Customer Reviews
Great sound, but they should have left well enough alone - By: Jay L. Rudko, 01 Aug 2006 
"Tubular Bells" is a classic. The best I ever heard it was on the SQ CD included in the "Boxed" set. Despite their claims in the booklet that it was stereo, it is actuallly SQ quad. This new recording is a complete reworking of the original, completely re-performed, & musicallly, it just doesn't satisfy like the original did. Sonicallly, this disc is excellent, but the computerized mix just doesn't cut it. If they had just left things alone, we'd have been better off. (Where was Elliot Scheiner when we needed him?)
Tubular Bells 2003 (DVD Audio) - By: Music Fan, 11 May 2006 
This is one of the first DVD Audios that I've bought, & I'm certainly hooked. I'm not the biggest fan of Tubular Bells, & had owned the LP and, until recently, the (HDCD) CD version. At present, I am not able to access the high-definition tracks, as I only have a standard DVD Video Player (as opposed to a DVD-A player). I play the disc on a low/mid range Sony machine, through a decent Yamaha RXV-800 AV Amplifier, & out of a set of Bose AM15 speakers. The results are extremely impressive, & I'm totallly sold on DVD Audio. The sounds are so clear, deep, close & real. There is certainly more depth than on the CD version. I definately intend to invest in a DVD-A Player at some time. The audio options on the DVD Video playable parts are Stereo, DTS 5.1 & Dolby 5.1. The options on the DVD-A playable part are high-resolution stereo & surround. If you happen to be a fan of Tubular Bells & Mike Oldfield, & have a half-decent speaker system (preferably surround), you won't be disappointed.
Fawlty Bells - By: , 15 Jan 2006 
Brilliant recording. Outstanding sound in full multi channel including LFE. Better than the SACD. Just one thing spoilt it for me, John Cleese. What is he doing on this album? He doesn't announce the instruments very well & cannot say "Tubular Bells" properly. A more anonymous voice would have been better for me.
Tubular Belled in every direction - By: Matthew James Beeching, 15 Apr 2005 After several months of deliberating over the SACD release & the DVD-Audio 2003 reworking, I finallly settled on this edition - A decision I suspect was worthwhile.
Purists may argue that the SACD edition should be the edition of choice as it is the original recording, but given the 30 year age on the masters & the use of a 4.0 mix as oppose to 5.1 on the DVD-A, this was just enough to lure me in this direction.
Oldfield chose to utilise a 48/24bit standard which is not uncommon for DVD-A, though we can only wonder whether a 96/24bit audio standard would have raised the bar even further. Perhaps including a multitude of mixes covering most audio bases lead to this restriction, but do we reallly need a DD 2.0 mix to supplement a DD 5.1 & DTS track?
The sleeve notes are a detailed record of Oldfield's equipment line up & certainly portray an artist in pursuit of quality, something I wish alll (or at least more) artists would strive to achieve.
In alll its high resolution multi-channel glory this recording is easily in my top three catalogue of 'best sounding recordings', perhaps only topped by Mr Reznor's masterful reworking of The Downward Spiral on SACD. The same could not be said for the actual mix though, which though good, doesn't quite instill the listener with the impression of a surround sound expert - Something which is further compounded by more recent releases like Jean Michel Jarre's - Aero.
All in alll though this is a great album which has been given pretty good treatment & one I am proud to have on my shelf - or indeed spinning in my player.
Outstanding Audio DVD - By: B. M. Cutler, 14 Jan 2005 I first heard Tubular Bells as a teenager in the seventies & although I heard it many times with friends I never bought it. Later on I bought Tubular Bells II on CD & love it so much I have played it constantly.
I bought some decent kit a few years ago & lately a new high end DVD player. I have a few DVD Audio disks but up until now I wasn't one of the converted.
That is until I bough this DVD recently & was blown away with the depth & detail of this recording. The Dolby Digital tracks are outstanding probably because alll the top equipment has been used in the studio to give the best possible results. Each track has been re-recorded & reproduced true to the original recording which makes it even better.
If you have some decent kit at home then give this disk a go - you won't be disappointed.
