If one plays a DVD on a system that has small speakers, bass management is usually always on, regardless if there is LFE channel content.

Non-use of LFE channel does not mean you do not get bass. That’s not what it is for. IICORMN was mixed with the idea of full range speakers for the 5 surround, however, in sub-optimal (home theater) situations and even in some bigger systems, there is BASS MANAGEMENT, which means that low frequency signals from the 5 channels are summed and sent to a subwoofer.

Bass management works on the principle that low frequencies have the ability to be non directional, and can supply the missing range for the ’satellite’ speakers The LFE was designed for movies sound effects (think “EarthQuake”) and is added to the BASS MANAGEMENT signal on the way to the subwoofer.

The LFE was never intended to be a replacement for what BASS MANAGEMENT does for the other channels, and not for “more bass” either.

Not providing a LFE was an artistic decision - mine. I’ll take the blame. Warner/Rhino didn’t like it either. Remember that the playback format has the capability of as many channels are appropriate. In some cases mixers are creating THREE channel ‘mixes’ (L C R) from old 3 track tapes or Quad. using 4 speakers.

I’ve done a lot of research and discussed the use of the LFE with other surround mixers like Nate Kunkel, Al Schmidt, and Elliot Schiner, and the consensus is ‘less is more’.

If one were to listen to the content of most of the project, there is incredibly very little activity down there (below 60 hz). Only ‘Cowboy Movie’ and ‘What Are Their Names’ had anything down there at all, and when I tried to add kick or bass to the LFE on those songs, it didn’t enhance, it detracted. It sounded ‘muffy’ and unnatural and did not relay the experience of the original work.

My guiding light in the mixing of IICORMN was to be as true to the soundspace of the original as possible while expanding it. It was mixed in two locations over the span of 7 months, and I worked pretty hard on it. I hope many people will get a chance to hear this masterpiece in surround; you won’t forget it.

The stereo mixes, with the exception of KIDS AND DOGS, are from the original master tapes.

The surround mixes will play in all modern DVD players one way or the other, via Dolby, DTS, and DVD-A.

stephen barncard

I have a Pioneer DV-563A w/ firmware upgrade. The DVD-A starts fine then about 00:46 into Music is Love it starts having severe dropouts. They continue for about one minute. The rest of the disk is fine. It does the same thing playing back on my PC with Creative DVD-A player. Seems maybe more of a problem with manufacturing or the disk itself, as opposed to authoring.

What a glorious sounding recording and incredible music and playing. I had not heard it in about 30 years. I’ll still be happy, even if I never get back the missing minute.

After a very long wait I was excited to finally get my hands on the much desired surround mix of IICORMN. From what I’ve been hearing from some friends I was fortunate that it played fine on my Toshiba DVD player. I have had several people tell me that it would not play properly on their decks. I hope that the bugs get worked out soon and those folks get replacement discs that have been corrected.

This release is too good for issues like that to stand between the fans and this work of art. I was completely blown away by the incredible resolution as well as the 5.0 mix. The only thing that I could imagine sounding better would be to have sat right in the middle of the band during the sessions. The mix was tastefully done and I never found it distracting. You are truly able to immerse yourself in the experience and I promise you that this has been worth the wait.

It apppears that Rhino/WB applied scant QC in regard to the current IICORMN DVD, and perhaps to the CD either. Reports of HDCD lights not coming on, and DVD-A content not playing on tried and true players by technically informed listeners (the only ones that have the patience to put up with archane navigation systems and bad or incomplete menus).

The final straw was that this producer (me) tried to play his own copy of the new release. I could see the indexes, but no sound. I spent hours with the players settings, etc . No DTS, No DVD-A. The CD worked, anyway.

Dammit.

I can now fully sympathize with the hard core out there.

The net result is that I feel responsible, even though I had no control of things that Warners/Rhino did. All I can do is try to sort it out through this website.

So I hope people that wanted to hear “If I Could Only Remember My Name” in true, high definition surround and can’t because of technical limitations - don’t give up - please register to this site and publish your complaints to the “Bad Disc Reports” category. Note that registration is only needed for posting — browsing the posts and the photos does not require registration.

I hope to have a conversation with someone at Warner/Rhino this month. Hopefully I can find out about or organize some kind of return/replace program.

stay tuned.

in other news…

I should have some photos relating to the iicormn sessions and more technical tours soon.

sqb

My copy won’t load in my machine. I have a Marantz which is a high dollar machine supposed to play anything under the sun, but I get an error and the disc won’t load. I thought I got a bad disc, but the replacement won’t load either. Any suggestions?

Pat Long wrote:

Someone responded the problem is that the mix is only 5.0. I only have sattelite cube speakers on my system.

So my question is - how do I play the DVD-A version through my RCA jacks and get sound through the bass module?

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