Surroundablog

Is Apple Killing Off High-End Audio and Home Theater?

Editor's note: here's a nifty story sure to cool your cockles...or something or other. It's by Jerry Del Colliano and it just ran on avrev.com

The social impact of Apple’s iPod can’t be denied. In one modest handful of technology anyone can carry around and or play any one of 10,000 of their favorite songs, TV shows, movies and beyond. It has changed the way people listen to music as well as the way they buy it. Downloadable music has become a three billion dollar per year business as compared to nine billion per year for the domestic sales of Compact Discs. In fact the iPod is likely the most important thing to happen to recorded music since the CD.

But all isn’t well in the world of consumer electronics – especially at the high-end. Apple, known in the computer world as the high-end solution with entry level computers that start at $2,500 (without a monitor), have taken the idea of buying and viewing music and movies to the ghetto, and along with it has gone the profit margins for specialty dealers as well as many of America’s best independent record stores. Music from iTunes, even to the untrained ear, sounds significantly worse than it does on CD, yet an iPod seems to be the audio source of choice over DVD-Audio, SACD, Blu-ray or HD DVD. More importantly, the music from iTunes is recorded in stereo and not in any of the popular surround sound formats that tried to gain a foothold on the failed audio disc formats of DVD-Audio and SACD. Flat HDTVs are one reason to head to the stereo shop (one dealers can’t seem to make any money on), but why buy a new pair of speakers when all you listen to is stripped down music on your iPod? CONTINUE

David Bowie Young Americans DTS

Editor's note: This DTS disc was rumored last year...its finally out in the UK only...

The zenith of David Bowie's flat-pack soul period, 1975's 'Young Americans' is an incredible and frequently overlooked record. No other Bowie album had spelled out its market so cleanly and crisply in its title. This was an album to be bought at a time when young Americans, after years of mobilising, now had a little disposable income and were ready to party. It was all, supposedly, about "emotional drive." But the album came to represent so much more than that. It is an indirect product of many factors; soul music; politics, both personal and public; sex, drugs and dancing; of downtown New York and uptown Philadelphia.

This special edition CD/DVD includes the original album with 3 bonus tracks one of which is previously unreleased, a brand new 5.1 mix by legendary producer Tony Visconti and 2 performances from The Dick Cavett TV show along with footage of Bowie being interviewed by Dick.

Rush Mixes Snakes & Arrows at Ocean Way

Editor's note: The new Rush album will be released as both a cd and the new DVD Album format featuring Hi-resolution 5.1 surround....

Hollywood, CA (March 26, 2007)--Rush has completed its 18th studio album and first new collection of original material in nearly five years. 

Pictured L-R in Ocean Ways' Studio D are co-producer Nick Raskulinecz; engineer Rich Chycki; drummer and lyricist Neil Peart; bassist, keyboardist and vocalist Geddy Lee; and guitarist Alex Lifeson. Photo by David Goggin.

The new album-- Snakes & Arrows--was recorded with Grammy-winning producer/engineer Nick Raskulinecz (Foo Fighters, Velvet Revolver) and Rush co-producing, and mixed by engineer Rich Chycki in Ocean Way's Studio D on the Neve 88R console, where the band took full advantage of one of the world's largest collection of vintage outboard gear. 

The new Anthem/Atlantic album will debut on May 1, featuring the single "Far Cry," followed by a major North American tour this summer.

Since releasing its self-titled debut album in 1974, Rush has been regarded as one of the most inventive and prolific groups in rock. The band's extraordinary body of work--which includes albums such as 1976's 2112, 1981's Moving Pictures, 1996's Test for Echo and 2002's Vapor Trails--has achieved worldwide sales exceeding 35 million units.

Ocean Way
www.oceanwayrecording.com

What is: MVI Disc

The MVI Disc is the latest in a parade of would-be successors to the CD, including the surround-sound products Super-Audio CD and DVD-Audio, and most recently DualDisc, which plays like a CD on one side and like a DVD on the other. Warner was one of two companies, along with Sony BMG, to embrace DualDisc last year. But the capacity of both the CD and DVD sides of DualDiscs is limited compared to normal CDs and DVDs. In contrast, the storage capacity of the planned Warner DVDs is up to four times what can be held on the DVD side of a DualDisc. Warner and Sony BMG have sharply scaled back their DualDisc output.

Warner is not proposing any generic name for the new format, beyond simply "DVD album." The company plans to encourage retailers to stock them alongside normal CD albums on shelves, and they would likely carry a higher price tag, though just how much higher will probably be determined by the amount of extras included on any given disc. The company plans to continue releasing albums on CD, too, for the foreseeable future.

