i have to say, not stereo does not equal 'bad audio' to me

why does everything have to be interestingly panned?

I bet at the gig it was pretty much mono, to give even sound across the crowd from various speakers

I just listened to the record. True, there are very little panning effects, but the audio quality is excellent!

When I listen to it, Im comparing it to the live experience I had. And the sound was flawless and had such big impact. Everytime a big drop or climax would happen you'd think the PA speakers would distort and explode but they didnt!! The bass and treble ( as well as some sort panning surround efx they used ) was great. Listening to the CD, it does sound more direct from the mixing desk making the treble levels of the beats and bass lines exposed more as opposed to just reverb from the stadium I was in perhaps? But I was right at the front of the stage and usually its not that good being up that close at a concert but the sound was still perfect.

satur8, on 29 March 2012 - 12:35 PM, said:

I've finally had a chance to listen to this in my preferred state. When I saw Don't Think in the theater, THIS is the sound I was expecting to hear...not the crap we all got.

I should never doubt the Brothers, and I should not have commented before sampling. This CD sounds awesome.

Just noticed they releasing the audio only on I-tunes. Wonder if its any different? Maybe not.

This makes me laugh, as someone has pointed out for years we have wanted a live recording and now that we have it people are not happy. Reminds me of the vinyl and mp3 debate, in my opnion you can't really tell the difference unless your in a studio, in a club the format is irrelevant.

I don't think it's about people "not being happy" and more about a valid critisism of sound quality. Obviously there is going to be massive bias on this board, it's full of fanboys so it's what you'd expect but some people can hear it from a technical perspective.

I think people are expecting something that never existed in the first place.

No. Don't Think is great, you know me, I'm a fanboy and a big defender of The Chems in pretty much any situation. But in this case, there is a real problem lying in the lack of any stereo sound on the CD.

I've been comparing Don't Think's audio to the audio from the high quality live recordings that we've had, such as
- BBC Electric Proms 2007
- Santiago Chile 2004
- Open Air Field 2002
- Amsterdam 2002
- One Big Weekend 2000

and previous offical releases from the Brothers, like
- Temptation/Star Guitar (AmericanEP)
- Believe (The Boxer)
- The Live 05 EP
- Setting Sun (The Reel)
- Out Of Control/Got Glint (Music: Response EP)

Every single one mentioned has some form of panning effect, ranging from subtle (Out Of Control/Got Glint, Setting Sun, One Big Weekend 2000) to extremely obvious (Temptation/Star Guitar, Believe, Electric Proms 2007, Amsterdam 2002). I even checked Glastonbury from this year - yep, panning is very present.

So why would Don't Think be released in mono when their previous broadcasts and official releases were presented in stereo? It appears they regularly do their live shows with at least two channels of sound. Maybe it's possible that they just played at Fuji Rock '11 in mono for even sound across the speakers*. But that's no reason to neuter the release. It doesn't make any sense. Especially since Don't Think has been celebrated as being the first concert film in 7.1 surround sound.

Don't Think's CD succeds over other full show recordings in quite a few ways, especially in the sound mastering. Biff went over these already. Yes, an audience member is much less likely to hear a stereo effect at a live show. But this doesn't erase the fact that many existing recordings, both official and not, actually have panning. Besides, the film itself is in 7.1! We're not expecting something that doesn't exist, because it does. Their shows actually are in stereo. Previous stuff like Temptation/Star Guitar (AmericanEP) completely trumps Don't Think's CD quality since it's so well mastered, and preserves the stereo.

Would you buy a real Chems album in mono? Try listening to any of their albums, there's always panning effects, which helps create a excellent soundscape. Get rid of that, and you lose something. That soundscape is similarly created in all of those quality recordings I mentioned up there. For whatever reason, Don't Think's CD completely lacks it and loses something in the process. Underworld's Everything Everything, released 12 years ago, is in stereo, and holds up better for these reasons.

Don't Think, as a film, is mindblowing and brings the experience of a real live show to you. It's incredibly fantastic and more than anyone could have asked for. There aren't enough adjectives for it. But in the straight audio it fails. It's not our first recorded taste of a live show, we've had those for years. What's expected from a big official release like this is something that puts our radio bootlegs to shame. Don't Think doesn't do that for me. Very cool to have a great quality recording of a 2011. As THE Chemical live experience, though, it's kinda disappointing.


