking of George and Ringo, McCartney recently heard the new "5.1 surround-sound" pressings of old Beatles recordings (including alternative takes) on which technology has "cleaned up" the sound. He raved about the project.
"Winston Churchill's papers get older and browner and more crinkly, and the Beatles stuff gets shinier and clearer and newer," he said. "They can take the hiss off. We didn't put hiss on it. When John [Lennon] sang it, there was no hiss on it. It's like he's right there. Finally, a good use for modern technology."

Hopefully since it's Capitol, they will be on DVD-A.

 

[Marty M]

Call me old fashion, but I prefer Beatles music in two channel.

 

[Marc Colella]

Are there any links available to this?

I've been hearing that the Beatles would be released on DVD-A for a while now - and this looks to be more confirmation.

 

[LanceJ]

Oh my.
Could Warner/Capitol/EMI be subtly leaking info about what hi-rez format The Fab Four's material is going to be released on?
hehe............
And the audiophiles will go into a tizzy when they read that part about the lack of hiss, mumbling something about how the music itself is negatively affected by the noise reduction process. Well, hiss was never part of any artist's musical intentions either so personally speaking, getting rid of it definitely improves the listening experience. I'm PRETTY sure noise-reduction technology is a teensy bit more advanced than it was in 1975 (or whenever most audiophile's "audio timelines" stop).:rolleyes
Make sure your lava lamp's bulbs are working, haul out that musty Nehru jacket, and move your favorite listening chair to the middle of the room: the Be-uhls MIGHT be re-introduced here via 5.1 hi-rez pulse code modulation.
LJ

 

[KeithH]

Like Marty, I would prefer to hear the Beatles in high-resolution stereo. Hopefully the Beatles will be released on SACD or DVD-Audio soon, and if it's on DVD-Audio, hopefully there will be discrete stereo tracks.

 

[Justin Lane]

Excellent news if true. The Beatles could be the artists to push DVD-A over the top as more of a mainstream format due to the press this release is sure to get.

If DVD-A gets the Beatles along with more from Fleetwood Mac, Neil Young, Paul Simon, R.E.M., Metallica, Deep Purple, The Beach Boys, and Elvis to name a few, it will clearly be the place to go for Hi-res rock.

J

 

[Al B. C]

http://www.startribune.com/stories/457/3450237.html
It's just a promo piece for a show in Minneapolis.

 

[John Geelan]

DVDA is already the place for major Rock music so The Beatles on DVD-Audio would make sense.

And it would anger alot of people over at Audio Asylum who hate DVDA.

As long as The Beatles disc's offer both Hi-Rez Stereo and if they can, Multi-Channel, I'll be very happy.

I'm most interested in improved Stereo. But it would be nice to have a multi mix also on there for a change of pace. Especially the more psychadelic of The Beatles music.

 

[John Tillman]

We know that GH's re-mastered catalog is to be released as well. Perhaps they too will see DVD-A. I agree on the discrete hi-rez stereo being a mandatory element.

 

[LanceJ]

Despite me being a fan of surround music, there are pieces of music that don't benefit from multiple channels. For example some stuff from Sarah McLaughlin or Coldplay--sometimes I think they just want to "talk" to the listener and the music is just there as a vehicle for that. Or minimalist jazz groups: I think it's best to have them play directly in front of the listener, and that's all. Not even any rear ambience. Basically for all these artists, those extra channels would take away the intimate feeling they are trying to create.
So I would be extremely surprized if they didn't include a stereo track.
LJ

 

[Rachael B]

On some of this material you could make a valid argument that the original mono tracks should be included. 1964....

 

[KeithH]

Lance said:

And it would anger alot of people over at Audio Asylum who hate DVDA.

That might be the best part if the Beatles come to DVD-Audio.