But there are some stumbling blocks that may discourage consumers from embracing MVI Discs. The new discs would not play on normal CD players, meaning consumers could not simply pop their new discs into their car stereos or other players. And users would not be able to copy the main audio mix onto their computers. On the proposed DVD album, the main audio mix is to be protected by the same software that already protects the content on normal DVDs. To get around these compatibility issues...watch for "special edition" releases that include a regular cd as well as a discreet MVI Disc.

The Music Video Interactive Disc (MVI) would include "preripped" digital tracks of the entire album, ready to be copied onto a user's computer -- a totally separate set of data from the higher-quality, DVD-audio sound that users hear when they slip the DVD in a player. The lower-quality, "preripped" tracks could be copied to a CD.

Porcupine Tree Fear of a Blank Planet pre-ordering

Fear of a Blank Planet pre-ordering 03-23-2007 Please note that Fear of a Blank Planet will *not* be available to order from the band directly, at least not until after the release date. What we need you to do this time is buy the album from regular retail outlets, and from within your own country (so if you're in Europe please order it from your local store, rather than from the US for example).

The album is being released in 2 different forms; the first is a regular crystal case edition with a 12 page booklet. The second is a deluxe 2 disc set, which contains the stereo CD, and a full 5.1 surround sound mix of the album on DVDV (which also includes 24 bit high resolution stereo). Both discs are housed inside miniature card LP sleeves, and come in a box with a 40 page book of Lasse Hoile images. Both Roadrunner in Europe, and Atlantic in the USA have pressed a limited number of these special editions. They differ slightly in that the US edition has 2 separate single card sleeves for the discs, while the Roadrunner edition has both discs housed in a single gatefold card sleeve. It's possible for US customers to pre-order both editions of the album from Newbury Comics with a signed booklet. The European edition is released on 16th April, the US edition on 24th April.

Rush Snakes & Arrows and Linkin Park Minutes to Midnight MVI Disc Special Edition

Editor's note: This piece of news comes to us from Patrick Roseberry who directed me to the rushisaband.com blog. It would appear that we are in for a surround-Rush AND upon further investigation...a stroll-around the Park. What is confusing is that this new MVI Disc format being discussed sounds like DVD-Audio....except that they have ringtones; and more importantly, you can throw it into your computer and copy the tracks for mp3 playback. Silverline already sort of offered the same thing with their DVD-A's where you could get the downloads by entering the barcode on their website. As for the exact resolution....you'll know when we know....or if you know let me know....now...

It appears that the MVI Disc rumors that Power Windows reported on Friday are true! The Rush preorder store store confirms it and Amazon has added a page for the Snakes & Arrows Limited Edition. Power Windows had reported that the rumor was that only 25,000 copies will be made. If this is the case you might want to order a copy sooner than later. As of this posting the MVI Disc version of Snakes and Arrows was ranked #19 in sales at Amazon - just 3 hrs ago it was at #45! Here's the blurb from the preorder store:

New, never before released MVI Disc format.

The Rush Snakes & Arrows MVI Disc comes in a deluxe box, and includes these 13 new songs in hi-resolution audio, the entire album in 5.1 surround sound, a video documentary on the making of the album, and more.

About MVI Discs: With a higher storage capacity than the standard CD, this Music Video Interactive Disc is loaded with exciting new features including superior sound quality plus a wide range of video features and interactive digital content combine to bring you closer to the artists and their music. It plays in all standard DVD players, computers, and game consoles with DVD drives. Digital music files are compatible with all MP3 devices.

Editor: This next bit was taken from Power Windows...

Rumor: Snakes & Arrows To Debut Warner Music's "MVI Disc" Format

Although nothing has been officially announced, exciting rumors are surfacing regarding the new album! The latest rumor is that besides the standard cd format, Snakes & Arrows, along with the new Linkin Park album, will be the first albums released on Warner Music's new "MVI Disc" format. This format will be a 25,000 copy limited edition, and will include a special 26 page booklet.

Announced by Warner Music last August, in an age where fans will spend $3.00 to buy a ring tone but won't spend $12 to buy a cd, record companies are trying to find new ways to entice fans to buy the album. Not to be confused with the DualDisc format, this will be a fully interactive DVD, and will include the album in 5.1 surround sound, as well as a ~43 minute "making of" video, cel-phone ringtones, wallpapers, text, and other digital extras that can only be accessed via computer, including the ability to extract the album tracks onto the users computer for use in mp3 players, etc. The limited edition will retail in the area of $24, while the cd version will be around $12.

