Queen-Night at the Opera DVD-A

Just got the new DVD-audio disc of Queen - A Night At The Opera and WOW!....great soundstage, most of the mud stripped away and previously buried parts are now fully presented what a great production that album was! I wanted this album as a quad 8-track in '75 but it was never released...now, all these years later, I finally have that multi-channel version of Bo Rap
The rest of the album is outstanding as well, with the Prophet's Song a true mind-funk
This beats all the other versions hands down...and the sound of the new stereo 96/24 is great too...but it's ok with me if I never hear this album in stereo again

 

Gotta disagree here as DCC's NATO is by far and wide the most superior version available.

 

Having both the regular U.S. cd, Mofi cd, DCC cd not to mention U.S., Dutch, British and German vinyl versions, the DVD-A trounces them all. I enjoy Steve's work, but the higher resolution makes for a more enjoyable listening experience as opposed to the 'harder sound' of the red book cd format. The vinyl I've heard never was very good. Finally, a superior version of this masterwork!

 

Supposedly with a DTS track on it? Can ya check?

 

dts 96/24 surround track is on the disc.
PCM stereo 96/24 track is on the disc
DVD-A surround track is on the disc.
"Bohemian Rhapsody" video in dts 5.1 is on the disc

I have read reviews that state the dts track is superior to the DVD-A track, but I am not "equipped" to make this comparison myself. I haven't played the PCM track yet - (it is the original mix - NOT a downmix) but I will do so tonight. I spent the little time I had last night with the dts 5.1 version. Many things that were burried in the mix are obviously "clearer" now, and the dynamics are improved over any 2 channel version I've heard.

However: it is a different mix and will not win over anyone who doesn't care for rear channel activity. In either case - I'm glad I heard it.

I just don't know yet if I'm happy I bought it - if ya know what I mean.

 

I sometimes get concerned when a lot of these 5.1 mixes bring out a lot of buried stuff from an original mix. A lot of those original mixes were very complex and some of the "smearing" was intentional ("Hey, that sounds cool" or "Please bury me terrible tamberine playing some more, I was on withdrawl last month"). I guess my main thing is that I'm not really into remixes (unless the tape is gone or other extreme reasons). I really hate the remixed "Yellow Submarine" CD. I also can't stand the "new & improved" Elton John CD messes. Rant, rant, rant... Forgive me all, I'm still dead from the big move last Saturday...

Todd

P.S. I hope EMI (or whatever they're called now) remixes 'Dark Side of the Moon' (just kidding)...

 

Todd, I'm with you all the way!

All I want is a comparson between the non-remixed/non-DTS/non Dolby 5.1 straight virgin 96/24 Stereo and the DCC Gold 44.1/16 CD of this title. Anything else is comparing apples for oranges.

 

If I find it locally, I'll see what I can do!

 

Off topic a bit. I have the DCC vinyl of this title. It sounds amazing but I've gone through two copies (completely different numbers) that have some sort of surface noise trouble on side 2 (mostly right track). The discs had some of what I call the "dragging marks" on them (perhaps created when removed from the stamper?). I'm I the only one who has been unlucky with the surface noise I'm describing? When I received the replacement copy and encountered the same problem, I started to suspect that the stamper might have been slightly damaged. Is that possible? My TT is set-up correctly...

Todd

 

The Prophet's Song starts Side two, right? No, I have one sealed and one opened DCC vinyl and the gold CD, even the MFSL UD][. I didn't have a problem with the DCC vinyl @ all.

 

I don't have the DCC or the DVD-A but either of them has to beat the MoFi IMO. Too muddy for me! I would like to hear the DVD-A...it takes a little getting used to the multi-channel mixes but the I believe in the long run they bring out the best as long as they include the stereo mix.

 

Thanks, Sckott. I'm just damn unlucky with some of these pressings...

Todd

 

Work on a surround (DTS) release of DSotM , using the original quad mixes, was reported years back in ICE but never saw light of day...


