Anyone besides me heard the Neil Young 'Harvest' DVD-A?

I think this thing is wonderful, both in stereo (not muddy like the vinyl) and in multichannel. I have not bothered with the interviews and the photo gallery, I am so blown away with the sound. Some tracks have the lead vocals in the back, so those with small rear speakers may have some discontinuity. I have full range front and back, carefully placed (but not identical to the by-the-book recommended setup) and this disk sounds as lush as my SACD's. NOTHING drifts around in circles, it sounds like a real band without gimmicky effects.

The drum sound in 5.1 is alone with the price of admission ($14.99 at Circuit City).

 

I have it as well. The MCH wasn't bad, but the stereo mix sounded really good, I agree...

 

I have small rear speakers with a weak amp pushing them. For me, its too painful to listen to this disc in multichannel. The stereo is very good and the interviews are great.

 

I also love this dvda. Great album, great music and a very well done disc.

 

I've probably played this the most out of all my DVD-As.

 

We've discussed this disk quite a lot - check the archives.

 

I agree! Neil's vocal placement is too strange. I do like the stereo version though. Then again I rarely listen to MC at all.

 

I have an inexpensive Sony 500 dvd/sacd/cd player. I know I won't get all the benifits of DVD-A but would there be any improvement over redbook cd? There are several interesting titles on DVD-A I wouldnt mind checking out but if I wouldn't hear any quality difference on my machine, I rather get more SACD s.

 

Floyd, I have been playing my DVD-A's thru a SACD changer that doubles as a dvd-v player, and thge sound is as solid as any of my SACD's except for SH's Zombies disc, which is in a world unto itself.

In other words, even on my modest equipment the recording has a lot of body.

I am using a (cheap by most standards at $300) Onkyo hi-current reciever. I had to get a high current one solely because my speakers (Magnepan) are current gobblers. The Sony entry-level Pro-Logic II receivers all shut off with these speakers attached, even if the volume was only up to conversation level.

The Onkyo is drier than I like so I use an old tube Stromberg Carlson 7w dual mono piece from the late 50's for stereo playback.

Really, if you can match the fidelity of the speakers all way 'round, it makes all the difference.

 

It would seem that opinions on this release are somewhat mixed. I haven't heard it, although I do own both the UK vinyl and CD versions, but having read this thread I couldn't help but be drawn to the review in the April 2003 issue of Hi-Fi News.

Ken Kessler (something of a multi-channel advocate) writes that "Harvest shows why early reports of DVD-A were negative - the multi-channel mixing is beyond atrocious.....(Harvest and Road Rock) are two of the worst-sounding releases I've heard this century. On the up side, Harvest boasts a facsimile of the original packaging, and the 192/24 stereo mix is delicious."

 

This is great news. Now this may be a dumb question but will the sacd player play the DVD-A in multi channel.

 

The DVDA can only be played in a DVD player. The SACD player must be a combo with a DVD player.

 

Elliot Mazer interview

Check out the above link for details about the "Harvest" DVD-A.

 

David,

Good link, even for a low-tech music lover like me. Mazor's comments on the sound of recording studios (London, Memphis, Los Angeles) in the 60's was interesting.

Jim W.