The downside is, the limited edition may not be ready in time for the pre-announced May 1st release date. Accordingly, WEA is kicking around keeping the cd release on May 1st while releasing the special edition two weeks later (as some online retailers currently have it listed). The other option is to delay the release of both editions until May 15th, so fans who can't wait do not feel obligated to buy the cd version first, followed by the limited edition two weeks later. WEA would like to avoid this second option, however, as this is the same release date as the new Linkin Park album and would thus compete for sales. More details to follow.

Editor: This is a description of the new Linkin Park taken from lpassociation.com

  Minutes To Midnight is the third studio release from Linkin Park (Hybrid Theory; 2000, Meteora; 2003), scheduled for release internationally on May 14th, 2007, with the North American release one day later on May 15th. The album, co-produced by the legendary Rick Rubin and Linkin Park frontman Mike Shinoda, took 14 months to write and record. This intensive process resulted in the recording of over one hundred rough ideas for songs. As of February 22nd, the band were in the mixing stage, and had narrowed the number of songs to 17, with further cuts planned. The album's first single, "What I've Done" is set to be released to radio on April 2nd, 2007.

    The album title is a reference to the Doomsday Clock, a clock created in 1947 by scientists from the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists at the University of Chicago. It's purpose is to portray how close (in imaginary "minutes") the world is to nuclear destruction ("midnight"). The clock's hand was originally set to seven minutes to midnight (11:53) at the start of the Cold War in 1947, and has been pushed forward or reversed several times since then. It currently stands at five minutes to midnight (11:55). History lessons aside, Mike Shinoda has commented about the title, saying "don't take that at face value. there are layers of meaning, most are metaphoric." and "It’s definitely a reference to the doomsday clock…the Apocalypse…a metaphor for death and rebirth, but it could also be applied to the music industry, sort of tongue-in-cheek."

Three Brand-New Releases Coming From Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab

The Pixies - Surfer Rosa ULTRADISC UHR™ SACD Numbered, Limited-Edition Mini LP Style Packaging $24.99 PREORDER NOW! SHIPPING APRIL 2007! Originally titled "Gigantic", this 1988 release was the Boston quartet's first full-length recording. It established the Pixies almost instantly as an exciting and essential band on the national indie scene and a distinct place in the history of Punk. Producer/Engineer Steve Albini created both a compulsive and hypnotic 'in your face' rush in the economy of each song, while still retaining the band's cryptic quirkiness.The late Kurt Cobain frequently cited Surfer Rosa as one of his major musical influences. Surfer Rosa is being re-mastered by Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab from recently discovered, first-generation analog original master tapes.

Marc Cohn - Marc Cohn ULTRADISC II™ 24 KT GOLD CD Numbered, Limited-Edition Mini LP Style Packaging $24.99 PREORDER NOW! SHIPPING APRIL 2007! Marc Cohn (born July 5, 1959 in Cleveland, Ohio) is a sophisticated singer-songwriter, famous for his song "Walking in Memphis" from his self titled debut. The album is masterfully produced and features brilliantly crafted musical arrangements that perfectly accentuate Marc's soulful, rich baritone timbre and graceful, contemplative piano performances - all tastefully brought to full and exceptional sonic fruition via the Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab proprietary G.A.I.N. (Greater Ambient Information Network) 2™ mastering process. Songwritng styles vary from the Memphis/Elvis/Graceland mythic imagery of the hit single to the seemingly Springsteen inspired writing of "Silver Thunderbird".

Milt Jackson - Milt Jackson Sextet ULTRADISC UHR™ Stereo SACD Numbered, Limited-Edition Mini LP Style Packaging $24.99 PREORDER NOW! SHIPPING MAY 2007! Discovered by Dizzy Gillespie (whose 40's rhythm section left to form the initial line-up of the esteemed Modern Jazz Quartet) , Milt "Bags" Jackson was a preeminent vibes virtuoso and enjoyed over forty years as one-fourth of the MJQ. Jackson also enjoyed decades of solo work for great jazz labels such as Savoy, Riverside and Atlantic and one of his crowning achievements occurred over a three day session booked for Riverside in 1962. Answering his 'invitation' were fellow all-stars Kenny Dorham, Jimmy Heath, Ron Carter and Tommy Flanagan. The trumpet / tenor tandem uniquely augment Jackson's vibraphone, creating a driving, free-wheeling, classic blowing session.

Genesis Back Catalog Re-mastered in 5.1 With Focusrite

Editor's note...borrowed from Pro-sound news....yeah yeah...I'll put it back after you've all read it..

High Wycombe, UK (March 12, 2007)--Nick Davis has spent nearly three years re-mastering the entire Genesis back catalogue in 5.1. Davis wanted to keep the type of processing used on the project in line with the style of the original recordings, so he didn't bring in too much digital processing, choosing instead a host of analog gear including a Focusrite ISA215 EQ. He also used Focusrite's Liquid Mix toward the end of the mix process.

