The Audio: Rating the Sound
A few months back, I raved about another recent Blu-ray concert release, 'Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds: Live at Radio City.' That disc instantly became my music demo disc of choice, but it'll have to make some room on that small shelf for 'Elton 60.' This is a uniformly stunning uncompressed PCM 5.1 Surround presentation (48kHz/24-bit/6.9mbps) -- the kind that achieves such a level of transparency that it's chilling.
I rarely get goosebumps any more when it comes to audio presentations (just one of the byproducts of reviewing discs for a living), so it's saying something that 'Elton 60' rocked me back in my seat. So realistic is the quality and timbre of the entire frequency spectrum that there are moments where it no longer feels like sound is emanating from a set of speakers, but rather simply materializing out of thin air. Whether it's just Elton at the piano, or the full band on the more boisterous numbers, the "wall of sound" effect is in full force, yet individual instruments are easily discernible in the mix. Dynamics are also first rate, with expansive highs and pitch-perfect, ultra-tight bass extension. Simply put, 'Elton 60' is a aural delight.