My understanding is that *most* of the Elton John caalog (as redone by Gus Dudgeon) was not remixed, but remastered. I have YEllow Brick Road, Caribou, and Cpt. Fantastic, and none sounds remixed.

 

This is not the answer to the question posed....

I listened to the PCM 96/24 mix tonight and it sounds very good. Rich and smooth - no digititus. Problem is: I have no frame of reference. I passed on the DCC (forgive me - It's actually still on the shelf at my local BB), I passed on the original CD - hell I passed on the original lp back in the 70's! Aside from the OBVIOUS track - this album never got under my skin. It's not that I have anything against Queen - it's just that this PARTICULAR lp never struck me the way it did so many others. I may have been "late to the dance" back in the old days, but I always thought "News of the World" was a better, more consistent lp. In my initial post on this thread, I stated that I wasn't sure I was happy that I bought it. I know that I will probably never really sit and listen to it ALL again. I can also say that when I do - I will listen to the stereo mix before I try the surround mix.

FWIW.

 

Uncle Al,

NATO never really blew me away either and I never owned a copy until I bought the MFSL Gold CD. Yes, you read that right, the MFSL Gold. It sounded ok but it wasn't one that I played very often.

But a few years ago my apartment was broken into and a bunch of my CD's were taken. Most of the ones that were taken were aluminum plated, but my MFSL Queen - NATP and MFSL Pink FLoyd - DSOTM were among them.

So of course when DCC NATO released I snagged it up. I don't mean to constantly be singing the praises of Steve Hoffman, but this disc really changed my perspective on this album. I wish I still had the MFSL to do a A/B comparision. The guitar phasing back and forth between channels on the first track, Death on Two Legs, blows me away every time. I used to think the album was a bunch of fluff leading up to the OBVIOUS track, but the DCC Gold is just a thrill a minute to me.

 

I don't think recordings that were intended for stereo ought to mixed for surround.

I have both the DCC and Mobile Fidelity version of A Night at the Opera. While the Mobile Fidelity version was better than any of it's predecessors, the DCC was noticebly better. I really became sold on the work of Steve Hoffman after comparing these two discs.

 

You have to hear 39 in DTS 5.1 sound. Just amazing.

I have always felt that NATO was Queen's finest hour and this particular release along with The Eagles HC and Fleetwood Mac's Rumors justifys my spending big bucks on a DVDA surround system (much to my wife's dismay). I am thrilled with the multi-channel recordings I have bought.

I can only imagine what they will sound like with NEW material instead of 20-30 year old stuff.

Highly anticipated: Yes's Magnification on DVDA.

JohnG

 

Magnification, or at least most of it, is available on DVD-A as a free giveaway to purchasers of the JVC DVD-A player. That's how I got mine ....you're right, of course, that NATO is Queen's finest hour, tho I love other lps of theirs just as much (Queen II, Sheer Heart Attack, News Of The World spring to mind).
I never knew that Roger screamed in the beginning of Death On Two Legs until I heard the surround mix!
They need to put out these classic albums remixed more often!

 

True, most of the classic rock albums I have on DVDA sound stunning. For instance The Grateful Dead's Amercan Beauty has never sounded better. I was never a big Dead fan but Ripple really does sound like the most under-rated Dead song (very limited radio airplay here in NY) that there ever was.

Queen's A Night At The Opera joins a few other DVDA's as must owns and make the cd versions virtually obsolete.

Too bad there is a hardware war going on between DVDA and Sacd. I would like to try out Sacd but that one recording that makes me run out and buy a Sacd player hasn't arrived yet unlike DVDA (I love ELP, Queen, The Eagles, Steely Dan for instance).
DVDA has so far put out the most rock'in titles.
If Sacd for instance released Pink Floyd in multi-channel sound, I would rush to a store to pick up a Sacd player.
So far I sit on the fence waiting.

JohnG