Been playing around with more digital than vinyl lately, mostly hi-res downloads since I bought that great Chord QuteDAC. Many conclusions forming, or at least hypotheses and feelings. I have, through a variety of means, built up a library of over 2,200 hi-res recordings - about half 24bit PCM files, and half DSD rips from SACD.
My first is that hi-res digital 'direct' easily supplants redbook CD. And SACD for that matter. Easily, no matter the sample rate - 88.1 at 24 bit being pretty much the start of true high resolution. I am not yet certain that 192kHz sampling really offers tangible benefits, but my feeling at this stage is - I have no idea what the future will bring, so I might as well get the highest available. An early hypothesis is that equipment will need to play major catchup to get everything out of very high resolution downloaded files. Another is that tubes may ultimately prove unsuitable for true high resolution and that this may be where tube equipment for many hits a brick wall. It just might be that the majority of output tubes are going to find that their bandwidth limit defeats much of what hi-res is all about, although I am sure that many - maybe even yours truly - will continue to use tube equipment for the tonal advantages (and those who use tube equipment as filters will probably continue to be fooled into carrying on with that).
Unlike SACD, which was DOA as anything other than a rather tiny niche, every piece of digital equipment sold today has hi-res USB capability at some level, and it is inevitable that every audiophile and pretty much everyone else will at some point in the near future hook up a USB cable to their laptop and see what it's all about.
My last feeling is that next year, we will see hi-res downloads really come into their own and just as I am now, in the last 6 months, seeing that virtually every classical release of even minor merit is available at hi-res, and pretty much every other release of significance, as well as a healthy and increasingly frequent reissue program. What I figure we will see is hi-res killing the classical CD market first, just as the advent of CD hit classical in a big way first. Virtually all the interesting labels doing classical releases in 192k, I am now totally out of the physical classical market. Then we will see majors and more significant indies making a hi-res release standard, and it will take some time before the rock and alternative indies get there - as they pretty much record at 16 bit still, and will for some time.
Some think that the relatively high price of a typical hi-res download is prohibitive. Each has their own notion of relative value, but what the negative types don't understand that for every downloaded recording purchased, likely three or 4 on average are distributed from that without payment. Until that can be solved without sonic degradation, prices will stay somewhat high - but really, getting a 192kHz file for $22 to $25 with zero sonic degradation due to some copy protection regime is in my opinion very good value.
The Chord has broken in now and is superb in every way. I started using a Cardas USB cable and I really am uncertain if it is sonically any better than the $10 one I had laying around, but it does offer some psychological benefit, and I didn't pay too much for it as I don't order from list price big box sellers like Music Direct. I switched during the summer to a high end Oyaide USB and I think it offers a good level of sonic improvement. Even Acoustic Sounds is now selling the Chord, it is a real stunning piece and the technology is not the off-the-shelf type stuff in most of the DAC's touted as high-end these days.
The next leap will without a doubt be true high end audio computers or servers with e-Sata or even Thunderbolt connection for a high quality, solid state hard drive. For the most part, computer audio will kill much of the tweak market and will have a major hit on the cable market.
On to some downloads I have been listening to lately.
Just last week, Hiresaudio started rolling out some classic titles from the Decca and Deram catalogs. I picked up the 24/96 Caravan - If I Could Do It All Over Again and my first impression was good, but a bit 'muffled', and that may be so, but repeated listening brings me to the conclusion that this is a very old tape, not the best, but there are places where the 24/96 really shines and brings out fantastic tonal aspects, if not a much greater level of detail. That the master tape is not the best is confirmed by listening to The End - Introspection, a Bill Wyman produced underground psych classic, which sounds amazing, as does another piece of psychedelia - The World Of Oz - which actually had a hit single back in the day - and although ever so slightly dated in places, it is a wonderful artifact full of vibrancy, and sounds fantastic. Savoy Brown had a good string of records on Decca and Blue Matter may be the best, good choice, outstanding 24/96 mastering, sounds like not a hint of compression, very clear and detailed, the grunginess really comes through. I hope there are lots more from Deram/Decca in the pipeline.
E-Onkyo has rolled out a big CTI reissue program, and I just LOVE CTI. I grew up on this stuff, and these are all fresh King Records remasterings from analog tape, and interestingly, they have been given both 24/192 AND DSD remasterings - not conversions, separate remasterings (or more likely separate feeds from the tape deck). They may be considered expensive by some at 3000 yen apiece, but you just can't put a price on this phenomenal material, undeniably so well done, if you want t commoditize music, buy MP3's on Amazon. These transfers shows the true potential of 24/192 taken from analog with top quality remastering. They are tonally just amazingly lifelike, the sound explodes just so three dimensionally and lives completely outside the speakers - the rhythm and pulse is alive down to the floorboards - and the dynamics are thrilling. These were, regardless of what one may think of mid-70's jazz, outstanding RVG recordings - absolutely state of the art analog.
