Performance: Sonics:Let me add a short note to the other reviews of this classic. The Stereo mix still sounds somewhat veiled on SACD, especially vis-a-vis the bass - this is my impression compared to other SACD's I have from a similar era. The SACD layer sounds more extended, detailed and dynamic than the CD layer. I have not been able to compare the mix to the 20th Ann. Edition CD but reports are that the CD sounds better.
Having no multi-channel system I cannot judge the Mch mixes, but the word is that these are great. The 'problem' is one of source I guess. DSOTM has never sounded as good as say 'The Wall' or 'The Final Cut' but personally I am disappointed that the Stereo mix has not been improved further. But perhaps that was not possible. I have learned that the Mch mixes are brand new and that the Stereo mix is just a new transfer.Postscript 12/21/03: I have now been able to compare the Hybrid disc to the 20th Anniversary Edition RBCD and it must be said that there is a marked improvement. The CD layer of the Hybrid SACD is much better than that RBCD in every respect. A number of veils have lifted so to speak, and the 20th Ann.
Install centos 7. Edition RBCD sounds very two dimensional compared to the CD-layer of the Hybrid 30th Ann. Nice clean-up job and for Floyd fans a worthwhile upgrade in my view even if they do not have SACD players.The SACD layer trumps the CD layer of the Hybrid with the by now familiar SACD attributes of more space, dimensionality and extension.
Overal the SACD layer gives you the impression of a richer and fuller musical experience.JwWas this review helpful to you? Review by April 16, 2003 (33 of 41 found this review helpful). Performance: Sonics:This is either the most important title ever to be released on the Super Audio CD format, or yet another tired old reissue of an over-rated album from a band that nobody really cares much about these days.Pink Floyd is arguably the third most influential British band after the Beatles and Rolling Stones. Although they never really reached the mass and enduring popularity of the Beatles, and did not last as long nor released as many albums as the Rolling Stones, there is an aura of cult coolness about them, plus a reputation for the best multimedia concerts (in the 1970s) that cements their status as cultural icons amongst their many fanatic fans.Early Pink Floyd music was rather psychedelic and spaced out, and was dominated by Syd Barrett.
However, his increasing mental instability led to the introduction of guitarist David Gilmour. The band's golden years literally started with this album, which almost singlehandedly spearheaded the popularity of 'rock concept albums' in the 1970s. Originally released in 1973, it was a 'tour de force' that brought the band mainstream success. The album pioneered innovations such as significant use of synthesizers to add texture and complexity to the music, thematic linkage across songs and lyrics that appealed to every misunderstood and confused teenager. Of course, the album also gained a reputation as being best experienced whilst under the influence of strong and illicit mind-altering chemicals.The band continued to release a number of increasingly dark and moody conceptual albums well into the early 1980s, but in my opinion never quite matched the genius of this album (although I am sure some fans would strongly disagree with me).
Performance: Sonics:I don't know.there is just SOMETHING missing with this one, but I can't put my finger on it.Don't get me wrong, I'm a HUGE Floyd fan, but when I listen to ELP's Brain Salad Surgery,and then this.there's just something wrong. It sounds a tad flat.It's not my system becauseBeck's Sea Change and the Police's The Classics sound awesome, as does ELP and Yes Fragile.Am I the only one?Was this review helpful to you?
Review by May 16, 2003 (3 of 4 found this review helpful). Performance: Sonics:This disc should be included with every SACD player. The opening tape loops of 'Money' are worth the price of admission, but from beginning to end, this is what surround sound was made for. The band even had surround when I saw them play it live at the Hollywood Bowl, so it kind of fits to hear it all this time later.
If you like music and have an SACD player then this should be in your collection!Was this review helpful to you? Review by July 21, 2003 (3 of 6 found this review helpful). Performance: Sonics:Seeing that this album was rereleased on SACD was the precipitating factor behind my purchase of my SACD system. I had been leaning towards a purchase, but I was willing to shell out a few hundred more for a system with SACD capabilites once I saw the ad for this.There is a reason that Dark Side of the Moon stayed on the top 200 albums for nearly 20 years. Sitting in the dark, listening to Brain Damage at an excessively loud volume is practically orgasmic. I don't care that the engineers decided to make Breathe in the Air it's own track because I only listen to the album as a whole.I can only hope that Capitol decides to release their whole catalogue on SACD, because Pink Floyd has had a profound effect on all music since.Was this review helpful to you?
