Jon Anderson of YES new TV Interview

Very interesting. Thank you for posting this.

Nice, but kind of weird that they're going for a 5.1 surround mix when ambisonics seems to be making a comeback.

It works for headphones, and theoretically for any speaker setup since it preserves the full 360° audio. Seems a lot less limited to me than a format essentially tied to a specific amount of speakers at specific locations. Plus you no longer need any special hardware to decode it like you did in the 70s.

Actually, while maybe not for stereophiles, but 5.1 surround sound is very common in home theater setups. Most receivers sold in the last 15 years have at least 5.1 capability, if not 7.1. Economy models with receiver and 5 discreet speakers (front, center, left, surround left, surround right) and a subwoofer can be had for a few hundred dollars. To say it can not duplicate a quad experience is inaccurate, as modern formats exceed the ability of quad. Yes has released many 5.1 surround remasters, along with the ubiquitous Dark Side of the Moon on SACD, and recently an incredible surround rendering of Jimi Hendrix's Electric Ladyland. The latter is nothing short of amazing considering it wasn't intended for this format. The fact that Anderson and McKee say their music and mix was thought out to be in surround from the beginning makes me excited to hear what could be a stunning presentation of new music. I'm guessing they wouldn't sell themselves short, and will also have a stereo mix for those with traditional stereo setups at home, or listening to phone MP3s or streaming.

For some reason, I’m not on the ‘same page’ as Anderson is these days. I used to look up to him, now I couldn’t care less what he has to say. Soz.