I’ve been sorely tempted by the Kraftwerk “Radioactivity “ Blu-Ray (BR) since reading @Tiggerlion’s review – but it has also left me with some questions…
If you play BR discs, what do you play them on? Dedicated BR players? Universal disc players?
If you have a universal disc player, do you still use a dedicated CD player?
And do you have full Dolby Atmos set-ups? Or 5.1 or 7.1 surround? Or plain vanilla stereo? Or a Hafler Trio?
All of which leads me to ask: are BR discs worth the outlay, if (on the face of it, at least) one can’t exploit their full potential?
I have a dedicated CD player – a Marantz, since you ask, and I’m very pleased with it – and listen to music BRs through the same BR player (a Sony) that I use for films. Both players go through a Yamaha 5.1 receiver and five speakers (no subwoofer as I live in a flat and I don’t think neighbours would appreciate it).
For me, audio BRs and 5.1 music DVDs have proved well worth the outlay. The surround sound adds extra width to the sound, and I’m usually hearing instruments and little sounds that I never caught on the CD version. Overall, BRs in particular seem to make music and vocals sound more spacious and clear. I always listen to the 5.1 version if available, so can’t comment on what difference a BR would make if you only listen to it in two-speaker stereo.
If you can, try auditioning Roxy’s Avalon on BR in 5.1 or better. To me that sounds absolutely beautiful in surround, with an already well produced album becoming even more lush and crystal clear.
Finance and the neighbours mean I don’t have Atmos-playable kit, but by all accounts Atmos/7.1 sounds even more detailed and I’d like to experience that at some point.
Agree – Avalon is one of my favourite surround discs – no whizz bang effects, just a sumptuous atmospheric soundscape
I have quite a few BR discs and they are my preferred medium for buying albums if available – not only do they generally have higher resolution stereo and surround, they often pick in lots of extra tracks (see Jethro Tull, XTC “boxset on a disc” releases).
I play the BR on an Oppo UDP-205 Universal Player, which unfortunately is not available any more (although there are similar models from other manufacturers). I also use this as my Roon endpoint and so all music on my NAS drive can be streamed to this.
The Oppo connects to a Marantz AV amp which covers the surround – I only have a 5.1 speaker setup, so don’t do Atmos (although this down mixes to 5.1 automatically).
For stereo (both streamed and from the BR) I do have rather convoluted setup whereby I run the preamp out of the AV into my Audiolab amp which powers the front speakers. The Oppo has a dedicated stereo output which is fed into the Audiolab. This allows me to use my preferred Audiolab for stereo, yet have the ability to do surround without the need for a seperate set up / additional speakers. Hope that makes sense – kinda complicated to describe even though relatively simple to set up !
In addition to that I tend to rip most BR discs to either multichannel FLAC or Atmos MKV files (for discs that only have Atmos – for some reason multichannel flac doesn’t work with Atmos). These are stored on a 5TB external HDD that plugs into the back of the Oppo. This just allows me to play albums in surround without having to change the disc.
Personally, I think BR are worth it – as mentioned above a lot come with lots of extra material and have higher resolution sound.
I’m exhausted reading that. Complete catnip to fellows like Pencil of course.
Yup. It’s distracting me from my fourth play through of the new Aldous Harding album. Which is pretty, pretty good btw.
I have little to contribute on this topic. I have had 5.1 systems in days of yore but they were used exclusively for film watching. They pre-dated the advent of Blu-Ray so I really cannot comment on how they are when used for music playback. I found them interesting rather than essential and I’ve not heard an AV amp that is as successful at two channel playback as a good integrated amp or pre/power set up. Which is where I have come to rest. I’m completely satisfied with two channel stereo nowadays and unless you are going to go down the multi-channel route I can’t see the point of Blu-Ray music but that’s an entirely personal reflection on the matter based upon my limited exposure to the tech.
This is where I am now, Mr P – except that I’ve never owned a 5.1 system for any purpose, audio or video.
I’ve got a Blu-Ray player but I only use it now and again to watch a film or two that are not available on any streaming platform. I Bluetooth the sound to my amp which has a dac onboard. It sounds perfectly acceptable. I’ve thought about using Blu-Ray for music playback but as I mentioned above I don’t see any point unless it’s for multi-channel playback and I’m not going to go to the expense or hassle of that. If I’m looking to improve SQ I’d look at speakers then amp first. After that maybe a dedicated SACD transport and an upgrade to my external dac. I’m not going to be doing any of that as I’m quite content with my current kit… maybe some new amplification sometime or other. Maybe. Perhaps.
I’ve a Samsung QF935 soundbar with subwoofer and two small surrounds linked to my basic BluRay player (it’s a Sony, cost about £90 or so). Also stream Atmos on AppleTV. It’s a pretty low cost set up but absolutely 100% worth it for films and music. The Samsung calibrates itself to your room and once you’ve EQed it, sounds fantastic for music. And Atmos or 5.1 films too of course.
I got the Kraftwerk 3D Bluray set from eBay and it’s bloody brilliant.. Artists are still getting to grips with atmos mixes and some do it better than others. I don’t especially rate Giles Martin’s Beatles Atmos mixes, although appreciate he is limited by his source materials. Ditto the recent Stones reissues – Goats Head Soup, Tattoo You, Black and Blue.
But Ralf Hutter has done a great job with KW Atmos. When you listen to the 3D Bluray, the sound is crisp, distinct and whirls around you wonderfully. Likewise their Autobahn Bluray and as Tiggs discusses, Radioactivity. As others have pointed out, Avalon is your go-to BluRay even if you can’t stand Roxy Music. Something about the combination of the limpid music and a well designed remix. Most things mixed by Steve Wilson also work really well – he’s the remixer of choice for anyone seeking to get an Atmos mix. Other favourites are Floyd at Pompeii and Wish You Were Here, the recent batch of New Order Blu-ray (mixed by Wilson) and Max Richter’s Sleep. All of those alone will more than justify the outlay. I also stream Atmos on Apple+ which is a tad less impactful but still really works well.
