My educated guess, Johnno....is yes. It seems that these Warner SACDs are sourced from the same masters used for the DVD~As but we're talking about almost 9~10 years since the DVD~As appeared. I have the DVD~A of Hotel California and the 5.1 Warner Japanese SACD. Boy, do they sound different.......not in the 5.1 content but in the sound itself. There is prominent bass on both but the Sony 5400ES' rendering has a fuller, almost ever present underlying bass line throughout which is not as prominent on the DVD~A (played via the Meridian 800). And why I do say yes is that to create a new 5.1 master when ALL the announced Warners 5.1 SACDs have ALL been released before as DVD~As would be an added expense.
What I do wish Warners would do is release the 5.1 masters NOT released in DVD~A such as Crosby Stills and Nash, Madonna's Greatest Hits, Frank Sinatra/Antonio Carlos Jobim, Neil Young's After The Gold Rush and a host of others which were prepared but never released as 5.1 DVD~As.
So, I would say that the mastering of the SACDs has been done extraordinarily well based on Hotel California.
Would I opt for the Doors 5.1 by Warner/Japan or wait for the Analogue Productions new 5.1 done on all tubed equipment. I think AP's reissue will be a clear winner but since I already own the DVD~A Perception Box and the first album (the Doors) is not a great exemplar of 5.1 mixing, I'd opt for the later albums which have a much more aggressive 5.1 mix (especially L.A. Woman)
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