What happened to Blu-ray Audio?

Discussion in 'Audio Hardware' started by floyd, Mar 25, 2017.

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  1. ti-triodes

    ti-triodes Senior Member

    Location:
    Paz Chin-in

    I haven't been following the whole thread, but Oppo players have problems playing BD-A's because they screw up the Persistent Storage on the players. Clear it and the BD's play fine.
     
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  2. Postercowboy

    Postercowboy Forum Resident

    Location:
    Nowhereland
    I don't know about that. I have all kinds for HiRes formats, and sound-wise I do not have any preference.

    In the end, the major differences are in the mastering, not the medium.

    While my general preference goes to SACD, the real challenge is to find the best sounding version of a specific album, regardless of the medium.

    I just bought Elton John's GOODBYE YELLOW BRICK ROAD on BR-A on ebay. Everyone seems to agree that this is the best sounding digital version of this classic so far. Combined with a price of $14 with shipping, it would seem stupid to buy the old SACD instead. (Which is not only more expensive, it also got a lot of bad reviews as well for the sound quality.)

    Patricia Barber MODERN COOL is another example. Also a different mastering, and the BR-A pretty much corrected everything that was wrong with the SACD.
     
  3. bru87tr

    bru87tr 80’s rule

    Location:
    MA
    Elton John's GOODBYE YELLOW BRICK ROAD on BR-A is very very loud. Can't even listen to it. There is a reason it's very cheap.
     
  4. Steel Horse

    Steel Horse Forum Resident

    Location:
    Uppsala, SWEDEN
    Just preordered the upcoming Steven Wilson Blu-ray Audio. The format is not dead yet. Just smells a little funny while in sleep........ :laugh:
     
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  5. bru87tr

    bru87tr 80’s rule

    Location:
    MA
    It's dead when they start going for crazy prices on ebay. A couple do, but you can still get a great deal on the more sought after ones.

    How many of you have this one ? Guns N Roses 96/24 and Dire Straits sounds quite good too.

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]
     
  6. Postercowboy

    Postercowboy Forum Resident

    Location:
    Nowhereland
    So I stand corrected: ALMOST everybody agrees the BR-A sounds good... ;-)

    Frankly, I never owned any digital version of GYBR, and it's been a long time since I even listened to it last. Since all digital versions seem to be flawed one way or the other, $14 for the BR-A seemed worth the risk. And again, pretty much every other review I read was very positive. For no specific reason, I like it that entire double album is on a single BR disc. Of course, there are all kinds of different systems and different ears, and let's not forget that 'one man's owl is another man's nightingale'.

    I've also looked at Marvin Gaye - WHAT'S GOING ON on BR-A, and it is getting fairly mixed reviews. For the japanese SHM-SACD Universal used the MoFi mastering, and both versions received very good feedback. Amazon description says 'transferred from the original master tapes', which makes me think they used the MoFi tape once again. Which would of course make sense. Now I wonder, could the same mix really sound so much worse on a different medium? Has anyone actually listened to this? The SACD versions are out of print, while the BR-A is still around $20. Frankly, I don't see myself paying a collector's price for this one.
     
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  7. bru87tr

    bru87tr 80’s rule

    Location:
    MA
    Marvin Gaye sounds good to my ears.
     
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  8. Postercowboy

    Postercowboy Forum Resident

    Location:
    Nowhereland
    I read several reviews that say the BR-A sounds like a super-clean CD. Not exactly what I would want from a Marvin Gaye album. Also, one reviewer on Amazon wrote about both BR-A releases: He was very happy with LET'S GET IT ON, but, in direct comparison, also extremely disappointed by WHAT'S GOING ON.

    It's not a high priority title for me anyway, so I guess I'll wait for a reasonably priced SACD to show up.
     
  9. xcqn

    xcqn Audiophile

    Location:
    Gothenburg, Sweden
    Yikes!

    I'm looking at that packaging thinking... why would anyone wanna buy this?

    For starters this is music and it comes in packaging that was intended for movies. It looks cheap, plasticy and like no thought was put into it AT ALL.

    I don't get why the industry is constantly doing the same misstake. Manufacture something that people can't resist. Something that looks gorgeus and takes you beyond the music itself.

    Something that you would wanna collect. Added value like a 50 pages book with insight into the recording process, interviews, posters, t-shirts, stickers. Just something.

    I'm looking at that thinking, who is this for? They are obviously targeting someone that don't give a crap about estetics and just want the damn music.

    Well, in that case i guess going to hdtracks and download the songs would be the same thing really. You are getting the music and nothing else, just like with the BR-A's.

    Rant over :D
     
  10. SquishySounds

    SquishySounds Yo mama so fat Thanos had to snap twice.

    Location:
    New York
    I remember DVD-A from about the time HD-DVD was still a thing, but I never even heard about Blu-ray audio until this forum
     
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  11. bru87tr

    bru87tr 80’s rule

    Location:
    MA
    Let's get it on does sound better.
     
  12. bru87tr

    bru87tr 80’s rule

    Location:
    MA
    It's a demo disc. Only reason it's interesting is for the one Guns N Roses track. Wasn't for sale, lol.
     
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  13. DrZhivago

    DrZhivago Hedonist

    Location:
    Brisbane Australia
    Obligatory.



    Regards
     
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  14. xcqn

    xcqn Audiophile

    Location:
    Gothenburg, Sweden
    I realized that, i ment the format as a whole not being very interesting packaging wise.
     