Review by October 14, 2003 (1 of 3 found this review helpful). Performance: Sonics:This was the first SACD I bought, and I picked it up the same time that I purchased my player. The pros that installed my multi-room home theater system that next day used parts of 'DSOTM' to balance the speakers. That was 6 months ago.I'm still floored by the sound of this disc.I had grown tired of this album, and I didn't even buy the CD (instead a friend burned a copy for me).
New Pink Floyd Cd
I read, however, that if you want to fully experience the 5.1 MCH SACD gestalt, 'DSOTM' was the disc to get. That is so true.The sonics are such that I feel I am inside the music.
All the people I have played it for reach the same conclusions and a few of them want to buy new MCH SACD systems based on what 'DSOTM' has shown can be done with audio.Was this review helpful to you? Review by November 27, 2003 (3 of 4 found this review helpful).
Performance: Sonics:Pink Floyd's Dark Side Of The Moon is now 30 years old, but you don't hear that when you're listening to this SACD! The sound is cristall clear and brilliant, the bass is very fine and the album sounds very fresh. I exspecially like the clocks in 'Time' and the bass line in 'Us and them'.If you own a SACD Player and you like Multichannel discs you have to buy this album! It's stunning in every points!!!Was this review helpful to you? Review by January 26, 2004 (3 of 3 found this review helpful). Performance: Sonics:I'm amazed at just how clean the sound is - especially the percussion - and lt leaves the sound of the standard CD way behind. Only in the heaviest moments of 'Us and Them' do I feel that the recording shows its age (listening through Stax Lambda professional phones, connected directly to my SACD player) and I can't really object even then.
The new mix, even in plain stereo, is amazingly wide and deep with sounds right out to the extremes of the phones each side, while the clarity is equally astonishing.Now how about 'Atom Heart Mother'?Was this review helpful to you? Review by January 29, 2004 (2 of 3 found this review helpful). Performance: Sonics:I grew up with this record. As a teenager I was immersing myself in all existential crap and thought of Herman Hesse highly. Pink Floyd was my music equivalent of discovering individuality and being unique. I grew up, Hesse is a faint memory, but Pink Floyd’s music is still here with me and it’s still mind-blowing as it ever was. Influential or not, IMO they are the most important band ever.
I never had a chance to hear their quadro LPs, so I am most grateful for the opportunity to come back to the dark side of the Moon in surround. This record is meant to be in MC. Everything sounds natural, every single noise and effect is placed where it should be and the recording quality is equally fantastic. If the stereo version occasionally sounded crowded, MC mix just opens up everything and I feel completely immersed not in music and the recording, but in their truly astonishing and overwhelming world.Every house should have one.PS.
Stephen, if you have ever considered special marks (something like Penguin’s ‘rosette’) for truly unique and awesome discs in every respect, this is the one to get it. Five stars are just not enough.Was this review helpful to you? Review by March 15, 2004 (1 of 2 found this review helpful). Performance: Sonics:My favorite album of all time, the best rock album ever recorded. I bought DSOTM LP when I was a teenager, the cover looked fascinating and grabbed my intention. Ever since I've listened to this record way more than any other record and this SACD was actually one of the main reasons I bought SACD player and invested on multichannel setup.The music on the album is suberb in every way and this SACD brought up lot of new details that might have been missed on previous formats. Especially the cymbals sound clear and the bass is so natural now, I can't believe it's from the same recording I've been listening so many times before.Multichannel mix is sometimes adventureous and it suites perfectly to the album's atmosphere.I'd recommend this SACD to anyone, regardless their music taste, it's still just amazing.
Sonics are among the best I've heard, despite the fact the album was recorded more than thirty years ago.Was this review helpful to you? Review by May 22, 2004 (1 of 3 found this review helpful). Performance: Sonics:This is my favorite MC SACD period! I have listened to Pink Floyd for many years and this release is absolutely made for MC listening. I have the original Quad LP which sounds even better, but for the digital format this one rules! A lot of my SACD/DVD-A collection is listened to in 2 ch because I believe that the sound engineers really screw up when trying to make MC.
