Pink Floyd’s famous Animals album was released as a CD, DVD and Blu-ray box set in 2022, with the 2018 stereo and 5.1 remixes tested with the original versions.
On May 17, 2024, a blu-ray audio edition is released, containing the original and 2018 stereo mixes, the 5.1 version and, above all, the new Dolby Atmos mix.
On this blu-ray the available formats are:
- 1977 Stereo mix in 24-bit 192 kHz PCM and DTS-HD Master Audio format
- 2018 Stereo Mix in 24-bit 192 kHz PCM and DTS-HD Master Audio format
- 2018 5.1 mix in 24-bit 96 kHz PCM and DTS-HD Master Audio format
- 2022 Dolby Atmos mix in 24-bit 48 kHz Dolby Digital TrueHD format
Only the Dolby Atmos version is new on this blu-ray, as the stereo and 5.1 versions were already present on the blu-ray released in 2022.
This new Dolby Atmos mix offers a fine dynamic range (DR12) in coherence with the 5.1 and 2.0 mixes.
As for spatialization, the tracks “Pigs On The Wing 1” and “Pigs On The Wing 2” remain in stereo, as on the 5.1 versions.
It’s hard not to compare the Atmos version with the 5.1 version. The same spirit can be found with spatialization, which is an extension of the 5.1 version (as shown in the spatialization graphics) and exploits all channels to punctually extend sound into space, complementing the 5.1 channels.
The mix is perfectly matched to the music, exploiting the different channels according to the variations in the music, extending punctually to the lateral or height channels.
It’s a pity this mix wasn’t included in the 2022 box set blu-ray. Otherwise, the mix remains in the spirit of the original 5.1 version, but we’re a long way from Dolby Atmos mixes like those produced by Steven Wilson.
You can compare this new version and and listen to the samples with the stereo versions in the review of all versions.
You can find the review of other Pink Floyd albums:
Either you got a different master/blu-ray than I got or you missed something. The Pink Floyd Animals Atmos mix I received today doesn’t use the side surrounds at all (let alone front wides or even the center channel). It mostly uses the front mains and rear surrounds. It barely uses the overhead speakers (mostly reverb and a few sparse sound effects, much worse than DSOTM in Atmos, which mostly had sound effects overhead). The whole mix sounds like quadraphonic. I coudn’t believe the sides weren’t being used, but I stuck my ear to them. Dead silence (Yes, I verified they worked with demo tones and other albums). I’m running 11.1.8, BTW so it’s extremely disappointing. The 5.1 mix upmixed with Neural X or even DSU sounds 10x better. I’m asking Amazon for a refund. I already have the 5.1 mix from a year or two ago.
Hello,
Thanks for your feedback, the use of side and height channels is really seen as an extension of the 5.1 version as I mentioned.
So we have a 5.1 base with some effects on these channels, mainly in height and more rarely on the side (as at 5:30 on Pigs.).
The mix remains in the spirit of the original 5.1 version, but we’re a long way from Dolby Atmos mixes like those produced by Steven Wilson (I’ll add this clarification to the text ).