Dark Matter sound production or mixing quality

24

Comments

  • DM282158
    DM282158 Beverly, MA Posts: 658
    C-Wad84911 said:
    I listen on Apple Music.  I turn off the Dolby Atmos and it’s so much better.
    Did the same and fully agree. 
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  • Go Beavers
    Go Beavers Posts: 9,583
    If you can’t hear Jeff then something’s off with your set up. 
  • 2-feign-reluctance
    2-feign-reluctance TigerTown, USA Posts: 23,462
    Everything sounds super solid to my ears. Spotify Premium playback, LP, and Apple Music. Nothing is muddy or buried to me at all. Might be time to schedule with an audiologist if music sounds that way. 
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  • Edved82
    Edved82 Ireland Posts: 1,279
    I'd love to hear a Brendan O'Brien remix of this album. The songs are really really strong. The mix, however, is not.
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  • KV4053
    KV4053 Mike's side, crushed up against the stage Posts: 1,514
    The Dolby version on 2 channel stereo sounds freaking amazing. This album is sonically great (not perfect, but definitely better than good). 

    The non Dolby version sounds compressed.
    I know I was born and I know that I'll die. The in between is mine.
  • desolatejoy
    desolatejoy London Posts: 350
    edocon said:
    Just for fun I played a few tunes from Gigaton including Quick Escape after listening to Dark Matter. I thought Gigaton sound quality is noticeably better.
    I feel like Gigaton has a much more ‘live sound’ feel than DM. Which is ironic seeing as DM was captured in so few takes. 
    But so far I’ve enjoyed the production on DM. 
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  • Dedvw
    Dedvw Posts: 246
    tribejammer05 said:
    I listened with a quality pair of headphones and I could hear everything perfectly.  
    I agree, try different speakers. Sounds amazing on my Harmon Kardons!
  • Falling Down
    Falling Down Posts: 845


    Monitor Audio speakers making DM sound amazing. 

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  • EP1973
    EP1973 Posts: 112
    The Dolby Atmos mix on Apple Music sounds great on Spatial thru AirPods. 
  • Live4themusic
    Live4themusic Wisconsin Posts: 17
    I 100% agree. I think the songs themselves are really good and am super excited to hear them live. But everything sounds muddled. Eddie's vocals are even more unintelligible than usual somehow. Glad to find out that I'm not the only one, I was worried about my hearing there for a bit lol
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  • KV4053
    KV4053 Mike's side, crushed up against the stage Posts: 1,514
    edited April 2024
    Live4themusic said:
    I 100% agree. I think the songs themselves are really good and am super excited to hear them live. But everything sounds muddled. Eddie's vocals are even more unintelligible than usual somehow. Glad to find out that I'm not the only one, I was worried about my hearing there for a bit lol
    Different versions sound different for some reason. I heard the muddy version. Was not impressed. I've listened to the Apple version and the Blu-ray version and they are amazing. Currently listening to the qobuz hd version and it is also amazing.
    Post edited by KV4053 on
    I know I was born and I know that I'll die. The in between is mine.
  • southernmanfan
    southernmanfan Johannesburg, South Africa Posts: 1,029
    So I had to post my thoughts on this thread. As a drummer I find that I’m not hearing Matt’s cymbals as prominent as they could be. That is just my feel. 

    For me the production and mixing and the preference of how that should sound is ultimately the prerogative of producer and band. 

    This is a brilliant album, everything about it, including the production and mixing, in my view. And I  don’t think I am just being euphoric about having new music from my favorite band. 

    Andrew Watt has brought out the Pearl Jam in Pearl Jam in my opinion. 

    Strong contender for falling in my top five Pearl Jam albums without a doubt. 
    rustedsigns
  • motleygunner
    motleygunner Arizona Posts: 258
    I am having a hard time hearing Eddie's lyrics on the new album, I don't know if it is the mix or if I am just getting older and can't hear like I used to but I am struggling to make out the words on a lot of the songs. There also seems to be a layer of "noise" on a lot of the songs which sounds like music but certainly doesn't seem to be coming from a guitar or a drum kit.

    That said, the album is incredible and I am really enjoying listening to it... If it was just stripped down a bit with Ed more in the forefront it would be a 10/10 for me instead of a 9/10, but that's just my personal taste.


  • BF25394
    BF25394 Posts: 4,940
    The weird thing is that the CD on both of my good stereo systems sounds like their worst-produced album since Ten, but listening to the Sirius commentary shows on my laptop's ostensibly mediocre speakers, it sounded much better, with much more separation between each of the musicians, and the vocals much clearer in the mix.

    I haven't listened to the Blu-ray yet, so I'm hopeful that will be as good as advertised.
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  • slightofjeff
    slightofjeff Posts: 7,762
    "I have a hard time understanding Eddie's lyrics on the new album," I said in 1993. That's just part of the deal with this band. I never listen to the first listen without the lyrics right in front of me ... then suddenly they are plain as day.
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  • BH76306
    BH76306 Posts: 113
    This whole thing feels like a "Blue Dress / Gold Dress" situation, haha. We all hear and pick up on different things. Personally, I feel like this album sounds *incredible*

    I can see how some people feel Ed's vocals are secondary here and there - but honestly I'm digging that! Let the shredders shred! But in terms of a muddy mix or certain instruments being lost, etc - I don't get that at all. I feel like I can pick out each and every sound/technique/instrument they were going for and it's glorious. 
  • motleygunner
    motleygunner Arizona Posts: 258
    BH76306 said:
    This whole thing feels like a "Blue Dress / Gold Dress" situation, haha. We all hear and pick up on different things. Personally, I feel like this album sounds *incredible*

    I can see how some people feel Ed's vocals are secondary here and there - but honestly I'm digging that! Let the shredders shred! But in terms of a muddy mix or certain instruments being lost, etc - I don't get that at all. I feel like I can pick out each and every sound/technique/instrument they were going for and it's glorious. 
    Like I said in my post, the mix makes it a 9/10 instead of 10/10 for me. I love the album, my personal preference is a bit more of a stripped down sound... Everyone has different tastes in sound.


  • kmcmanus
    kmcmanus Posts: 893
    southernmanfan said:
    Andrew Watt has brought out the Pearl Jam in Pearl Jam in my opinion. 
    It’s really kinda elegant how he did it too. They used the gear he handed them. That he set up ahead of time. So they wrote modern PJ, but the gear put older sounds on it. I’m not musically adept enough to explain it right but I’m so impressed that he pulled it off. 
    A lot of producers can claim “I’m a fan and I wanted to do this for other fans” but man did he deliver.
  • KV4053
    KV4053 Mike's side, crushed up against the stage Posts: 1,514
    BF25394 said:
    The weird thing is that the CD on both of my good stereo systems sounds like their worst-produced album since Ten, but listening to the Sirius commentary shows on my laptop's ostensibly mediocre speakers, it sounded much better, with much more separation between each of the musicians, and the vocals much clearer in the mix.

    I haven't listened to the Blu-ray yet, so I'm hopeful that will be as good as advertised.
    The Blu Ray is phenomenal. 
    I know I was born and I know that I'll die. The in between is mine.
  • Stove
    Stove Posts: 372
    edited April 2024
    If literally anyone else had produced this album other than A. Watt it would have been a masterpiece. No Code-Avocado had a beautiful natural sound. Heck even Lightening Bolt and Gigaton have their own character. Would love to have heard these songs with that in mind. Earthlings was just so compressed and so is this..you had to be told Chad Smith was the drummer on that album rather than hearing sonically that it was Chad Smith..and the same thing with drum titan Matt Cam..its so depressing..this literally sounds like any other drummer because they stripped their sounds and crushed it so much... its sounds too modern for me, to of the Spotify generation. Everything is just slammed right in your face. There's no dynamics. I have the albums I love and so much of that is the song writing AND the sound. And the sound ain't here
    Post edited by Stove on

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