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I am so enjoying 5.1 in DP now that I have gotten my audio interface set up for it. . .

As I start wrapping my mind around tracking and mixing for 5.1 I'm curious to hear about what you all find to be the most interesting/effective pop 5.1 mixes - especially some of the newer DualDisc releases.

Thanks in advance for all the great suggestions. . .

I've bought a few. The last two Steely Dan releases, Sheryl Crow: the Globe Sessions and the Foo Fighters: One by One.. We also have an Alesis system to reference our mixes at the studio. I say this, because listening to these 5.1 releases in a prosumer environment makes me think that the 5.1 format, currently, is approached as an afterthought.

The releases sound great on our regular system, but kinda crappy on the prosumer system. We also have a couple Pat Metheny discs. These, unlike the other discs we have, sound as if they were mixed in 5.1 specifically.

I actually do two separate mixes for my own music. I first do a surround mix, and then start from scratch on the stereo mix because they are completely different animals... Kinda a drag because I spend 3 times as much time mixing and mastering, but it's worth it. I think we have a way to go before pop mixes really 'pop' in surround.....

Originally posted by Jonathan Townes:
The releases sound great on our regular system, but kinda crappy on the prosumer system. We also have a couple Pat Metheny discs. These, unlike the other discs we have, sound as if they were mixed in 5.1 specifically.

Interesting comment from Elliot Scheiner, who did both the stereo and 5.1 mixes of Steely Dan's "Everything Must Go," on surround speaker placement differences between film mixers and music mixers:

There's the argument between film people and music mixers, where the film people have the speakers to the side, and we mix with speakers behind us. The reasoning is that many people won't have space for speakers behind them.

More here:

http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/aug03/articles/steelydan.htm