For most recordings I don't believe that the musicians ever intended to have backing vocals or instruments relagated to the rear channels of a soundstage. DSOTM is the exception, it screams for MC playback. I can only hope that more Pink Floyd will be released notably The Wall and Wish You Were Here.
DSOTM is a must have for any Floyd fan.Was this review helpful to you? Review by January 11, 2005 (3 of 6 found this review helpful). Performance: Sonics:the first sacd i boughtA recording that really introduces a new listener as to the reason sacd was made in the first place.Being a floyd fan thanks in part to my girlfriend(who heard them first when she was in her mothers womb) the sacd was a must.the sonics of the mc mix are faultless (the cash register on money are a bit tacky though)if you own this albumn oon any other format,but have the benefit of multichannel buy this.Was this review helpful to you? Review by January 13, 2005 (3 of 8 found this review helpful).
Performance: Sonics:First I come in contact with Pink Floyd music end 60s, beginning 70s. All on LPs and with cheap phono.When this album first was on LP, I was impressed about the music and fascinated. The later, when CDs came, I bought the first CD. This was good, 'cause I could hear it in full length without changing the side. But I wasn't able, to say, whether it was a good recording.Now I have a SACD/DVD-Player and what shall I say. It is too less. The LP-rocording and also the first CD-recording hidden too much of this complex work.
This came clear, when I compared the CD-side of this SACD and the stereo-SACD with the multichannel recording. The stereo-SACD is better than the stereo-CD, but even the stereo-SACD is still hiding too much. Now, the whole complex of this work and the details, never heard before, came clear and understndable. This multichannel-recording is absolute fantastique it helps to understand the work.Now, this is an example, how the complex work, which Pink Floyd has always recorded, can be done 'visible'.This multichannel recording honours the work of Pink Floyds 'The Dark SSide Of The Moon'.I hope, all their works, even the 'old ones' (Atom Heart Mother, UmmaGumma etc.)will be soon available as multichannel-hybrid-SACDs and with same fantastique with love rerecorded.Was this review helpful to you? Review by January 25, 2006 (11 of 35 found this review helpful). Performance: Sonics:Musically there is no denying that this is an excellent album, but hi-fi it is not.From the opening bars it is very obvious that the high level of distortion from the original is faithfully maintained in the SACD release, together with all the 'noises-off' in the form of equipment mains hum etc. It is difficult, if not impossible to get past these distractions and listen to the music.Stereo is no great shakes either, with little in the way of 3D layering to add interest.
The performance is overshadowed by tape saturation, unfortunately.Was this review helpful to you? Review by January 25, 2006 (2 of 14 found this review helpful). I have only compared the HD DSD stereo programme with the 1979 Stereo MFSL Half Speed Master Lp.and, have not compared thethis SACD version with the 1994 PCM remaster RBCD nor original PCM master for RBCD.So I cannot make any comparisons here with the previous CD releases nor surround vs. Quad mix.There is a bit of controversy out there regarding the source of the stereo program. Performance: Sonics:Dark Side of The Moon is certainly one of those watershed moments in popular music history. For anyone who has heard the album in traditional Compact Disc or vinyl, SA-CD will certainly offer an entirely new experience of this record.Songs like 'On The Run' are very impressive, with plenty of panning effects which purists may object to. The instrumental moments of 'Time' are very impressive with plenty of deep, deep bass and percussion with lots of reverb.
As this is however, a 1973 analogue recording, you are not going to experience the kind of sound that a DSD recording could have offered. The recording certainly shows its age.I am not a huge fan of Pink Floyd, but I do remember my brothers and I playing this quite a bit years ago. Favorites for me are the opening moments of Time, On The Run and Any Color You Like.
The Great Gig in The Sky can go on and on however. Us and Them is highlighted by the saxaphone, which stands out very nicely in the MCH mix.This is certainly better than the album has ever sounded and fans of Pink Floyd will certainly not be disappointed.
