So I have taken my first steps into these waters, prompted by two developments - first was a review in venerable Hi-Fi News out of the U.K., in my opinion the last bastion of true audio journalism in the English language, of the new Chord QuteHD DAC, which is a reasonably priced (I paid under $1500 for mine) DAC that does not do any bullshit upsampling, but accepts and outputs to 32 bit resolution at up to 384khz (up to 192k over USB, which is good enough for me at this stage). Consensus seems to have formed around asynchronous USB as the way to go, jitter being largely eliminated, and the Chord can even directly carry DSD natively over USB without conversion to PCM, which is potentially useful. The unique Watt Pulse Array DAC is a true unique advancement in digital conversion, in a game where so many others are pimping some marketing hyperbole.
So the Chord got me turned on, and got my attention with the right technology at the right price.
Looking into software, I am aware, due to the excellent journalism of HiFi News in exposing the all too common hanky panky with HD Tracks in claiming high resolution that turns out to be nothing of the sort. A lot of supposed hi-res files that are nothing more than an upsampling of 16bit 44khz files. But very recently some amazing titles from the Atlantic catalog have been appearing in 24/192 files on HD Tracks, as well as a smattering of Blue Note warhorses, also at 24/192. That, along with some interesting stuff on Naim, Linn and a few BeeJazz titles starting to appear, and the start of fine French label Naive in hi-res, pushed me to jump in.
I am using at this stage a standard cheap USB cable as I am unsure of any benefits to 'audiophile' brands here, although I will probably get the Cardas USB cable - can't go wrong with Cardas. I am using the Chord with my usual Yamamura 4000 interconnects - still nothing made can beat the old Yamamuras. I am moving between Foobar and JRiver on my laptop, so far, I can't say I hear any difference. Kernel Streaming mode.
I started with Dream Theater's latest "A Dramatic Turn Of Events" which is pretty heavily compressed on CD, and sounds just terrible on vinyl (Roadrunner could give a rats ass about vinyl sound) - but HD Tracks have a 24/96 file that is taken from an uncompressed (or more likely, a pre-CD mastering) file . It is a great album, for me the best Dream Theater have done in years. The file from HD-T over the Chord at 96k sounds devastating. Monstrous bottom end. Dynamics and nuance are incredible. The bottom end - the bass definition - is like I have never heard, the bottom is earth moving, it is so deep and powerful it gets right down to the bones. And volume becomes not an issue at all - you know, how with digital, there seems to be an ideal volume point, too low and it sounds tinny, wimpy - too high and it starts to sound fatiguing, hard, un-natural. Here, that goes straight out the window, it is completely crankable, the only upper limit is probably the room, or the point at which your internal organs start to fray. Recognizing that this is a proto-metal record, if there is any qualm, it may be a bit too much softening, a bit like what I have found SACD sound is - everything is great, very round and full, transparent, detailed, very organic - but still a subconscious sense that it is a bit too organic, a bit of the edge is taken off. This may go away with longer break in. But it blows away CD in every sense.
My first impressions come from both the earth shattering bottom end, the richness of tonality, and the absolute freedom from any digititis. Even playing at 44.1 sampling redbook is totally decimated - which leads me to think that maybe the absence of a transport as a limiting factor is at play here. So I tried some standard CD through the Chord's S/PDIF input, using the legendary Digital Precision X-60 (which is still unsurpassed 10 years on) and the quick summary is that with redbook CD, the Chord came nowhere close to my 47 Labs Progression DAC, not even in the same ballpark for realism, tonality and definition. Admittedly, that Progression is a killer digital filterless DAC, and has stood the test of time in my system. Tough to beat. I didn't expect the Chord to best it, but I thought that maybe DACs had progressed sufficiently in the past decade for it to be close. It wasn't, which leads me to believe that the exceptional sound I am hearing from both CD resolution files and hi-res files on the Chord has much to do with taking out the middleman, in this case, the transport.This also tells me that perhaps DACs optimized for redbook playback, created before hi-res, usb, dsd and so on, still rule redbook in a way that hi-res designed DACs cannot, and in turn, that tells me that dumping such equipment in favor of an all purpose USB DAC might not be a good long term move - we might see 1990's era digital become highly coveted pieces 10 or 15 years from now.
On to some 24/192 Blue Note - Lee Morgan's The Sidewinder, and Wayne Shorter's Speak No Evil. These are new transfers from the analog master tapes by Alan Yoshida, who did the aborted Audio Wave Blue Note XRCD's that were very fine. These exceed them, Speak No Evil in particular now has some actual bass, a known deficiency of the master tape. In some ways, this is much better than even the Music Matters 45rpm vinyl version - but then again, listening to this as what must be the finest digital transfer Speak No Evil ever can or will receive also shows that good vinyl, like the Music Matters, still has a 'rightness' to the sound and an ability to convey the emotional essence that hi-res digital still can't compete with. Hubbard spits and sings, and Shorter's dry tone needs both the higher resolution and broader, more natural tonality that hi-res brings to adequately convey the understated power of his tenor conception. Sidewinder I didn't think would show much difference - it's a pretty simple, straight forward recording, two tracks, it is what it is and makes no apologies for it. I was wrong, particularly in tonality and ease, this hi-res simply relaxes in on itself. It has a clarity and depth that rivals the RVG digital without the drawbacks of the RVG transfers - natural tonality combined with exceptional transparency, a natural ambiance, astonishing resolution, the multitude of vocal interjections now coming through with great clarity, micro details in abundance, the spatial and rhythmic cues showing just how much those RVG analog tapes have on them, never really adequately captured before. The HD Tracks Sidewinder also is superior to the Analogue Productions SACD version, as it gets Billy Higgins just about perfect, actually, it gets out of Billy's way and lets every bit of detail from his cymbal splashes come through as music rather than hash, or mush as the blunted AP Hoffman version does.