*Which they wouldn't have done. Firstly, it couldn't have been mono, since the video release is indeed in 7.1 surround sound. And there's no reason for Fuji Rock being in stereo either. Here's Hey Boy Hey Girl, Fuji Rock, 1999 with plenty of panning:

I still think the audio quality isn't very good at some point, especially during superflash. Like, I can barely distinguish the different synths merging together.
It is probably the way it is meant to be, but the feeling was kind of different live. I think there were much more mid-high frequencies.

On another topic, the segue in between horse power and chemical beats sounds rather weird. Like you only hear the main acid line of CB while the vocals ("uh") are very quiet in the background.
It is probably more a mixing choice rather than a bad sound quality issue though

Yeah I have to agree with the sound quality, in some parts is poor and in others sounds kinda off.

The best Chems live recorded show IMO is the Santiago de Chile 2004 set, if only we could get the full recording without radio voice overs.

Don't Think is great but I some times feel Adam Smith focused too much on the people and not enough on the performance of Tom & Ed, in some parts of the movie I just wanted to see the stage and the Brothers (Believe build up for example). It's great to see the reaction of the people but at times I felt it was too much.

Quote

disagree. I think they have tried to keep the magic by not getting too into the technical side of what they are doing. A stand out moment for me seeing them live is the saturate paint but in the dvd you hardly see the graphics in that we zoom right out to see the crowd and the stage becomes really small.

The dvd has no features, no commentary. Maybe that is a shame or maybe it adds a bit of class.

I think the whole package is executed perfectly.

I whish their were more technical stuff like the hbhg button!
we never see what they are actually really doing on stage. It would have been cool if the camera could have focused a bit more on the gear. The synths and all the tiny LED are definitely part of the magic!

haha, that would be a dream for us geek fans, but look at the general audience -they got a brilliantly executed package like jonny rightly said. i think were enough onstage personal moments in this film..
Ed n Tom - a geek's edition?

I think maybe it is just a matter of preference, and what we were expecting and hope we could have seen. But I liked that the film didn't dwell very much on what Tom and Ed are doing on stage. It's not that I'm not interested in what they're doing. It's just seeing the Chems live is more than that. It's about what it's like to be at a show. Music, lights, lasers, glowstick dodging, images on screen, the dancing goofball to the right of me and the entranced rave pixie to my left - those things are all a part of being show. In a live setting, even if you are a mile away or up front and center, there's always something happening in your surroundings and the focus will occasionally drift from what's happening to/from the 2 people on stage. At least for me anyway. I think the film captured the essence very well.

So anyway, about the Don't Think CD. I don't have much to add but there's been some interesting (and very techy informative) things being put out. Interesting food for thought and lots of effort put into explaining and comparing!

i have one thing to add

Don't think, just let it go

I just don't know.

There have been a lot of good points brought up on all sides, particularly by Biff and then Whitenoise.

All in all, the product on my headphones is much better than my theater experience, which was supposed to be brilliant 7.1. It is hard for me to complain when the portable version is better than the original presentation, even if it was the fault of the theater and even if the actual recording is not up to my standard.

Sure, this could have been a better mix, or at the very least in stereo, especially considering the target audience. Still, it is not a bad live recording. It's actually kinda sad that we can compare it to superior bootlegs and know a better product could have been made, but what we don't know is why technical decisions were made during the process.

I haven't been so torn on a Chemical Brothers release in a long time. I'll take it. It could have been better, but it could have never came at all. I'm viewing it as a supplement to the DVD, which somehow makes it easier for me to justify. Not really. But, whatever. No use in complaining since the Brothers did give us what we asked for.

I wish I had a stronger opinion on the whole thing, but we got what we got and it is better than nothing. Remember, this whole thing was a bit of a surprise and moved very quickly. I'll graciously accept it as a gift.

Regarding the tech aspect of the film, I would have personally preferred more focus on Tom and Ed and what they were doing. It clearly wasn't within the artistic direction of the film, but yeah, the HBHG key was much more interesting to me than the antics of any audience member. That being stated as my opinion and preference, I had no problem with the direction of the film. It was well done.

whoa, we're the most fussy fans in the world for sure. i think it's the best live film EVER. I'm glad Adam did this. and a super great audio to boot.

Superflash is too loud!

JacksRevenge, on 12 April 2012 - 5:33 PM, said:

What he said