Nick Davis

On the Focusrite ISA215 EQ, Davis commented, "It's fantastic, I really like it. I also did an album with Will Topley from The Blessing and recorded all of his vocals through a Voicemaster Pro. It's very good I was really impressed with that as well."

The Liquid Mix, meanwhile, helped in some of the more unusual areas of the project. "I used the Liquid Mix for some rarity stuff and bootleg material that came in from various sources around the world. One of them was this interview Genesis did for an American chat show in the 70s and the sound on it was terrible so I used the Liquid Mix to EQ and compress that for the DVD. I do like having so many compressors and EQs on hand to switch between, and I love the fact that the processing is on board. It is a big selling point that the box doesn't drain your computer processing power."

Davis started his career as a tape op back in 1983, recording early demos with Tears For Fears for Polygram. He moved to Air Studios and then Westside where he became chief engineer. After going freelance he engineered Mike And The Mechanics' The Living Years LP, which was the start of a long relationship with Genesis.

"I've just kind of stayed within the family," he said. "Once they find people they like to work with they stick with them. I've done some of their live albums and produced a couple of their later albums. They decided to remix the catalogue in 5.1 and it's been a fantastic project albeit one that's been almost three years in the making!"

"Various members have been more or less involved," Davis continued. "Tony Banks very much so. He's come in and heard every mix and helped me finish them off. Mike [Rutherford] has heard about 20-30 percent. Steve Hackett has been very good on the stuff he's on and Peter Gabriel has been very good too. Phil [Collins] has probably been the least involved and has just let us get on with it. He trusts us not to screw it up!"

On his surround mixing philosophy, Davis shares, "I try and avoid doing anything gimmicky. It's great with Genesis because they have these big moments and you can just get a load of stuff out of all the speakers but I generally don't like stuff flying around too much. For example I would usually have the drums at the front or half way but never all the way behind you. The other thing with 5.1 is if you spread it too much you actually lose the power. It's a bit like people saying mono sounds more powerful than stereo because with mono it's concentrated in one area. So if you start spreading it too much in 5.1 you sometimes lose the power because it's the way that it sticks together that makes it sound so powerful."

And, on how the mixes turned out, Davis adds, "It is fantastic. I know I would say that as I'm working on it, but I've just been listening back to And Then There Were Three. It's not my favorite album but it does sound fantastic. Some of the big moments are very exciting."

For more information on the entire range of Focusrite products please visit www.focusrite.com.

Porcupine Tree-er new remix

Editor's note: These side projects of Porcupine Tree are hit and miss. Let's hope this release is more interesting than the Bass Communion project; a lacklustre souless effort of nothing in particular....and with no place to go....but up?

No-Man's fifth album 'Together We're Stranger' undoubtedly comprises the band's most ambitious and personal project in its history.

Originally released in 2003, 'Together We're Stranger' saw No-Man (the duo of Tim Bowness and Porcupine Tree's Steven Wilson) further extending the reach of its panoramic soundscapes and cracked, mournful, ballads.

Boasting impressive performances from Ben Castle (clarinets), Roger Eno (harmonium) and Gramophone's David Picking (percussion, trumpet), amongst others, the album is a powerful and emotionally direct statement that has deservedly garnered cult acclaim and led to a growing fanbase and internet presence for the band.

This new 2 disc Snapper edition of the album comes with the original stereo mix on CD, a new booklet featuring sleeve notes from Mojo's Johnny Black, improved packaging and an audiophile 5.1 DVD-A surround sound disc, also including high resolution 24 bit stereo.

Additionally, the DVD-A disc includes the Break Up For Real (drum mix), (bluecoda), the video for Things I Want To Tell You and a photo gallery.

Officially released on 20/4/2007 in Europe and 5/17/07 in the US, the album is available to pre-order now for £10.00 GBP and will be dispatched as soon as copies become available.

This edition comes with a postcard exclusive to Burning Shed.

'Britain's most underrated sorrowful sonic architects. - Chris Roberts (Uncut)

'A beautiful, heartfelt album.' - Nick Shilton (Classic Rock)

'Some of the most spine-chillingly gorgeous music imaginable.' - Johnny Black (Mojo/Back On The Tracks)

Genesis sacds coming closer

....just a reminder, the first batch of the Genesis catalog sacds are due on April the 2nd. The good news is they are all in multi-channel...the bad news is the accompanying dvd is in PAL format only...although Elusive disc claims to have the sets in NTSC...

Speaking of remastering, here's another article from someone who makes a plea to the labels for more Hi-Rez...