Moving on to the Atlantic catalog transfer at 24/192, overall, these are superb and far better than any digital coming before, there is a bed of quite audible tape hiss, a good sign. It appears that these are all simple, straight transfers from the analog tapes, without any EQ tampering. In that sense, it is what it is. Nice thing about what Atlantic is giving HD Tracks is that many titles have never been even on CD before, and many others haven't been done digitally since the early days of redbook. So many are very welcome indeed. Aretha Franklin's "Aretha Now" is a very old recording, but comes up beautifully - punchy, detailed, Aretha's voice is notoriously difficult to capture and here there does seem to be some audible ceiling where her voice hits, yet it is very extended and shows no breakup or distortion all the way up. Very nice. There is a much greater sense of space and very precise imaging, the background vocalists gaining a great detail from the higher resolution. Brook Benton is largely a forgotten figure at this point and his "The Gospel Truth" has sadly never even been reissued on CD. It is a classic. A stripped down southern R&B gospel record showcasing a terrific soul singer who had a great deal of class, with great songs and a great band, and an outstanding choice for a high-res release. Otis Redding's "Love Man", the best posthumous Otis record featuring a very cohesive set of 1967 recordings, shows Otis in red hot R&B action with the emphasis on the rocking side, an essential Otis record, in hi-res it sounds much better than my 1980's Rhino CD, rivaling the original vinyl as it has a much greater clarity, definition and tonality, it really puts Otis out front with great, direct resolution and brings deeper tonality and detail to the band, and all held together by a rhythmic cohesiveness that redbook digital never can really achieve. Wilson Pickett's "Right On" is a largely forgotten late period recording that comes just before disco was to hit, and shows Pickett expanding his thing to some pop hits, some gospel and some more contemporary for the era funk. It's a very good record, and it actually has somewhat more depth on repeated listening than his earlier ones. Sounds fabulous, deep and dirty, another one that has never been released on CD. I also got The Wicked Pickett, an earlier record that gets a superb, rich, vibrant hi-res transfer. Maybe a bit too rich, it does take away some of the rough grit, but it sure does have power. Yusef Lateef's "The Gentle Giant" is a great 70's recording, among the best of his Atlantic period and one of the few not screwed up by Joel Dorn with heavily dated arrangements. Kenny Barron's Rhodes is a key element. Gentle Giant is certainly of its time, yet sounds pretty amazing here, that funky Fender Rhodes vibe is all over it, the tonality of Lateef on flute and oboe particularly is outstanding, the transparency is so deep you can pretty much measure the room dimensions. A must have. Coltrane's "Alternate Takes" is a bit more reserved, it doesn't have quite the transparency and spatial accuracy of the other Atlantics I downloaded, leading me to wonder if a lesser generation tape was the source - or maybe this actually is what the master sounds like. It's good, but a notch below sonically. I was supremely pleased to see two Les McCann titles on the list - "Another Beginning" and "River High, River Low", the former being the more essential, the latter being a fine soul/jazz record. Sure, McCann's Atlantic records have dated all over them, but they are still prime pieces of the 70's, McCann's voice is outstanding, his funky Fender Rhodes is deadly. Hi-Res does wonders for Les, his voice is rich with nuance, these are thoroughly enjoyable records that deserve reconsideration. Ornette Coleman's "Ornette On Tenor" is a revelation, a record I have known for decades very well, sounding fresh as the morning - rhythm is intensely organic, insistent, the horns urgently melodic, organic and immediate. Highest recommendation. The Atlantic 24/192 series is exemplary in every respect, this catalog is being revealed through this excellent work.
Where Hi-res may have some drawbacks is where it gets closer to now. Muse just released "The 2nd Law" and it is a gloriously, totally over the top bombastic record with monstrous deep bass and quite an extended top end. The bass in particular is very forward, as Muse this time have incorporated more urban and techno sounds into their proggy/metallic/glam rock model. The beat is very much in front here. it is quite glorious in hi-res, very immediate and the sound just ricochets off the walls and almost lifts the floorboards. It is quite an experience, which is just what Muse want it to be. Quite immersive in hi-res. But the 24/96 resolution seems to be like a typical modern movie done with heavy CGI and post-processing shown in high resolution - the seams are very apparent, and the artificiality of it all is accentuated by the higher resolution. It may be very exciting, but it is also obviously not very real. It lacks humanity, in its ultra-clean artificiality. The Muse in hi-res, alluring as it is, points to an issue hi-res will need to deal with - it may very well be that hi-res will force a reconsideration of recording techniques, particularly Pro-Tools and other digital processing, and it may very well be that the ultimate medium for recording in high resolution turns out to be analog tape.
I picked up a few titles from Naim and Linn, as well as a new Bee Jazz title, also. All highly worthwhile. I may be getting a nice little hi-res library going here! So now, on occasion, I will be following hi-res audio also so look for more in the future!!
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