Talking Heads CD/DVD-A Sets: Still Available?

No doubt but I said mixes. The 5.1 mixes are as good as it gets.

 

I must have misunderstood you as well because you said :

"IMO, the Taking Heads 5.1 mixes are about as good as it gets. I can't recommend them more highly. The stereo layer on the DVD-A's...not so much."

 

I still have my brick and only keep it for the DVD-A and videos. The mastering is too compressed for my tastes andi ca. Tolerate some pretty compressed mastering jobs when I have to.

 

Re: the stereo layer, I'm referring to the hi-Rez. I've never listened to the lossy stereo but I would think the lossy stereo is just the same bad mastering but with lower resolution.

 

I was the opposite. Bought the eight discs then decided I want the LPs, too. At one point CVS stores had a few copies of Naked and True Stories Dualdiscs mixed in on their rotating rack of budget CDs. I think they were $7.99.

 

Yesterday I picked up Talking Heads: 77 and Remain In Light as those CD/DVD sets at the used bins for together 12€ in great condition. But for the first time I realised now that on the Remain In Light - Cover the two A-letters in tAlking heAds are upside down. I know, that nowadays bands like Korn or Manic Street Preachers have done that, too. But where the Talking Heads the first band who did such a thing, i wonder. Does anybody know more about this special topic ? THX!

 

I'm kind of curious about the RIM remaster because I don't really like the sound of the original U.S. CD that much. I also don't like Dual Discs.

Amazon is listing a 2008 import CD here:

http://www.amazon.com/Remain-Light-...tmm_acd_title_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1399855065&sr=8-1

Is that the remaster? Or is it just an import version of the standard U.S. CD?

Also, I see that Rhino did an LP version...did they used the remastered CD version for this or another mastering entirely?

 

It has the same ASIN (B000BW9VBG) as the UK CD/DVD-A release. Also on the Amazon link if you look under track listing there's an editorial review that states "2CD Incl. Bonus Dvda". It's actually 1 CD and 1 DVD-A, but with the ASIN and Rhino/Wea UK I'm positive that's what it is. A few years ago I picked up one of these on Amazon US which was listed in a similar way. I also used Amazon UK to pick up a few fairly inexpensively.

 

OK, sometimes the listings on Amazon are incorrect, IME, but I'm willing to give it a shot. Ordered RIM direct from Amazon and FOM from a third party seller. Hoping these are what they say they are and not Dualdiscs or another version.

 

My RIM CD/DVD-A showed up today. It was the correct version, not the DualDisc. Listening now on headphones to the stereo DVD-A version. Sounds great. I know that some people aren't fans of these remasters, but I much prefer them to the old Sire CDs. Since I don't have a 5.1 setup, I can't play the 5.1 mix, but I am happy with the remaster.

 

Maybe you like compressed. But try the downmix of the 5.1. At the very least, it'll be much less compressed (and less fatiguing EQ, but that's a matter of opinion).

 

No, I don't typically like overly compressed albums, and I've heard far worse than this. I'm just not a fan of the Sire CDs, especially compared to the original vinyl (which I don't have anymore). It's too bad there isn't a middle ground CD version, but I'd still rather listen to this than the old Sire CD.

How would I go about downmixing the 5.1?

 

If you're listening the stereo layer I assume you have a DVD-A player (your profile doesn't list one). I assume there is something in the player settings that will downmix the 5.1 to 2.0 if you choose the 5.1 mix from the disc menu when playing the disc. If you aren't set up for 5.1, you may have already unwittingly set up the player to downmix 5.1 to 2.0 by choosing "L-R speakers only" or some such thing. Choose the 5.1 program from the disc and see what happens.

 

Marc, I'm using a standard Windows DVD player on a laptop to play the DVD-A stereo layer. The menu on the DVD will let me choose the 5.1 mix, but I don't know if it would automatically downmix or not. I will investigate options. There may be a way to rip the DVD-A and downmix the 5.1 to regular stereo that way, I'm not sure.

 

Does Windows DVD player play back the hi-rez layers (either 2.0 or 5.1)? (Even if it can't play the hi-rez layers (2.0 or 5.1), there is also a lossy 5.1 layer.)

You can certainly rip and downmix the 5.1 hirez layer, but you'd need the right software.

 

To the first point, I'm not sure. The way that it works is it plays the DVD-A like a movie DVD. Except a get a still picture for each track instead of a moving film. The menu option allows one to select either Dolby Stereo or Dolby 5.1.

Wiki says VLC media player has native DVD audio support, so I may try playing the DVD-A on that later in both modes. I'll also look into software to rip and downmix.

 

The only options are Dolby Stereo or Dolby 5.1? Then you're only getting lossy audio.

I use DVD Audio Extractor. Costs like $30 or something, but I think there is a 30 day free trial. It's pretty straightforward once you understand what you're looking at. You'll see 2ch and 6ch 24/96 files (as well as the lossy Dolby files and other stuff like audio for the videos, etc). When you rip the 6ch 24/96, just ensure that you're outputting to stereo. It probably doesn't do a perfect job of downmixing, but it's good enough.

There are others I'm sure, but a lot of people use it and it works...

 

Thank you for the tip. RIL and FOM will be my first DVD Audio experiences.

 

Sure. If you any questions, PM me.

Too bad you're not set up for 5.1. Jerry Harrison's 5.1 mixes are good as anyone's -- including Steven Wilson, IMO.

 

The old Sire CDs aren't that good, especially compared with the LPs. They weren't transfered or mastered with any care. I find the stereo remasters too compressed, but the transfers and EQ are mostly impeccable. Choose your poison...

BTW, there is no standard, "works-well-every-time" way to downmix 5.1 to stereo, but I have had more consistent results with Dolby ProLogic II.

 

Update: I was able to rip the DVD-A using DVD Audio Extractor. During the ripping process where it gave me the option of what files to select, only the hi-rez files were displayed (24/96). I ripped both sets of hi-rez files to FLAC and will compare these with the CD remaster version when I have the chance. I also checked the DR values using Foobar Dynamic Range Meter, and yes, the DVD-A 5.1 files are more dynamic. I uploaded all these results to the "DR Loudness War" site if anyone cares to take a look. Just skipping through the files, the 5.1 downmix does sound a lot more spacious and open, as well as lower in volume, but I still don't think I'm as adverse to the non-5.1 remastered versions as other people here. Again, I don't like the old Sire CDs that much. Since RIL is a favorite of mine, I will probably look to re-buy an old LP and possibly the new Rhino LP reissue eventually. It would be interesting to compare all 5 versions.

 

Yeah, maybe someday. Right now, it's just not in my budget.

 

Another good Dvd Audio Ripper that's much faster then Dvd Audio extractor is foobar 2000 with the dvd Audio decoder and water mark detector components and with foobar you can also get a sacd decoder and one day soon I'm sure you'll be able to rip sacd to your hard drive

 

No foobar for Mac, correct?

 

I do have Foobar but never liked to use it for ripping CDs and stuff. I did not know you could rip a DVD-A with it. I will look into adding those components to my Foobar. I may give it a try when my FOM CD/DVD-A shows up.