Worst 5.1 Audio Mix (1 Viewer)

[Seth_L]

The Worst 5.1 Audio mix...

This honor is going to have to go to the SACD of Alice in Chains - Greatest Hits that I picked up today. I'm 100% convinced they screwed it up. The vocals dominate the the rear speaker (yes the player is connected properly). The center only has a little echo/reverb in it.

Anyhow what's your least favorite 5.1 audio mix and why? This can apply to DTS CDs, DVD-A, and SACD. I'm not picky.

Seth

 

[Jeff Keene]

It's really sad, but I agree. The multichannel AIC - Greatest Hits is lousy. If you want to wash the taste from your ears, give a listen to AIC Unplugged DVD-V. It's one of my favorites.

Anyhow, the worst 5.1 audio mix for me has to be the Moulin Rouge DD track. The dts ain't much better. The dialoge is hard to understand, the music is muddy, Yuck.

 

[Dan Joy]

For music, In the Flesh, Roger waters(SACD). It is listed as 5.1 on the back label, but it reads 5.0. Crappy bass, instruments streaming incoherently, and to much crowd. For movies, recently I watched Van Wilder and thought that it had an awful tinty shrieking like sound to it..

 

[Mike Broadman]

Also agree with the Alice SACD. It was my first exposure to multi-channel rock music, and it wasn't a good one. It's a good thing that all SACDs have a stereo track.

 

[Shawn C]

I'm not too impressed with the Natalie Merchant Tigerlilly DVD-A.

 

[Dan Joy]

Shawn, That surprises me. I love the redbook of Tigerlily and desired to have a DVD-Audio player just for this album.
Bummer, I love that sweet voice of NM!

 

[Emil Stoica]

I will second Shawn's pick.

The CD version of Tigerlily is way better than the DVD-A.

 

[Andy Olivera]

I'll throw in the 5.1 track on Iron Maiden's Raising Hell concert...

 

[Shawn C]

Shawn, That surprises me. I love the redbook of Tigerlily and desired to have a DVD-Audio player just for this album.
Bummer, I love that sweet voice of NM!

Yeah, it's just not all that great. It's a great album but they seriously screwed the mix on the DVD-A.

I think it's due to the fact that it was one of the first titles to get re-mixed and it just didn't work out.

 

[Rachael B]

The DTS CD of Edgar Winter's JASMINE NIGHTDREAMS is pathetic. Instuments panned into any and every channel. Look, the guitarist is in the audience, the drummer is riding around on a magic carpet, the audience is tossing Edgar around. If my pre couldn't mix the thang down to stereo I would turn it into a coaster.

 

[Dan Joy]

Look, the guitarist is in the audience, the drummer is riding around on a magic carpet, the audience is tossing Edgar around

 

[Ken_McAlinden]

I don't really mind the Tigerlily mix all that much. There are a few gaffes, but it doesn't ruin it for me.
My nomination would be either the Sarah McLachlan Mirrorball DVD 5.1 mix (way too much artificial ambience) or the Santana Supernatural live 5.1 mix (all congas all the time in the surround channels. )
The Bruce "Live in New York" 5.1 mix is not bad overall, but a couple of songs (notably "My Love Won't Let You Down" and "Born to Run") have an artificial sounding delay applied to the snare drum that sounds really unnatural and distracting when it comes out of the surrounds.
Regards,

 

[Philip Hamm]

The Who Live at the Royal Albert Hall sounds dreadful. Every mix sucks, the 5.1 and stereo. The worst. Also Yessongs is unlistenable.

 

[Kevin M]

The only DVD-Audio disc I have is one of the early releases, ELP - Brain Salad Surgery and since I don't yet have a capable player I can only listen to the DD 5.1 tracks. How does it sound in the higher fidelity?
Personally I don't like the fact that in remixing it they chose alternate vocal tracks for a great many of the songs, I have listened to this album for most of my life and the difference is very noticeable.

 

[wayne p]

I picked up the Tigerlily DVD-A today. I enjoyed it so much I listened to it twice, back to back. Just a little bit louder the second time. I find the sound of the instruments and voice to be very natural. Of course the lyrics and music are also very good.

As to the 5.1 mix, I find it was somewhat typical to those discs where instruments or vocals are localized behind/beside the listener from time to time. Not bad, just not natural. I believe this will improve as the recording industry learns how to use the strenghts of this format.

Given the current limited quantity of DVD-A software I would not hesitate to recommend this disc.

 

[John Geelan]

Now that I have my 775 hooked up for Multi-Channel, what are the best Multi SACD's available these days?

I know Tubular Bells is a winner, i've ordered that one.

Thanks!

 

[Marty M]

One of the worst 5.1 mixes that I own is the DVD-Video of Sarah Mclachlan. Way too much reverb on this. It sounds like she is singing in a tunnel. A real good SACD multi-channel is James Taylor's Hourglass.

 

[RaulR]

The worst I've ever heard is the "fake surround" mix for the songs on the "A Hard Day's Night" DVD. Awful phasing effects all throughout, boomy bass, and intrusive echo and reverb coming from the surrounds especially in the concert sequence near the end. I'm glad they used the original mono soundtrack, but they really should have just left it alone.

 

[John Geelan]

I've ordered Tapestry/Carle King...Blow by Blow/Jeff Beck....Hourglass/ James Taylor...Alice In Chains GH's....and Tubular Bells/Michael Oldfield on SACD Multi-Channel for now.
I will also pick up soon:
Rebecca Pidgeon/ The Raven
Mahler's 6th Symphony/ SF Orchestra
Joe Satriani/ Engine of Creation
Keb'Mo/ The Door
Thanks again!

 

[Mike Broadman]

what are the best Multi SACD's available these days?

Just a few off the top of my head...

Miles Davis- Kind of Blue
Dave Brubeck- Take 5
classic jazz with a front-heavy mix

Mahler symphony 1 & 6 - San Francisco Orchestra

Mozart- Symphonia (Sony)

Mark O'Connor- I forgot what it's called, but he only has one

Oscar Peterson- Canadian Suite (jazz with orchestra)

I haven't been too impressed with any rock multi-channel SACDs.

NP: Frank Zappa, Uncle Meat