Queen's "A Night at the Opera". The XXXth Anniversary release has a tough challenge*

Woops, what thread did I think I was in. The LPCM track on this is 48k/24b according to the display.

 

Thank you!!!

 

I've been sitting here comparing the DCC to the new Bob Ludwig CD. They're close.
What I did was level adjust the songs (I brought the Ludwig version down in level) and jumbled them up in random orders so I didn't know which version I was listening to first. Both are quite good but every time I picked a "favorite" I looked up which version it was and it turned out to be the DCC.

Damn Steve your version just held the mixes together better than Bob's. There's a cohesiveness in the sonics. I don't know if that makes sense. When I was listening I'd notice one version could use a little bit in the upper mids or some help in the bottom end and when I switched to the other version it was there. Even if the Ludwig version was first I'd notice there was something missing in a certain frequency or there was a bit too much top or something like that. Every time I heard something I thought was slightly off the other version had it and that other version was always the DCC.

The Ludwig remaster is very good! I think it's better than the MFSL and blows away the Hollywood CD and the Mew mastering from the Crown Jewels set.

I hope Bob Ludwig gets a shot to remaster the rest of Queen's catalog. It would be nice to have a good sounding Queen collection one day.

 

Amen to THAT!!
Now what piece of equipment do I need to own to hear the surround mixes on the new release?

Peace Love and Queen II
Marky

 

A DVD player and a receiver with DTS decoding and a 5.1 speaker set-up.

 

A mini-review...

OK. I got the disc...

Unfortunately, my 5.1 integrated is still being fixed. So I can't listen to the surround mixes of the album. That... well, let's just say that Hoovers and leave it like that.

I got to listen to the stereo CD. Setup: my H. H. Scott 290, Foreplay III pre and Energy C-5 speakers (the setup I listen to the most).

IMHO, and I feel quite uneasy about posting this in this forum, since our host, the Fearless Leader, can't do anything wrong (and I do mean it - every album I have by him is an absolute revelation)...

...this CD beats the DCC. And the MoFi. And the stereo track of the DVD-A. This is my new reference "Opera".

Why? To these untrained ears, the CD is a bit warmer. Bass is tighter. It's smoother, a bit more mellow - and yet retains the sharp "bite", so to speak, I so fondly remember from the album.

The first track I listened to, "Lazing on a Sunday Afternoon" was quite a feast. The piano sounded wonderful, and Freddie's voice had a spark I haven't noticed in any other version. Same thing for "My Best Friend". By this point, I was simply enjoying the album... it's GREAT!

Bohemian Rhapsody is pretty much cleaned up. It caught my attention - the entire disc feels cleaner than any other version. It may be the biggest difference I found. The MoFi sounds pretty "dirty" when compared to this one. The DCC is a bit better in this regard, but I have to wonder whether cleaning the master tapes (in the digital domain, I assume) is responsible for this change.

Overall - I can understand how many people would prefer the DCC version. First of all, it's still awesome. Second, it simply sounds great. Third, the cover art for the DCC is way better. But, again, IMHO, this new version is the definitive one. It's quite a bit better than the DCC, a lot better than the MoFi, and it simply blows away the Hollywood disc.

Now we have three discs to choose from... the DVD-A, the DCC, and this new XXXth Anniversary Edition. All 3 sound incredible. 3 great remasters where you can't go wrong. An album like ANatO didn't deserve anything less

 

ps... I just watched the DVD.

One word. WHOA.

New videos. Bo Rhap - remastered. DTS 5.1 and PCM stereo. BUT - the thing that has me astounded is the "commentary track". Just as some movies have the director and actors chatting about their experiences, here we have Roger and Brian telling us about the album... I think I heard John Deacon, too!

The best album I've bought in the entire year... and this is like the 6th time I buy it...

