Producer Nigel Godrich dismisses “all this Dolby Atmos rubbish” as he says that “stereo is optimum”

From an accessibility standpoint, you're correct; those Dualdiscs were fragile pieces of junk, and didn't work in all DVD players. Dolby Atmos at the click of a button is far more convenient. (Europe apparently got regular DVD discs - lucky foreigners!)

As someone who owns the Brick set, however, I was hoping that these would be new mixes. There are problems with the original 5.1 mixes (missing bird song opening from Drugs, bizarre lead guitar on The Great Curve, etc.) that I hoped they would correct in the Atmos versions. Guess not...

 

I find it really strange that there are forum regulars here who still don't understand Atmos. If you want to experience an Atmos mix with a 5.1 setup, then do it. Atmos gives you more options, not less.

 

Here...you dropped your mic.

Maybe when you learn something about sound reproduction reflections from all around you, and the ability to move around a three-dimensional space, you might just learn to take care of your audio equipment more carefully.

The last time I checked...most people on this board who enjoy 5.1, 7.1 and even ATMOS mixes...do it with only two ears, as well.

 

I didn't intend it to sound condescending. If it did, I apologize. With written text, tone can seem harsher than intended.

Ok, it's your opinion and I respect that. But if you listen to surround mixes on headphones, of course it will never convince you. For stereo system, stereo source. 5.1 only makes sense if you listen to it with the corresponding number of speakers.

The George Harrison quote seemed pertinent since many people (even people inside the music industry like him) saw stereo then as some people see 5.1 now, pointless.

 

Thanks for your kind response and clarification, I appreciate it and hope I also did not offend you.

It’s funny but when I was a teenager I had a (Sansui?) receiver with a built in “spacializer” which was kind of a reverb unit and I loved it. Used to click it on when I played live LP’s and it added nice ambience.

These days I love listening to a 300B tube headphone amp fed high resolution files on some nice planar headphones. The music is incredibly….musical! Technicolor, vivid…just gorgeous. Sounds 3D. I had a 7.1 system for years, I never thought less could be so much more. But maybe it’s just a phase

 

Which can be achieved with a 2-channel system in a proper listening environment.

 

More or less.

 

It's good, and what's more...the track Nige complains about is one of the best IMO. The end is thunderous, love the low end. The entirety of The Chain in 5.1 is magnificent to my ears.

 

Additionally foolish when you take into account that mixing in stereo isn't being discontinued - and that in many cases creating a stereo folddown from the multichannel version is often the only way to listen to a dynamically intact version of today's heavily-slammed sludge.

 

You can create the effect of a sound moving around in a 360 degree pattern in stereo but without being told beforehand which way it is turning (clockwise vs counter-clockwise) there is a 50/50 chance you and I will hear it moving in the same way. In surround there is 0% chance you and I will hear it moving the opposite way as each other.