Rebecca (1940)

Revisiting this (probably for the last time), I was wrong to suggest that the audio track on the Criterion blu-ray, which was mastered primarily by Chace Audio, is from a better source than the MGM blu-ray and the DVDs. It isn't -- it's just EQed heavily to accentuate the mids and low frequencies while attenuating the highs. Only one sequence sounds objectively better, which is what misled me before: the final two minutes of the film (the burning of Manderley), starting at 02:08:33.000, have been spliced in from another source. (And that source definitely isn't the Music and Effects track, which doesn't sound nearly as detailed.)

The sample on the Carlotta website I alluded to before has now been taken down. Investigating it more closely, it's clear now that this clip, which is of a scene with no dialogue (music only), actually uses the Music and Effects track rather than the final mix as its audio track -- which is why I noted it sounded better than the Criterion blu-ray. I was thrown off since it also sounds better than the M&E track on the Criterion blu-ray, which I hadn't realised is a lot more NRed than the M&E track on the (otherwise poor sounding) MGM blu-ray.

So to summarise: the old R2 Prism Leisure Corporation DVD presents the film's audio most naturally and remains the most detailed; the Criterion DVD is slightly rolled off compared to the Prism DVD; the MGM blu-ray has heavy noise reduction and is the worst overall; and the Criterion and Carlotta blu-rays sound ostensibly the same (differing only by the 'additional restoration' done by Criterion -- a stronger high-pass filter and some EQ), having moderate noise reduction and some heavy EQ. While the Criterion/Carlotta certainly sound less thin than the Prism DVD, the lows and mids really do sound overemphasised -- the film sounds bloated and diffuse and a lot less clear.

Note: The Prism DVD in the comparisons below had its final 2 minutes spliced in from the Carlotta blu-ray.

And the Music and Effects track: