Thanks for sending me the file. I did an A/B comparison of the mix you sent and the tracks from the 2010 Nordic release. They’re 100% identical. Every one of them. Same chirpy compression artifacts above 8000 Hz during loud passages of music, same mono mixdown of the stereo L/R channels playing in the fronts, while the actual L/R channels from Fantasound are confined to the “rear” section of the mix— it’s all the same.
The 7.1 channel layout for the score is as follows:
1/2 = Mono mixdown of Fantasound L/R
3 = Fantasound Centre
4 = LFE
5/6 = Fantasound Centre (w/ Reverb)
7/8 = Fantasound L/R (w/ Reverb)
The 5.1 mixdown combines channels 5 to 8 into a standard 5/6 rear.
I should clarify something, because I don’t think I did the first time: yes, the 2010 7.1/5.1 mixes utilize the surviving phone line transfer mix, and panning does exist in these mixes. However, it is not the discrete 1990 mix used in 70mm film projections. The hard pans from left to right are placed behind the viewer when they should be coming from the front at all times. It’s literally a backward version of what the original mix did, which followed the action on the screen while the music played near or behind the screen. Again, Terry Porter’s mix followed Stokowski’s original mixing notes to the letter, using the surrounds only during specific moments of the film, and the 2010 mixes do not reflect that sound design. It has every channel pumping music through every speaker at all times, and even the placement of the true stereo L/R isn’t where it should be.
If you’d like, I can send you the mixes from the Nordic release so you can conduct (pardon the pun) your own comparisons. But take my word for it, it’s all the same 2010 mix. To get a discrete LCRS version of Terry Porter’s restored mix, you’d need to find a 70mm blow-up print of the 50th anniversary reissue, and not only are those as rare as hen’s teeth, but you’d have to get a sound facility even capable of capturing it properly. The LaserDisc track remains the best officially released option among all the home video releases.