This is recommended with only small reservations. It certainly is a good way to experience the potential of MCH listening and it makes sense that this was one of the very first SACDs to showcase the format.(This review refers to the MCH portion of this disc.)Was this review helpful to you? Review by January 2, 2009 (3 of 18 found this review helpful). Performance: Sonics:Do I need to even say that this is a landmark rock album from the early 70's, one of the highest selling albums ever created and loved all over the world by people that don;t even like rock and roll????I have read so many reviews about this sacd and I won't touch on any of them. People who love this album have listened to it over the course of many years.perhaps thousnands of times.
All I can say is that this album is very much appreciated by so many that it also becomes personal to them. People want it to sound a certain way and if it doesn't then.it may get a critical review.I have also read that the two channel layer is not really a dsd recording. This is not true so don;t believe it.
One listen and anyone can tell that it's not a cd layer. There was a comparison of this sacd against a vinyl record (first printing). They compared the two channel mix.
The critics used a very expensive sacd player against a very expensive turntable. And it was a very close match with the vinyl barely winning the battle. Once you listen to the unbelievable sound of the grandfather clock chiming you will have no doubt as to the quality of this sacd.
A friend of mine exclaimed 'Where's the clock I can't see it?' The sound is warm, great layering of instruments, warm powerful and steady bass.vocals are realistic. Nice guitar work. It;s all there.I have heard some people say that the tapes have become worn out a little over time.
I can't say really. I also know that this album can be a strain on a stereo system as it is very dynamic and powerful. So watch the volume. The track 'Us and them' and the powerful chorus's seem to dry out a little.
I don't know if it's my player unable to resolve the dynamics or if it's tape wear from the original masters.This is one of the greatest rock albums of all time. This is not in question. People are simply drawn to this music.I highly recommend this sacd to anyone who loves this album. All in all it sounds very impressive and is an excellent dsd mastered sacd.Was this review helpful to you? Review by March 28, 2009 (4 of 7 found this review helpful). Performance: Sonics:This seminal album needs no introduction or review. There are legions of fans out there years later who still listen to it on a regular basis and know its complex structure note for note.
It has been extensivly analyised and broken down and anything that could possibly have beensaid has been said. Despite that it is an accquired taste there are those who don't like it and a mercifully a small few who have never heard it.So now we have a new version on a differing format to listen to. The 5.1 version on as presented on the SACD is a differing and subtly different mix from the orginal SQ disc. There are those purists who belive that any tampering is heresy and it would perhaps best to reissue the orginal quad 4.0 disc warts and all.I disagree what we have is an organic evolution of the orginal concept. Some feel that the 5.1 mix is a little conservative and bland.
I view it more as a more mature use of the current technology. For example the famous cash till and clocks sequences now seem more mannered and restrained rather than directly in your face (or should that be ears). As has been mentioned elsewhere there seems to be an obvious lack of bass however if the setting of your sub is correct the bass is there very strong very low and very very subtle so low that it isn't obvious but it underpins everything.Intrestingly I played the disc to a somewhat jaded Floyed fan who had never heard any of the multichannel mixes on any format. His own words were 'wow' he now owns the sacd with no means to play it but he derives comfort from knowing what he has in his possession that is possibly the best comment of allthe other versions on the disc are equally as good, the stereo CD layer surpasses the orginal CD issue (EMI 746 001 2) by a wide margin, The sacd stereo is a even better but it the 5.1 mix that I keep returning to. It is stunning that with the correct levels of care and attention just how good a older analogue recording can sound which both delights and saddens me. The sad part is that so few pop albums will ever be presented as well as this but delighted that this jewel is availableAn album to play all the way through it demands to be listened to, not heard as backgroundWas this review helpful to you? Review by May 7, 2009 (2 of 19 found this review helpful).
Performance: Sonics:I have a Canadian pressing LP the MoFi cd and now the SACD dual layer. I like both the SACD and MoFI cd; just that I find the SACD sounds a bit clearer/sharper; which I put down to a combination of the surround mix and the extended frequency response. Must admit though that I was disappointed the running at the start of Time does not run around your head like it did in the old 8-track tape of days gone bye.Was this review helpful to you? Review by January 11, 2010 (1 of 4 found this review helpful). Performance: Sonics:It just became apparent to me that this album (well, all albums, really) should only be listened to on vinyl or SACD.
