Surround sound

Hi folks.

I was just thinking about how amazing the Elbow catalogue would sound if it were mixed in 5.1 surround. I have a few albums now that are in surround sound (Bjork, Super Furry Animals, Beatles - Love, Floyd and Genesis) and I think that some music suits it, some doesn't.

Elbow's music would, I think, suit it perfectly, but I know not everyone has got the 5.1 sound set-up, so I thought it would be interesting to gauge opinion.

I don't have surroun, so, not interested, it would be nice for everybody else though,

I'm a bit clueless about surround sound - how would this be mixed - presumably somebody (Craig?) would have to "remix" the whole album to do this?

I listen to most of my music on headphones anyway, but for audio g33ks it'd be a good idea.

Yeah it would be remixed from the masters, or mixed at the same time as the stereo mix. To be honest I was kind of disappointed that the DVD that came with LOTFW wasn't 5.1, but I guess these things can be expensive.

I have a 5:1 stereo linked through SKY/DVD and use it mainly for films. Never reallly tried a 5:1 mixed music disc though.

How does it sound, is it all vocal through the centre speaker - like the audio in films, or does the mix still throw a vocal through the other main speakers ?

Does it sound detached at all, you know like when the sound seems isolated to one part of the room, or again is it just a balance of what the mix puts out to each speaker, kind of bass heavier to one set and strings or whatever lighter to another, or ????

It's currently at a quite experimental stage I reckon. About 4 years ago people really did quite extreme things, like the Super Furry Animals mixes on Rings Around The World, one of which had the drums panning around the system like the drummer was running around the room with his kit!

I haven't heard stuff quite as odd as that since, the focus seems to be more on a natural sound. The vocal is often in the centre speaker (I'm sure Lee Spoons is glad of this as it makes getting hold of acapellas for mash ups a TON easier) and a traditional stereo mix with the two fronts, and ambient sounds, reverb, bvox etc. in the rears.

However, as always, there are no rules, so I would be fascinated to hear what a producer of Craig's quality could manage with this format.

I find that because some of the sounds come from different speakers, their isolation actually makes them clearer and more distinct, but still part of an overall sonic landscape. (Goodness me, I sound like a pretentious arse!)

Anyway, I love surround sound mixes, and gigs. SFA often did gigs in surround sound, Roger Waters did last time I saw him. It's the future, trust me!

......sonic landscape.

...

Anyway, I used to have surround sound, till my system suddenly stopped functioning properly and now only works in stereo. So I'm not really interested - won't be buying a new sound system anytime soon.

MagicalTrevor wrote:

I find that because some of the sounds come from different speakers, their isolation actually makes them clearer and more distinct, but still part of an overall sonic landscape....... It's the future, trust me!

I can see what you mean, i think. If you are sitting in the right place and have the sound set up properly on the speakers, (slight delay sometimes an issue with films till you tweak the set up) but the concept of being within the overall sounds i get. Maybe it won't end up specifically as 5:1 but in the future when we all have huger wall tv panels, you would think some evolution in the sound format could provide some kind of full circle/continuous speaker system you could channel sounds through different zones or something. (better patent that one just incase )