Ultimately it’s down to you but personally I wouldn’t bother with music BluRays unless you have an atmos or 5.1 set up. And I’d totally recommend you do
I have a 5.1 setup mainly for film watching. An Oppo Blu-ray player with a Denon Dolby DTS receiver and a rather mixed set of speakers including a subwoofer. I have quite a few surround sound music discs and enjoy listening to them, however you have to basically sit in the sweet spot to get full advantage and I find that I only do that occasionally. The Oppo also plays SACDs including surround ones as well as DVDs and CDs. It has some basic streaming functions also which I rarely us
And I have picked up decent “back up” players for next to nothing at thrift stores, also 5.1 receivers (with speakers) are easily found for not much money second hand especially if they lack an HDMI connection (use a coax or optical digital connection instead for sound)
I have a Panasonic blu-ray player which has analogue 5.1 outputs (front L&R plugged into my stereo preamp), HMDI (which is plugged into the telly) and optical digital audio (which is plugged into my stereo preamp for hi-res stereo playback).
I do have a pair of active monitors (which I got FOC, post-review) on top on the Kallax unit behind the sofa, connected to the Rear L&R of the BD player, so I could do 4.0, but I very rarely switch them on. I’ve just never really got on with surround music.
Kallax unit! Now we’re talking! 4×4 or 2×4?
I checked – 5×5!
@fentonsteve
But despite that, you buy BluRay discs? So you’re mostly listening to them in stereo? Is the difference in SQ significant compared to CDs, if you’re not getting the benefit of Dolby Atmos or surround?
I am, but not many, and – as ever – it comes down to the mastering.
The Human League’s expanded Dare is especially good.
I have 2 Marshmallow Puffs connected to my Ringbark Audiometric Potwiper that delivers fresh pretzles via a Logic Steely Knived Toaster. That is in turn connected to a wireless Chuffersleeve Bonsai Duffle Bag craftily wedged behind the K-Tel Platter Stacker. Overall I am very pleased with this system.
Has anyone else tried this?
You mean Baffle Dug, Shirley?
Good to know.
TL:DR yes, worth it if you have the kit. Would I go out and buy the kit especially for surround/ Atmos music – probably not.
Blu-ray/Atmos music definitely worth it if you have the kit. Many times atmos mixes on Blu-ray have revealed sounds in music for the first time that I know really well and a good atmos mix can be a revelation and can add significantly to the experience.
Having said that not all atmos mixes are created equal and some of them, especially I find if you are streaming via some of the services that support it, can feel cobbled together or, dare I say it, mixed automatically for atmos. In those cases vocals can feel lost in the mix and generally the overall sound is just like they added some reverb and called it an atmos mix. Dedicated atmos mixes done for Blu-ray releases are the best and, of course, pretty much anything with Steven Wilson’s name attached will be reliable, including the music now available via his Headphones Dust website.
I just use a fairly cheap Sony Blu-ray player attached to a Sonos system with atmos but tbh what I tend to do is buy the Bluray and then rip the atmos files to my NAS and play them through that system via a Shield Pro. This is currently the only way I can find to do this which means the files are available to me to stream within my home in the same way that all my normal music is. It’s a bit of a faff getting the point where the atmos files can be streamed but I find the convenience of the end result worth the effort.
Music Blu-ray can be pricey but tbh not dissimilar to vinyl these days if you can get standalone Blu-ray versions rather than the 6th disc included in a box set with several discs of stuff you may not want – Topographic Oceans is a good example. Fortunately streaming services can often help there although , as I say, the mix quality isn’t always as good as the Blu-ray (or the bit rate, presumably)
You may have answered my fundamental query in the first sentence, but just to be sure: if one only has stereo kit, is there any sound quality advantage over CD if one buys the BluRay? Ta.
Blu-rays can contain much more data than a CD so high resolution audio can be used. Whether you can hear a difference is probably down to your equipment and your ears “uncompressed 24-bit/96kHz or 24-bit/192kHz audio, drastically outperforming the 16-bit/44.1kHz limitations of standard CDs”
As ever, it is more to do with the mastering than the carrier format.
Certainly a major factor, but also a fact that regular red book CDs don’t carry high res audio.
And the capacity – even without the surround sound elements, those XTC blu-rays last for hours, and the Human League’s Dare is 3 CDs worth (why this was a limited edition SDE exclusive is beyond me).
Looks like another gearcentric diversion and I doubt my favourites will be any more favourite TBH. I’d quite like to hear some of the Steven Wilson surround mixes but not enough to buy a load of kit for it.
I blame myself. Essentially the OP should have been the first sentence and the final sentence, ie are BluRays worth the outlay if you haven’t got a surround sound setup?
(Although I did find it all of interest!)
Just out of interest I have an XBox which plays Blue rays. I don’t have any blue ray discs. Therefore I can’t comment on the quality as yet but @fitterstoke I thought maybe you might have access to an Xbox to try listening on.
Or he could probably pick up a second hand player for 15 quid
I have a 5.1 setup for home cinema, with a dedicated BR player and also an Xbox which acts as a useful backup. Also my desktop has a BR drive so I can rip to FLAC.
I like the audio BRs, and find that these days I’ve been adding to the collection more frequently, also the odd DVD-A now that I know how to rip them. I like being able to listen in surround, even if it isn’t very often, and also that many have extra stuff like instrumentals and demos. Most of the collection are either Steven Wilson related (his solo stuff, XTC), box sets or SDE like Quadrophenia.