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  15. marcb

    marcb Senior Member

    Location:
    DC area
    You actually give Amazon customer reviews credibility when it comes to sound quality? That's the last place in the world I would look.
     
  16. EddieVanHalen

    EddieVanHalen Forum Resident

    Me neither, I've seen plenty of good reviews to albums that are poorly mastered plagued by brickwalling and overcompression, you know for the average guy, the louder the better.
     
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  17. lv70smusic

    lv70smusic Senior Member

    Location:
    San Francisco, CA
    It depends on the review. It's clear from some reviews that the reviewer is knowledgeable about sound quality. Some people even mention their equipment in their reviews and draw comparisons to other releases of the same music. Granted, that's not true of the majority of reviews on Amazon but I don't dismiss them all out-of-hand.
     
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  18. Postercowboy

    Postercowboy Forum Resident

    Location:
    Nowhereland
    Well, it is the last place in the world to look for me as well. However, if there are no other reviews, I do use it.
    As to credibility: It depends. I certainly couldn't care less about the 'Sounds great!' type of review.

    In this case, the reviewer owned both Marvin Gaye BR-As. He said he had been hesitant to buy LET'S GET IT ON, after WHAT'S GOING ON sounded so bad to him. This kind of direct comparison anybody can do. Other reviews confirmed this.

    So yes, from time to time I give Amazon customers credibility, especially when it comes to possible PROBLEMS with sound quality.

    In this case, I eventually decided against the WGO BR-A. I just found the MoFi SACD on german ebay for a reasonable price, so that's that.

    According to a couple of expert reviews on this forum, the japanese SHM-SACD apparently sounds even a little bit better. So I will have to live with the fact that I went for the second best... Not an easy thing to do for any true audiophile. ;-)
     
  19. marcb

    marcb Senior Member

    Location:
    DC area
    The few which are remotely good are usually folks from this forum. And many of the half knowledgable ones get removed.
     
  20. genesim

    genesim Forum Resident

    Location:
    St. Louis
    The problem with bluray audio is from a cost vs value perspective.

    While I stand completely firm that transferring from an LP at high resolution has a whole lot to gain when you explain this, people just glaze over and can't grasp it, and it starts fights.

    The same in reference to utilizing the bulk aspect of bluray storage capacity. You want sales, gives customers bang for their buck.

    Case in point, the complete studio albums from Elvis. 180 bucks on CD. Fantastic value. Guess what, 60 frickin' CD's. Just not efficient. Put that on 1 bluray for 50 bucks and you will see people starting to perk up just a little and this supposedly dead format just might have some life yet.

    Now who is doing it...practically no one. Bulk is in, cheap is in....and less quality as well. But is it really? First to do it right will make believers, but hey, maybe I am wrong on that...tick tick...

    Now same goes for the high resolution aspect that bluray can deliver. If you had someone transferring records like I have from the original mixes at high resolution in raw form and then manufacture it and sell it as such, there would be interest.

    Imagine, the sound of an LP almost exactly in one small price point, bulk that up too while you are at it.

    Anyone that says that analog records are limited needs to reference physics. The nuances of a cutting lathe reaction to sound are so small...yes even 44.1 thousand times a second is just embarrassing. When people say that BD-A sounds like a super clean CD...that is an understatement. When done right it can and does sound outstanding. The problem is that you need the right source.

    A digital transfer of the original master tapes is rather cute, but there is more to it than that. The human body (hairs, bone conduction, ears) has a comfortable range, and transferring to achieve super high...and super low approximations is not what people desire. Yet the HD audio is sold time and time again and fails...while people flock to vinyl for obvious reasons.

    The reason that HD works with movies is because it was always sold that way. Blurays continue to have a strangle hold on the HD video market for obvious reasons (mind you I say HD market, not the crap licensed/renters market). This is because movies unlike audio have always been "HD" in the theaters because you were essentially listening to master tapes every time a magnetic strip went through the reels. Sure it is nothing like the original tapes, but it still was better than what you were getting at home. Our ears have been trained different and that is why we are more forgiving of explosions that have super high and super low ranges...but listening to music? No, I don't like explosion dynamic ranges, but I do like that sweet guitar in the mid range to be properly represented, which a CD in all its thousands of snapshots isn't going to capture the MILLIONS that an LP can and does achieve with the original record cutting needle in the proper comfortable listening dynamic range.

    But that is just me.
     
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  21. Jwest97

    Jwest97 Bass Player for Luxury Furniture Store

    Location:
    Las Vegas, NV
    The Audiophiles spent all their money on high end $1,000+ DVD/SACD players and a large catalog of SACD's ten years ago! They can't afford a high end Blu-Ray player!
     
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  22. genesim

    genesim Forum Resident

    Location:
    St. Louis
    Bluray is a supplement, not a subtraction. No reason to star over.
     
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  23. Bill Mac

    Bill Mac Forum Resident

    Location:
    USA
    If one doesn't have a Blu-ray player or universal player then one has to buy a player. Which in a way is like starting over.
     
  24. Tullman

    Tullman Senior Member

    Location:
    Boston MA
    This a good point. It would be pretty cool if they had a great hi-res mastering from the original tapes. Pictures/artwork and track listings could all be included.
     
  25. Tullman

    Tullman Senior Member

    Location:
    Boston MA
    The Modwright Oppo's are pretty much high end and can be had for under $4,000. I know a thousand bucks is a lot of money but SACD/CD players of that cost are not really highend. IMO
     
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