Pink Floyd - Dark Side of the Moon 50th Anniversary Box - Atmos / 5.1 spatial release

Let me start by asking, how many different editions of Dark Side of the Moon do you have in your collection? Surprisingly for an audiophile and progressive rock collector, I only have four versions: A vinyl edition from the 70’s, a CD edition from the 80’s, the 2003 SACD which contains high resolution stereo and 5.1 mixes, and finally the Immersion Box set from 2011, which included CD’s, DVD’s, Blu-ray’s, marbles, scarfs and more. You are welcome to add your comments below.

Yet, with all of this, that isn’t stopping Pink Floyd from releasing a new deluxe box set in March 2023 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of their classic 1973 album, “The Dark Side of the Moon.” Once again, the album has been newly remastered for this special release and this time the deluxe box set includes 2x CDs, 2x Blu-rays, 1x DVD, 2x Vinyl, and even 7” singles. Of greatest interest to immersive listeners is the brand-new Dolby Atmos 48kHz / 24-bit mix found on the Blu-ray, and the 2003 5.1 LPCM and DTS HD Master Audio 96kHz / 24-bit and hi-res stereo LPCM 192kHz / 24-bit mixes across the two Blu-rays. However, the Quad mix, which was included in the 2011 Immersion box set, is not included in this pricy edition, as well as the unreleased tracks from that 12-year-old collection.

For fans, beyond the new Atmos mix, the bonus in this edition is the inclusion of the Live at Wembley Empire Pool show (from November 1974), which has been newly remastered and is made available on vinyl for the first time. The box set also includes two replica seven-inch singles and a 160-page book curated by photographer Jill Furmanovsky and art-directed by Hipgnosis co-founder Aubrey Powell.

It is very important to note that at this time the box set is the only way to get a physical version of the new Atmos mix, but this set it's triple the price of the Immersion edition from 12 years back! At nearly $300 US, effectively for a single album, this is truly out of reach for most fans, including yours truly. I will hold out for a stand-alone Blu-ray containing the Atmos mix, or find it on a streaming site, or possibly even as a download. Still, if you are ready to lay down some coin, the Dark Side of the Moon 50th anniversary box will be released on March 24, 2023.

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