I definitely want to hear Fly By Night/ A Farewell To Kings/ and Signals in 5.1 (two of those are in my Top 5 Rush albums ever) but I really don't need all those CDs once again.

I don't do 5.1!! My wallet says, !

I also want to hear those in 5.1, but I'd be just as excited about Hemispheres, Permanent Waves, Grace Under Pressure, etc. I think these box sets should be excellent (especially since I don't have the 90s remasters), but they're a bit of a missed opportunity. Also, I hope they've chosen someone new for the surround sound mixes, since all of their previous 5.1 releases have been less than great.

Richard Chycki is the same person who did the Moving Pictures surround mix, so for better or worse that should give you some guidance on how these new surround mixes will be constructed.

Well, the price is right for these sets, so I still look forward to hearing the 5.1 mixes, even though the Moving Pictures 5.1 mix could've been better. Maybe Mr. Chycki took some classes at the Steven Wilson School For Surround Sound Mixing since then.

According to The Digital Bits, the 96/24 lossless versions will be made available for download at HD Tracks for around $17.98 each.

http://www.thedigitalbits.com/#mytwocents

There seems to be a trend towards 96/24 & other hi rez downloads. Unless people are streaming with their computer to a true high end d/a convertor & then to a quality real stereo i don't get the point. 99.9% percent of computers aren't going to have good enough sound to hear the difference between 96/24 & 44/16.

The only way I am able to play these files through my stereo is to burn them as 96/24 video dvd-r's. I don't know if it's the software I'm using, the jitter inherent in dvdr's, or my cheap Pioneer universal player, but all the 96/24 dvdr's I've burned have been terribly bright.

if this is going to become a trend, someone needs to come up with a quality method to burn the files to physical media.

Damn them for making this look great. How, as a Rush fanatic do I not get this?

Yep, seeing that makes this a no-brainer. I'm in.

I'd be into it if it wasn't for all the other expensive boxes and special editions I need this Fall.
A package of 5.1 mixes would have been great.....not happy that I would have to re-buy CDs once again.

I'd be less excited if I had already purchased the last set of remasters, but as I mentioned previously, I only have the original Mercury CDs from the late-80s/early-90s. I'm still perplexed why they only included one 5.1 mix in each box, but I have to get over that. I'm sure the 5.1 box set will come out next year.

I'll wait and see if the 5.1 discs ever get standalone releases or are put together in their own separate box.

I'd love to have these, but not at the expense of having to rebuy the catalog again.

A 5.1 box would be a must buy for me ( plus a 5.1 box would include hi-rez stereo too).

For now I'm passing on these, but here's some more info (as well as an explanation that Mercury/UMe remastered the albums in 96/24 and downconverted them for 44.1/16 so I guess there's no deception there).
Anyway:

As previously announced, Universal is once again reissuing Rush's back catalog from 1974-1988, but this time it will be via a series of boxed sets, with three of the albums (Fly By Night, A Farewell To Kings & Signals) also being released for the first time in 5.1 surround sound. The boxed sets are now available for preorder:

SECTOR 1: Rush, Fly By Night (on DVD in 5.1), Caress of Steel, 2112, All The World's A Stage - preorder here
SECTOR 2: A Farewell To Kings (on DVD in 5.1), Hemispheres, Permanent Waves, Moving Pictures, Exit Stage Left - preorder here
SECTOR 3: Signals (on DVD in 5.1), Grace Under Pressure, Power Windows, Hold Your Fire, A Show Of Hands - preorder here
The albums will be packaged in replica mini-vinyl packaging, and together the boxes will form a Rush road case.

Universal Music has confirmed all 15 albums were remastered in 96/24 then downconverted for CD in 44.1/16; only the DVD has the full 96/24 lossless audio. However, all 15 albums are going to be available as full 96/24 downloads at HDTracks.com for about $18 each.

"On November 21st, Universal Music Enterprises (UMe) celebrates the legacy of Canadian rock trio Rush with the release of three separate six-disc box sets which together spans their entire historic Mercury Records recording career. Each 'Sector' contains five of their 15 Mercury albums in chronological order, all transferred to high resolution 96kHz/24-bit and digitally remastered for optimal quality. In addition, each volume includes and exclusive booklet packed with unpublished photos, original album lyrics and credits, and features one album from each set specially remixed on DVD in high resolution 96kHz/24-bit, 5.1 surround sound and stereo, compatible with both DVD-Audio players and DVD-Video players. Each album is packaged in a replica vinyl mini-jacket of the original album release with all three box sets forming a Rush CD road case." - Universal Music Group's Distribution infosheet

This has to rank as one of the oddest release ever. Making one buy all 15 Rush CDs just to get 3 5.1 mixes is cruel. It would cost me $150 to get the 3 DVDA's.