PCM should be out-lawed. And a fine example is my own realization that I'm hearing a saxaphone solo in the song 'Money', yet some how I never noticed this before listening to the regular CD all these years.Note to newbies such as me: If you only have two speakers, be sure you're SACD player is set to 'Stereo', not multi-channel, which is usually default. Or else you'll have parts of songs go AWOL.
Pink Floyd The Wall Dts Cd Rates Video
In stereo you'll lack nothing. All this multi-channel-foolery isn't nesessary to enjoy this classic album.Was this review helpful to you? Review by January 30, 2010 (0 of 1 found this review helpful).
Performance: Sonics:The stereo SACD version here is the best sounding stereo version of this album available. You can certainly hear where you're being limited by the quality of the master tapes though. Listen to how the loud parts in 'Us and Them' just smack up against what they could get onto the tape; it's almost palpable how the tape overloads on 'front line died' as an example.They hybrid CD layer sound funny though. If you're not listening in SACD, you want to get the older remaster that first showed up in the 'Shine On' box set and has been reissued in a couple of other forms too.The surround mix is boring as hell though.
Floating around the land of bootlegs, there is an immaculately mastered DVD-A version made from a good quality copy someone snuck out of the original quad masters. That version is what you want for surround.
The original Alan Parsons quad mix is miles more interesting than the one on the SACD, and whoever did the 24/96 conversion did a great job. The Alan Parsons Quad Mix 24/96 DVD-A is the definitive version of this album to own. Splitting things into four channels so well unmasks a world of detail you just don't hear on any other version, including either SACD mix. I highly recommend a bit of Bittorrent work to obtain a copy if you can arrange it.Was this review helpful to you? Review by April 9, 2010 (5 of 5 found this review helpful). Performance: Sonics:Let me make this easy.I have heard Dark side on LP, CD and SACD.
I played the LP back to back on my stereo using mostly Sony equipment and an older record player that’s in good shape. Playing both with zero EQ'ing (my CD player has its own volume level so both were same level) and some the record about 10 second delay they both really sound exactly the same. I have compared many records to the CD's and they sound exactly the same minus the NOISE from records.The SACD is a hybrid with the CD and the SACD 5.1 and supposedly has a “stereo” SACD track.The CD sounds like what you expect from a CD. The stereo SACD track IS EXACTLY THE SAME AS THE CD TRACK. I have spent countless time switching back and forth and it IS THE SAME!Now we get to the SACD.
I do not like it for the special effects and surround sound. But when you hear Us and Them there is stuff you never heard from any record or CD. The vocals are so loud and powerful that it will make you hear all the problems with both vinyl and CD’s. Vinyl and CD’s both FLATTEN the sound of the original master tapes and when you hear this you will notice that they both lose some of the sound.SACD is superior to all!!!!
I am giving lower score to 5.1 becuase really I wish they just did it in 2.0 but in no way do they ruin the music with too much surround.Was this review helpful to you? Review by March 18, 2011 (2 of 2 found this review helpful). Performance: Sonics:This album has been a favorite of mine for many years.
In fact, it might have been the first CD I ever purchased. However, when I ran home to listen to that CD I was disappointed by the high level of tape hiss on the album.Some years later I purchased the Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab (MFSL) version of the CD and it was much better than the original CD in every way - less hiss and more of the music came through. The details were better and more defined. And the bass was wall-shaking.Now comes the SACD version.
I've been listening to the SACD version in stereo mode for awhile now, and it is way better than the original CD and slightly better than the MFSL version. The tape hiss is immensely reduced, but not completely eliminated. There are more details than in the other versions. For example, there is a small snippet at the end of 'Us and Them' where I can hear the sax has a little more warble than I've ever heard before.
In fact, I found myself playing back just that last bit of sax to hear it (just to make sure it was there). The overall sound is much more fluid than the previous CD's. The left-right spaciousness is ridiculously wide. The only gripe is that some of the highest ends are a little fuzzy - most likely the original recording couldn't handle the highest extremes.
