Dream Theater – Octavarium

I don't like the sound very much. Sounds veiled. Adding +3db to treble helps a bit.

I have to agree with those who say this is not a great pressing. The music sounds compressed, and I have a fair bit of surface noise. Not clicks or pops but just a low whooshing kind of sound that's audible in quiet ages. The soundstage is generally quite flat and not as wide as I'm used to hearing.

Musically, I find this album to be a mixed bag. There is great stuff here, like "The Root of All Evil", "Panic Attack", and "Sacrificed Sons". But I find some of the songs to be a bit preachy in the lyrics, with music that is trying to be uplifting but ends up sounding canned. I guess everyone has off days.

Maybe this one could get the Music On Vinyl treatment?

The music itself is spot on and a great listen as is the pressing. It’s very quiet with no pops or clicks. But sadly, not sure if it’s the mixing or mastering, but it sounds extremely…”crunchy” and compressed. (Especially on the Octavarium track). There always was a little bit of it on the cd, as well, but this release amplifies it quite a bit.

Must have record but below average pressing. You’d be better listening to the CD or the streaming version. Is particularly disappointing on Octavarium where the final lacks dynamic

This record sucks lol. How did the band allowed this to go through?

Like most of the reviews for this pressing, I have to agree with them that the sound of it is really flat with no dynamics at all. Portnoy's drums are buried in the mix, even Myung's bass intro for Panic Attack sounded really weak.

I really like the snare drum and kick sound of this vinyl master, although the rest is a bit strange. No clicks or pops on my copy.
Buy it if you find it!

Mirroring some of the other comments. The mastering is sub-par when compared with the CD release. It's a shame too because, the pressing itself is great, it even includes poly-lined sleeves instead of just paper which is always nice.

I had no problem with surface noise on this record, i think it sound really nice.

As Red said it. This is best Octavarium I ever heard. Throw the record in the trash and get this club, its very dynamic.