Queensryche Empire: DVD-A or remastered CD? Opinions please! (1 Viewer)

[Carlo_M]

Hi All,

I love Queensryche's Empire album (and Mindcrime) and was at my local store and found that there are 2 new Empire releases: a remastered CD from 2003, and a DVD-A from 2002.

Does anyone own both and would you recommend one over the other? I do have a DVD-A player but I'm wondering if the mix on the DVD-A is good, or if they perhaps did a better job on the new CD (since it came out a year later).

The CD has extra tracks but I already have those tracks on old CD singles so that's not a selling point. I just want the best possible sound, which would indicate DVD-A but I know there have been some bad DVD-A jobs out there and I just wanted to make sure this wasn't one of them before spending $25 on it.

Thanks!

 

[AricB]

the mix could be better on dvd-a, its not extremely interesting, but it doesnt sound bad, but i havent listened to it much. I think it might have some video's on it that might make it a good choice. I have NOT listened to the stereo tracks. I think BBuy has it for about 15$ in US? I wouldnt pay $25 for it.

have not heard remastered cd.

 

[Philip Hamm]

The Empire DVD-A has great "making of" interviews. The multichannel mix is uninspiring. The stereo version sounds great. Wanna buy my copy? $15 shipped and it's yours.

 

[Darryl]

I agree with Philip. The stereo version sounds really good; the surround mix doesn't really add much to the music. The interview with Geoff and Michael is really interesting, but you'll probably only watch it once or twice. I'd go for the DVD-A over the remastered CD, but don't pay $25 for it.

 

[Mike Broadman]

I recommend hunting e-bay for the DCC gold CD. Actually, IIRC, I just bought mine from acousticsounds.com.

 

[Charles Gurganus]

Carlo, I have the DVD-A as well and concure with the others to a point. The multi-channel mix could have been better but it still opens things up a bit. It is a tad on the bright side. I also have an earlier CD that sounds excellent. I think a big fan would want both.

 

[Carlo_M]

Does anyone have the new remastered CD (2003 I think it said on the back)? How does that sound in comparison w/ the DVD-A's stereo track? If the surround mix is just okay, then I want to pick up the one w/ the best stereo track.

Philip, if I can't get an answer to the CD question, I just might pick up your copy...

 

[John Milton]

I had and sold off the DVD-A. The surround track was nothing special IMO. I was unaware that there was a remastered CD with bonus tracks. Looks like I'll be picking that up soon.

 

[Brian L]

Wow. I always thought that the original CD release was one of the better sounding rock CDs I own.

Can't imagine what a Remaseter would bring to the party, but am eager to hear what those that have both have to say.

BGL

 

[Carlo_M]

That's what I'm grappling with too Brian. The original CD is pretty good, and I do want to upgrade to one of the two new releases, but is it only an incremental increase to the new CD? If so, I will get the DVD-A. But if the DVD-A isn't that great, and the new remaster CD is, as one amazon reviewer wrote:
then I'd pick up the new CD (which is cheaper to boot). Of course, you can't always trust Amazon reviews which is why I'm asking the more knowledgeable people at HTF to chime in.

 

[Mike Broadman]

I actually do have the remaster CD as well, because I have the box set, which is all the albums up to and including Hear in the Now Frontier. Unfortunately, it's been so long since I heard the previous master that I can't honestly tell you the difference. I do know that the catalogue, in general, has improved.

 

[ElevSkyMovie]

Well, since the dvd-a is the 24 bit master, I would go with it, as the remastered cd couldn't sound as good.

 

[Carlo_M]

I do wish it were that simple Kyle. Of course 24/96 is, by nature of sheer numbers, superior to 16/44...it still is a case of GIGO - garbage in, garbage out. If the DVD-A master (or mix) is inferior to the CD transfer, no amount of extra bits is going to help that. But if it is the same stereo mix/master (I will obviously assume the multichannel track is different) as the new CD, then you're right, it's the DVD-A all the way.

I guess what concerns me, and why I posted this, is that the DVD-A was made in 2002, while the CD was in 2003. So there is a potential for a different and better mix/master to have been made for the CD. If they had come out simultaneously I would have assumed (a dangerous thing to do) that they used the same stereo tracks.

 

[ElevSkyMovie]

You're right about that, but I assumed that if they went to the trouble to make a dvd-audio disc with a 24/96 track, they would have used the remastered stereo tracks. Who knows. Maybe the queensryche webpage can help.

 

[Carlo_M]

Yeah, it's just that 1 year lag time, and the fact that DVD-A is still in its infancy, that worries me.

I've gone to Queensryche.com and Geofftate.com was unavailable yesterday, so I haven't been able to find anything regarding either the remasters or the DVD-A on any "official" site.

I've read plenty of reviews, and the consensus is this:

The remastered CDs are darned good

Unfortunately, the jury is out on DVD-A. Opinions range from:

The MultiCh is great!
The MultiCh is okay
The MultiCh sucks

in about equal amounts.

No one has said a thing about the stereo track on the DVD-A in comparison to the stereo track on the CD.

 

[AricB]

bummer. I think the sound of the 5.1 is ok, i just dont think they did anything all that interesting with the mix of it, and that seemed the consensus when i read reviews a while back. On the other hand the Geoff Tate solo disc is mixed quite well for a title that probably is not a big seller and not on a major label. on it's strenght I intend to pick up Tribe on of these days. I will try to listen to the stereo track tonight if i have time. but i dont have the remaster cd to a/b.

 

[Chris-V]

I picked up the DVD-A yesterday and discovered that it does not play in my DVD player. Instead of spinning up and taking me to the menu screen, the disc appears to "stick," and the player's splash screen flicks off, but then shows up again. The player's LCD says it's playing the disc, but there's no audio or video output. This player doesn't have problems with any of my other DVD's, audio or video.

If I put the disc in my PC's DVD drive, it spins up just fine.

My suspicion is that the disc is bad, but I thought I'd check to see if anyone else has encountered this issue, since this was one of the earlier DVD-A's to be released.

As for the Remastered CD, I've been impressed with it, but can't compare it to the DVD for obvious reasons.