 

Yup.. you heard John Deacon, and Freddie Mercury too. There are new and vintage commentaries from Brian and Roger and then there are interview pieces/comments from John and Freddie. Great stuff. I love the menus on the DVD. The only tiny flaw in the whole thing for me was that they use the wrong font for the album name in the DVD main menu. Other than that... perfect.

Steve

 

I will have to get this two-disc set. The reviews here are a pleasant surprise!

 

Can anyone confirm this?


I guess if there's hum at the start of "Bohemian Rhapsody" then it's from the original tape.... no hum could mean digital.

 

Yes, you are right. But those menus are really cool, aren't they?

One thing I'm still not sure about. Is the surround mix different from the DVD-A? I won't be able to find out for a while.

 

From what I heard, there's no no-noising in the album. It sounds as natural as the DCC or MoFi. I didn't hear any artifacts common to no-noise. I could be wrong, though. I need to listen a lot more closely.

 

Absolutely! As far as that alone goes they are much better than the DVD-A. I realise thats not really what DVD-A is all about... but I think its a very neat and stylish touch.

As far as I can tell it is different from the DVD-A. It is a true 5.1 mix whereas the other was a 4 channel mix. There are slight differences throughout. I love it though. And I think the sound on the cd is probably the best Ive ever heard this album sound on cd.
Cant wait for them to do the rest of the catalogue!

Steve

 

Damn, you guys. Now I'm going to have to go get this. I swore I wasn't since it was announced, but I'm breaking my promise.

I hope you're all happy. Jamie and Javier, I'm looking in your general directions, which is kind of hard because one of you is in Tennessee and the other is in Mexico. Time to call my chiropractor.

 

4 channel? Scheiner? Never! My DVD-A has sub info and I can swear the center channel is used for vocals if not more. The credits I have seen posted here indicate it's the same mix as the DVD-A.

 

I agree with you, Dave. Evidence suggests you are right.

http://www.avrev.com/music/revs/queendvda.shtml

Nuendo, 24bit / 96 KHz, Elliot Scheiner, Roy Thomas Baker. The only thing I see different is that on this release, May mentioned the master was "cleaned up" form clicks and pops. I'd assume this doesn't apply to the multichannel mixes, but to the stereo one.

So, my SWAG is - the stereo mix comes from the same 96/24 files as the DVD-A, a bit cleaned up. The MCH mixes are exactly the same.

Still - one kick-butt release...

 

Javier,

Did Bob Ludwig master both the CD and the DVD stereo mixes? Also, have you compared the DVD to the CD in sound quality?

 

I am not Javier, but yes Bob Ludwig did master both the DVD and the CD and yes I have compared both. I really preferred the DVD LPCM 24/96 stereo track to the 16/44.1 PCM track. The LPCM sounded more open and had a more realistic top end, the cymbals and other trebel notes seemed more spot accurate with the high-rez 24/96 LPCM track. But of course I really liked the redbook layer as well. The 5.1 24/96 track is awesome.

 

Thanks Rocky

 

The LPCM track is 24/48.

 

Are you sure, I will have to double check mine. I could have sworn that the DVD set-up menu indicates that it is 24/96 and I thought that I saw the indicater on my reciver input indicate 24/96.

 

The only 96/24 indicator I found was next to the DTS logo. I think they meant "DTS 96/24". I assume the audio track is indeed 48/24, since the bandwidth reported by PowerDVD is 2304Kbps.

 

I am very sorry, the 96/24 that I was thinking about was the ProTools. I did indeed replay all 3 sections of this title and I found that I was wrong about the DVD 2.0 layer, it is 48/24. That said, I still felt a more realistic presence with the DVD layer over the redbook layer, the instruments just seemed to have an open air on the DVD that was not altogether there on the redbook. My favorite section of this disc is the 5.1 section, I simply loved the mix.

 

Are the videos included in fake widescreen like Greatest Hits I DVD , or are they fullscreen.

 

i think it was mentioned here on this thread, but has anyone heard (if it's out yet) the double LP version of this Anniversary edition?



thanx!