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Reviews: Dr. Chesky's 5.1 Surround Show

Reviews: 4

Review by Vladimir March 26, 2004 (2 of 2 found this review helpful)
Performance:   Sonics:
I have owned this one for about three weeks. My first impression was a disapointment, I dont't know what I excpected from this album but it was not this. The second time I listened to it I liked it much better, maybe because I was home alone and could "turn it up" as much I wanted to. This album needs a little volume!

What I like the most of this album is the drum rythms, the sound of the drums are impressive, and it has a really nice 5.1 mix. I also like the sound of a thunderstorm. If you want to test your subwoofer you really must try the sound of 20 hz heartbeat.

So it wasn't so bad after all? Yes and no... First impression was i disapointment, then I started to like but after playing it for at couple of weeks it's starting to get a little boring. This is not music, this is sound effects, something to use when you want to impresse your friends (or impresse youself). So of course you can't listen to it every day.

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Review by krazykaj October 26, 2004 (1 of 1 found this review helpful)
Performance:   Sonics:
I got this SACD just out of pure interest in seeing it on a self.

My first impression of it after doing a quick listen was "weird"! But as i listened to it again, a lot of the tracks started to grow on me and i began to appreciate it for what it was. This is really a show off SACD. Tracks like 'Music for Cello, Helicopter and Cars' or 'The Storm' (which is an amazing experience)really blow you away. But what i really liked was the use of the bass, especially when the huge amount of drums in alot of the recordings get going, you 'feel' the music.

It has been recorded very well (as you'd expect from Chesky Records) and it makes heavy use of surround multichannel. All the audio has been put together brilliantly, whether it is a ping-pong match, standing in a subway, or having voices circle around you. And if you like exotic and large drums, this is the disk you want. The 'Heartbeats' are also something which will test your system to show how good it is with frequencies ranging from 50hz to 20hz. Your room just pulses.

And with this format, or if you get the DVD-A version which is very good also, I'd recommend you turn down the subs if they are being used first, especially if you run your subs hot, you will notice it!

Dr. Chesky's 5.1 Surround Show is NOT really music or anything you would play in the backgroud while eating dinner, or something you would play for easy listening. It is good for showing off systems and evaluating systems/speakers with its wide range of dynamic tracks.
Or if you just want to play something a bit different to reinforce to yourself that you audio setup sounds great, then this is for you.

cheers

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Review by sledge19 October 9, 2005 (4 of 4 found this review helpful)
Performance:   Sonics:    
This SACD can be your test & showcase disc to educate your friends on the advantages of SACD. The tracks contents range from different flavors of music to drums, choir, singing mice and sound effects (thunder storm, subway, etc.). They are specifically designed for multichannel, but also utilize stereo to full capacity. It is definetely not a compilation of great music or a disc to “listen to” in the background, but it can effectively demonstrate, what your speakers and electronics are capable of. Especially the multichannel mix blows you away! On track 9 “Music for Cello, Helicopter and Cars”, for example, you can enjoy an independent cello playing on each speaker. The stereo mix is also very good, but according to definition, it can only utilize two speakers.

Caution: A sub-woofer is mandatory to completely enjoy the multichannel mix. In contrary to the ITU recommendation, the lowest frequencies are not present on the main channels and are only output through the .1 sub-woofer-channel. I personally do not think that this makes sense (and thankfully not all recordings are mixed like this), because you can use your SACD player’s or receiver’s “bass management”, if your main speakers cannot handle deep frequencies. At least, it only applies to the lowest frequencies (below 60 Hz?). So be warned, without a sub, you’re missing out. For example the low parts of the “Heartbeat” tracks are inaudible. That is the reason, why I rated the MC sonics only with 4.5 instead of stars 5. Aside from that issue, the sonics are excellent - typical for Chesky.

This humorous approach for a demo disc is exactly what Dr. Chesky promises: “magnificent, fabulous, absurd & insane”!

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Review by pchichi May 9, 2006 (2 of 2 found this review helpful)
Performance:   Sonics:  
Dr, you've healed me.

This is pure, magnicifent, fabulous, absurd and insane happiness you gave me in listening the multichannel version of this record. But now that I'm an addict, will I find again a SACD that really put me right in the middle of what I was looking for for so many years.

Stereo is dead !

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