 

[LanceJ]

I'll agree that using analog-based hiss-removal techniques can take the life out of a recording, espcially in the hands of a careless engineer. But proper use of digital-based noise-reduction tools, where the computer is instructed to remove only the hiss itself, can result in very quiet recordings with all their original details, dynamics and depth intact.
I have four of Capitol's CDs from their "Ultra-Lounge" series (recordings from the early 50's to late 60s) and one double album, "The Exotic Moods of Les Baxter" (these recordings are from 1951 to 1960). With only a few exceptions, all these tracks sound as good as a modern recording, but with no background hiss. Bells tinkle clearly, cymbals "shimmer" properly, & female voices are detailed.
The same with the new "Fragile" and "What's New" dvd-audios. Silent, but still full & very detailed sounding.
I have a feeling those CDs Keith mentioned as sounding lousy either were pressed using an improperly noise-reduced master tape or (as we've been sadly finding out) using safety copies of the original master tape AND with badly applied analog-based NR. It's been surprizing to read of how unprofessionally many recordings were handled (master tapes stored in attics or those "U-Store-It" kind of places!); how some "pros" seemingly don't read the instruction manuals for their own equipment, compression stuff especially; low quality monitoring speakers being used; etc.
I think possibly when Sony decided to remaster Kind of Blue, they might have been in a "total purity" mode of thinking, i.e., in the back of their minds were all those examples of irresponsible sound engieers in the past. So they just took the master tape, & transferred it to CD. Done! No tinkering whatsoever. And not a bad attitude.....most of the time. I'll admit the sound of the instruments themselves is very good, but that thick layer of hiss on top of them is like looking at a Picasso with fogged-up glasses--very irritating. The audio recording world seems to be in two extreme camps right now: the fans of the minimalist approach (though sometimes they get too paranoid about this), & the Super-Duper Hi-Tech Overdone methodology. But to me, there are some people that still know how to use common sense in the recording studio. They utilize modern techniques when neccessary (minus the audio voodoo garbage of the audioasylum variety), but also leave things alone whenever possible. I think another word for this is called "moderation" .
LJ

 

[Michael St. Clair]

I'm ready for mono remasters with the original mono mix that was slaved over so much. I could care less about the fab four in 5.1.

 

[KeithH]

Lance, I don't mind hearing the hiss on old recordings like Kind of Blue. It's part of the mystique of a classic 1959 analog tape recording. That's the nature of the beast. As I said, if I hear an old recording like that with no hiss, I will always wonder if I am missing out on anything else. The hiss is on the master tape, and I think it should be on the CD (and SACD).

 

[ReggieW]

Folks,

IF Capitol/EMI does release the Beatles catalog on DVD-A, then I am almost certain that it will have a discrete hi-res stereo track just as all of the other rock titles they've released so far does. I'm keeping my fingers crossed regarding their hopeful release on DVD-A.

Reg

 

[KeithH]

Reggie, I hope you are right. I can't imagine that EMI would release Beatles DVD-Audio discs only in 5.1. That would be a travesty, much like what BMG is going to do with the Elv1s DVD-Audio disc. :frowning:

 

[andrew markworthy]

Call me old fashion, but I prefer Beatles music in two channel.

Pedantically speaking, the correct format for early Beatles tracks was mono. However, I agree with the spirit of what's being said - stereo or mono, *not* 5.1 for me as well.

Don't get me wrong - I'm happy for 5.1 mixes to be released for them as wants it, but only provided the mono/stereo releases are there as well.

 

[Rick_Brown]

I remember reading about a test in a hi-fi mag maybe 25 years ago. They took a master tape which had virtually no hiss on it and played it for a group of listeners. then, they played the same tape again, but with hiss artificially added to it. Listeners remarked on how much clearer the high frequencies were! I believe that we are hard-wired after years of listening to think that tape hiss = no HF losses.

 

[KeithH]

Rick,

Interesting. Unfortunately, we don't get to compare CDs in the home that are identical save for one having the hiss removed. Given that we will generally get just one version, if it is an old recording and it has no hiss, I have to wonder what else might have been taken away. I can't say for sure than anything was, but I do wonder. If the hiss is there, that suggests to me that everything is there. In any event, comparing the Columbia Jazz Masterpieces discs to the current remasters is an ear-opening experience. Sure, the hiss screams out on the remasters, but with that, the remasters offer far more of the music.


Andrew,

I agree with you. This is what irritates me about DVD-Audio discs that only offer surround-sound tracks. I understand that Silverline only has the rights to produce high-resolution 5.1 tracks, but not all labels are under this constraint. In any event, it is fine to market the surround-sound capability of DVD-Audio to the masses hard, but there is no reason that stereo and/or mono tracks should be excluded in the process.