The bass still vibrates pictures on the wall. Extremely blast-able at the highest levels the stereo will play.For all that I knew about this album, I've never listened to it in multi-channel until I got a pair of Audio Technica ATH-M50 headphones.
Paired with a Little Dot III tube headphone amp, this album was absolutely stunning. Now, there is still the issue with the recording's ultimate limitations with the highest ends slightly fuzzy (or buzzy or frizzy, whatever). But these issues are so small as to be very forgivable.
The overall sound envelopes in a way the stereo version never could. For example, in beginning of the album when there are all of those special effects, I never realized that there was more than just left-right. In the multi-channel version, I could hear that guy running from the front-right to the back-left. In the stereo version, I always thought that was simply left-right, and it always seemed a little weak in the middle (sort of a lapse in the middle of the run). Now I know that is was meant to go from the front to back - very impressive.
All of the other special effects are similar to the running guy. So, whatever you've known about the stereo version, you cannot possibly appreciate the multi-channel version unless you've heard it.Also, the SACD version seems the most cleaned up - I could swear that the vocals were more clean like they've been polished (almost squeaky clean somehow).
All the instruments are large and well-defined. The sound completely envelopes the listener. I really never 'heard' this album until I listened to the multi-channel SACD.Great album and a sound that is almost as good.Was this review helpful to you? Review by March 30, 2011 (4 of 4 found this review helpful). Performance: Sonics:I'm shocked to hear the stereo purists on this album. Were not confined by the concept of stereo when recording this album, Roger especially. He always had the panning effect in mind so if you want to hear it the way it was intended, and subsequently performed, then as a fan seek out a way to listen to a multi channel mix.
I have a perfectly matched 5.1 channel system so each speaker matches each other in timpre. This wasn't the first case when I played the multi channel layer. However, getting perfectly matching rear surrounds made this album come alive for me in a way it never had. This was Roger's complete vision. Ps, I'm not discounting any of the other memembers contribution, (Nick's quote abuot the ageless success was all due to the drumming was perticularly charming) However Roger at this time was hugely consumed with new possiblities of recording the sonic experience.
That's why tracks like On the Run were included. At the time, the technology wasn't quite there for the average consumer. But now, thanks to SACD and the explosion of home theatre systems this experience is open to a huge new market of Floyd fans.This isn't my favorite SACD, but it is the one I demo most often because of how familiar the material is and the general quality of the transfer. It makes you wonder if they had only done this 20 or 30 years earlier.This SACD makes me sad more modern artist don't have this kind of vision to demand the possiblities of multi channel recordings. Imagine what Arcade Fire, Mumford and Sons, Florence + The Machine, Cee Lo Green, The Decemberists or even Daft Punk could do just to name a few. (Flaming Lips go without saying but they went with DVD-A)Dear Recording Industry: I don't buy CDs anymore - if I buy a physical album it is an SACD and I pay a premium for it. How do you not get this?
If you die, don't blame mp3s and compressed music. Blame yourselves.Was this review helpful to you?
Review by January 16, 2013 (2 of 2 found this review helpful). Performance: Sonics:Definitely one of my favorite albums.
As I grew as an audiophile, I came to the realization that this is not and will never be a test of audiophile sound quality. That being said, I've heard had gazillion versions of this album - the SQ LP, the 1980s CD, the MFSL CD, the MFSL LP, etc. Out of all those, I liked the MFSL CD the best, although it certainly jacked up the bass a bit too much (most of the MFSL Pink Floyd CDs seem to do that for whatever reason).IIRC, the band recorded the music tracks to a multi-track, but comressed it all and bounced it over to another multi-track, where they added sound effects, then eventually bounced the sound effects + music bounce muilti-track to the final master tape. The SACD release cuts the music bed back a generation.
This seems valid, as the music seems a bit more clean and transparent in the SACD release, over the old analog versions I've heard.All the same, this mix is kind of lacking. I would agree with the previous reviewer who said it sounded 'pinched.' While it is sourced from DSD (or at least high res PCM converted to DSD), there is something subtle about it that doesn't sound 'right.' I can't put my finger on it.I'd like to see them do a new SACD remaster. The recent Analogue Productions release of Wish You Were Here sounded terrific.Was this review helpful to you?.