Post by danfaz November 10, 2011 (71 of 205)
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In a word...brilliant! This SACD has a very analog sound to it. It reminds me of the SHM-SACDs, but even better because of the multi-channel. Surround spacing is excellent. The surround elements are well-placed. The packaging (digi-book style w/ post cards) is of a very nice quality. Worth every penny!
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Post by Johnno November 11, 2011 (72 of 205)
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You guys have really got me excited! It sounds as if it is truly exceptional. Hopefully, ours will arrive early next week.
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Can anyone who owns both the Immersion box and the SACD give their impressions about the differences between the Blu-ray MC vs. SACD MC? Thanks!
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Post by Ear November 13, 2011 (74 of 205)
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Brilliant! A must have for any 5.1 fan. Just listened to it in surround so far. Truly fantastic. Great sound and great mix. I truly hope there will be more SACD 5.1 albums in the future from AP.
Edit: WOW in the JPC charts WYWH SACD has the top spot, beating Coldplay's Mylo Xyloto! The regular remastered CD is at 13!
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Post by Johnno November 14, 2011 (75 of 205)
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My brother's and my copy arrived yesterday and, having played it last night, I agree with all the comments made so far -- and as I've often mentioned before I only listen in stereo.
It is simply the best-sounding pop/rock SACD I have yet heard.
When I asked my brother about it later in the evening after he had played his copy, his reply was "it's perfection", although I wouldn't go so far as to say that. Nevertheless, he's not an easy man to please, having been very disappointed with the SACD of "Dark Side of the Moon". He listens in three-channel with a centre front speaker placed much higher than the outer two to give a sense of height.
With my giant electrostatics, it's always the sense of scale that I notice with good SACDs and WYWH has it in the best possible way. That's something I never seem to notice with CDs, good as many of them sound in other ways. With SACDs, instruments and voices sound "life-size" even at moderate listening levels. The beginning of "Welcome to the Machine" is almost frighteningly real (now when did I install that elevator? -- even though David Gilmour has stated in an interview that it's just an electronic sound) -- the deep bass is sensational -- but the spaciousness and depth throughout is equally enthralling. I was listening through the VSE-modified Sony XA5400ES.
The multichannel format might add something to the listening experience -- I presume the rear channels are used in WTTM and probably elsewhere -- but as sheer sound this SACD sets new standards and shows what can be done when there are people involved who know what they are doing AND who take the necessary care to ensure that everything is optimised throughout the remastering process.
Well done. More, please?
If only the Genesis box sets had been treated in the same way! The sound on some of those discs is little short of disgraceful.
Finally, it strikes me as somewhat ironic that, before the breakup of the band, lines like "if we all pull together as a team" and "Together we stand, divided we fall" ("Hey You" from "The Wall") should be used in their songs! I had been previously watching a DVD about the band in its post-Animals period and it's all rather sad, even though there was a late, brief reunion before Rick Wright died.
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Post by rammiepie November 14, 2011 (76 of 205)
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Johnno, sorry you were disappointed with the Genesis SACDs. Just listened to a few the other night in 5.1 and I thought they did a great remastering job. It was played through my Sony 5400ES via HDMI (the mod you have has NO effect on the HDMI output) into my Meridian 621/861 v.6.
I was less than thrilled, OTOH, with the Moody Blues transfers, especially Seventh Sojourn. Days of Future Past fares a lot better, IMO.
Glad you LOVE the WYWH transfer. I always enjoy new product from Analogue Productions.....
PostScript: The 5.1 of Genesis is thrilling and really opens up the soundstage considerably. Have NOT listened to it in stereo, though.
Also, the 5.1 of Kraftwerk is astounding........an immersive, holographic soundfield. A lot of posters think remastering Pop/Rock to SACD is a total waste of time but in the right hands, some of these old chestnuts sound pretty amazing.
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Post by junchoon November 14, 2011 (77 of 205)
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rammiepie said:
Johnno, sorry you were disappointed with the Genesis SACDs. Just listened to a few the other night in 5.1 and I thought they did a great remastering job. It was played through my Sony 5400ES via HDMI (the mod you have has NO effect on the HDMI output) into my Meridian 621/861 v.6.
I was less than thrilled, OTOH, with the Moody Blues transfers, especially Seventh Sojourn. Days of Future Past fares a lot better, IMO.
Glad you LOVE the WYWH transfer. I always enjoy new product from Analogue Productions.....
PostScript: The 5.1 of Genesis is thrilling and really opens up the soundstage considerably. Have NOT listened to it in stereo, though.
maybe for VSE there is no effect, but the owner of modwright says his mod for xa5400es will improve the HDMI as well. wonder if it is marketing or any truth to it? :)
cheers,
wps
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Post by rammiepie November 14, 2011 (78 of 205)
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Junchoon: Almost all the mods, including the NuForce Editions of the OPPO, claim that there is NO improvement in the HDMI output.....mainly in the stereo and 7.1 analogue outputs is there a difference.
But I will state that my 5400ES does sound significantly better via HDMI than does my NuForce Oppo.
But I've been treating the 5400ES with Kid Gloves as there are so many quality control issues with the unit that I really don't want to subject it to a mod, at this time (I also think these quality control issues was the primary reason for its sudden disappearance from the market even though they're still in demand....go figure).
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Post by junchoon November 14, 2011 (79 of 205)
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rammiepie said:
Junchoon: Almost all the mods, including the NuForce Editions of the OPPO, claim that there is NO improvement in the HDMI output.....mainly in the stereo and 7.1 analogue outputs is there a difference.
But I will state that my 5400ES does sound significantly better via HDMI than does my NuForce Oppo.
But I've been treating the 5400ES with Kid Gloves as there are so many quality control issues with the unit that I really don't want to subject it to a mod, at this time (I also think these quality control issues was the primary reason for its sudden disappearance from the market even though they're still in demand....go figure).
qc issues? what are those? won't your warranty cover that? i can't claim warranty if anything happens to my unit as i am located in malaysia. yeah, xa5400es IS MADE IN MALAYSIA! go figure.
my xa5400es has been performing quite well, only hiccup on one out of shape disc - the upper and lower layer of the SACD is of different diameter.
wps
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Post by Tetlee November 15, 2011 (80 of 205)
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Received my copy of WYWH today, just been listening to the surround mix and was completely blown away, especially when WTTM started up, one of those moments you feel you couldn't listen to it in stereo quite the same again!
Well well worth the £26 I paid from elusivedisc(shipped to UK) and more, outstanding mix and quality through and through(even the packaging is AAA, thank you accousticsounds!).
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