Now if we find out that the 15 CDs sound so much better than the previous CDs, then maybe its all worth $150???

So I guess I'll try and wait out a possible 5.1 box in the future.

I imagine at some point we'll see standalone 5.1 releases or box sets of 5.1 albums.

Rush's remixing engineer has stated that the entire catalog is going ot be remixed.

Patience, my friends.

Even though I'm disappointed that they only included one 5.1 DVD in each box, I'm still seriously considering buying all three box sets (if I can find them for the right price...I'm thinking around $35 each). It's a relatively inexpensive way to upgrade from my original Mercury CDs (I never got the '90s remasters), and might actually save me a little shelf space, depending on the size of the boxes. I know I'll "have to" buy the deluxe editions of each album when they're released with 5.1 DVDs, but these still feel like must-haves this holiday season. Now I just need to find a good online coupon & match it to a low price. It looks like blowitoutahere.com is the best option right now. Can anyone point me in the direction of a better price?

I don't see an all DVD-A box ever coming-but Mercury/UMe have so shamelessly handled the back catalogue from 1974-89 anything is possible.
So, here are some rather interesting comments from the first poster on Amazon.com about these. While I very much disagree with the reviewer about the original remasters from the late 90's not sounding good I am definitely interested in hearing what these new ones are like, and it seems like this guy really is a fan. And, so after thinking I wasn't going to bother with these, now I'm thinking about it again. But, with the holidays coming I can't do it now anyway.
I hope the individual CDs get released on their own (don't care about the 5.1 releases, but they really should have their own release, and I could give a crap about the road case packaging), but these boxes may be it for the Cds and DVD-A's.
Now, I've heard mixed to negative things about the 5.1 mix on Moving Pictures and I do not like Richard Chycki's work for the most part (he really did a horrid job with Triumph). However, it seems he's NOT doing these (at least not the remastered CDs) and Andy VanDette is, so that's another selling point to me. My guess is that Chycki did the DVD-A's only, and those I just don't have any use for since I don't have a system that would justify it.
I hope to see more posts from anyone who got these boxes and we can find out more info.

Here's the post (misspellings included!):

I am a huge RUSH fan. However , I have been disappointed with how the RUSH's regular CDs , have sounded before.
I have owned the vinyl , the ordinal CDs , the 1997 remasters , various bootlegs , the MOFI remasters and the Japanese SHM-CDs. Some were better than others.
HERE , you have the whole package.
Imagine if , STEVE WILSON [king crimson & the Aqualung , 40th Ann. / CD] and / or the JAMES GUTHRIE [the 2011 , pink floyd , remasters] and / or The Beatles remaster group , re-mixed and remastered for , RUSH.? How would those regular CDs sound?
These CDs are a little louder / cleaner and clearer than the 1997 , remasters. Like TULL's 2011 , AQUALUNG , ALEX's guitar jumps right out at at you. GEDDY's bass , voice and keyboards are finally balanced. The bass is not too heavy. NEIL's and JOHN's drums are crystal clear. Like with the 2011 , PINK FLOYD remasters , you can hear the slower parts and the many sound effects with out having to turn these CDs up to massive levels of volume. You can even hear the TALKING parts clearly.
Their volume is no where near the awful sounding volume of their CD / VAPOR TRAILS. They are just right sounding!!!
DO NOT judge these regular CDs by the sound of the MOVING PICTURES / Deluxe edition. These regular CDs were made by , ANDY VanDETTE. Just another sound engineer who can make CDs louder but not to loud.
The 5.1 version of FLY BY NIGHT , is just mind blowing as is the regular RUSH CD called , 2112.
NO clipping here. Just clean & clear.
The packaging is very cool , with the bigger size Japanese style mini albums with ALL of the album art work , all the lyrics and some new pictures.
I never have to buy these CDs again. FINALLY!!!
I could write the same thing about the live albums as well. WOW!!!
If you want RUSH at it's best , start with RUSH / SECTOR 1 , and then work your way UP to Sectors 2 & 3!!!
5 STARS!!!

IP, that post makes me want to place my order immediately, even though I'm rarely swayed by the opinion of some random stranger on the internet. I thought the remastered Moving Pictures CD sounded excellent, but was less than impressed with the surround sound version. It was good but not awe-inspiring (like the best 5.1 mixes are). Since I'm more interested in these boxes for the remastered CDs, as well as the packaging (a lot of my original Mercury CDs didn't include lyrics or original LP packaging elements), these may end up being a very worthwhile purchase. Just don't tell my wife how much I'm spending

I'd love to hear Fly By Night in surround (the album I was introduced to Rush with and remains my favorite).

Too bad they didn't do 2112 in 5.1.

yeah, you;d think that would be a no-brainer. I think they do have it in the can somewhere though.