HighFidelityReview is giving readers the chance to vote for their favourite high-resolution release of 2003 from a shortlist of six titles, nominated by twelve of the site’s contributors.
These six titles are, in the opinion of High Fidelity Review and our writers, the year’s finest releases on both the DVD-Audio and SACD formats.
High Fidelity Review’s Editor and Publisher Stuart M. Robinson, is quick to point out that
“…this award is strictly ‘format agnostic’, selections were made based upon the fidelity and surround mix afforded by a given title, not the format upon which it was released. It is important to recognise the work of all those pushing the boundaries of high-resolution playback and multi-channel music, whether they release on DVD-Audio, SACD or both!”
The winner of the HFR ‘people’s choice’ award will be the title to receive the most votes from our readers and the recipient will be presented with their accolade at the Surround Music Awards gala dinner, sponsored by UE Media, which takes place as part of the fifth annual Surround Professional surround conference and technology showcase, December 11-12th 2003 at the Beverly Hilton hotel, Beverly Hills, USA.
Each High Fidelity Review contributor was asked to select his/her top six high-resolution titles, in order of preference, released after December 14th 2003. Each of the thirty-six different discs selected was then given a point score depending on the order of preference. Discs ranked first to sixth were awarded 8, 6, 4, 3, 2 and 1 point(s) respectively. The score for each disc was totalled and the top six put forward to the public voting stage.
The titles selected for the public vote are (in alphabetical order):
- ‘Avalon’ – Roxy Music
- ‘Dark Side of the Moon’ – Pink Floyd
- ‘Document No.5’ – R.E.M.
- ‘Everything Must Go’ – Steely Dan
- ‘Sea Change’ – Beck
- ‘Up’ – Gabriel, Peter
Peter Gabriel:
“I remember very well the day when I first put on a pair of headphones and got a great sense of stereo for the first time. I’m getting the same sense of excitement from 5.1. With a lot of my work, which uses many textures to create pictures in sound, it’s often hard to hear all the information. With 5.1, it’s possible to put people right inside my music.”
“We’re obviously very pleased to be included! – What more can I say,”
added Mike Large of Peter Gabriel’s RealWorld Studios.
This year’s Surround Music Awards show promises to be just as intriguing and entertaining as in previous years, with comedy team/producers Ed Cherney and Al Schmitt returning as hosts. In addition to the editor-picked categories of Best of Show and Top Surround Artist of the Year, all of last year’s nominated categories are returning, with the addition of a Best Broadcast Multi-channel Live Performance category and the High Fidelity Review ‘people’s choice’ award.
On-line voting is now closed, thanks to the thousands of High Fidelity Review readers who participated. Look out for the announcement of the winner on December 11th.