Part of the CTI formula - a big part - was Ron Carter's bass. So get a massive bass sound on vinyl Creed Taylor would keep side lengths relatively short so RVG could cut deep, wide bass grooves. On these transfers, you can now hear just how well RVG caught Carter and the bass is huge, pulsing, tight. On Freddie Hubbard's Red Clay, the dual horn front line is vibrantly clear, delineated, and powerful. Hubbard is rich and detailed, and Joe Henderson's tone is beautiful and rich. Hancock has a natural Fender Rhodes sound, and the high end is crisply clean. The dimensionality is astonishing.
A nice thing about this series - and I am hoping this is just round one - is bringing back some gems that are not necessarily the most popular CTI titles but are the most interesting artistically. Joe Farrell is one - Outback is one of my all time favorite CTI titles, hell, one of my favorite records period. Elvin Jones! The amazing Buster Williams! Chick Corea! and Farrell himself - tenor, soprano, flute. What an amazing band, and what a phenomenal straight ahead jazz record. And it sounds freakin' amazing. Farrell's Penny Arcade of a few years later is further along the CTI evolution towards a more poppish, even disco-ish sound, but at this point although funkier,it has more rock elements - Joe Beck on guitar, the beat is more rock, so this is much more a fusion record and much more of its time, but a great record on its own merits as Farrell is on fire, the long solos are terrific, the band is red-hot and the sound is again phenomenal. Heading in a more popular drction, George Benson's God King Bad is right before Breezin, and it seems to me that Benson was uncomfortable in where Taylor was taking him. These are very poppish, almost dance floor tunes, and although the musicianship is very high, the tunes themselves are sometimes slight, and Benson plays much harder than usual, comping with a very jagged tone. The sound is not up to the rest of the series, probably what the master sunds like, but certainly still a significant upgrade, and although I like the record being a different side of Benson - it ain't no Breezin, and sure isn't a White Rabbit or Body Talk. A welcome return for Ron Carter's Spanish Blue, featuring Hubert Laws - whose flute on this transfer has so much richness, so much micro-tonality, it just is a showcase for what real hi-res audio can bring to the table. Carter again is massive, and Roland Hanna is a real treat to hear like this. An under-rated gem, this one. Stanley Turrentne's Cherry is interesting - along with Sugar it is usually considered the best of Turrentine's CTI period, which is where he really blossomed into a great jazz tenor - and even though Salt Song and Don't Mess With Mr. T are my favorites, Cherry has much going for it - not the least the presence of Milt Jackson. Sony in the U.S. issued a 24/96 transfer of Sugar this year, and it is very good - but nowhere near as good as the King 24/192 transfer of Cherry. That in itself is interesting.
I picked up a few of the E-Onkyo CTI in DSD. Hubert Laws Rite Of Spring, Jackie & Roy's amazing Time and Love, Don Sebesky's Giant Box, Randy Weston's Blue Moses. Of these, the Laws and Jackie & Roy are essential. The sound is again exceptional, particularly the Jackie & Roy, but the comparison to 24/192 is fascinating, one of the rare opportunities to compare DSD and 24/192 directly in a series of high quality transfers, and I have to conclude that (as has been generally my finding over the past year) that I prefer 24/192 by a significant margin. There is nothing wrong with the DSD sound on its own. Just compared to 24/192, it seems to be a bit more relaxed, a bit more smoother, and bit indistinct on top, and overall, I can see why some people might prefer it. But it hasn't got the dimensionality and impact, the three-dimensional, breathing outside the box feeling of 24/192, and although it easily gets tone right, it just misses on the dimensionality and realism of good 24/192.
The CTI series from E-Onkyo is one of the most compelling reasons yet to get into hi-res audio. I hope much more is to come. Its a harbinger of what hi-res can and will be.
HD Tracks have recently proven just how badly a screwed up website redesign can hurt business, The new site is a confused mess, leading me to believe it could not possibly have been tested with customers prior to launch. Always do consumer testing on a website redesign. It will cost you money to test it. It will cost you a lot more not to.
I suppose the biggest release on HD Tracks recently as been a new 24/192 transfer of Miles Davis Kind Of Blue. I have Kind Of Blue coming out my ears, and really, I need another KOB like I need a hole in the head, but I have to admit, this hi-res transfer - a remix from the original multitracks - is worth every penny, particularly the stereo version. The bass is huge, maybe a bit too much so, yet it walks all over the floor - bone crushing tonality. Miles is pure, his bright, pinched tone, almost speech like, so totally real and suspended ethereally in space. Coltrane has the warm, rich metallic tone so filled with harmonics that so rarely gets reproduced right - and Bill Evans has a fantastic,light percussive touch. The transfer rocks, its a beauty, and makes my Japanese SACD rip sound weak and two dimensional. Phenomenal work, and essential. Actually is a case where even my cherished Classic Records vinyl is eclipsed. The mono - I know, mono is one of those cool fashion cult affectations for audiophiles these days - is tonally just as good as the stereo, but being mono, has nowhere near the dimensionality, the spaciousness, the panoramic soundscape of the stereo. Seems to me that this notion bandied about on some online forums that mono is 'punchier' is just another slogan, or attempt to create some new collectability category for folks (like me) prone to being collectors - of course a single channel is going to be 'punchier', whatever that means. Its all crammed up into one. I often like mono, but the fact is, stereo took over for a very good reason - the realism and dimensionality, the separation, the sense of the room - just cannot be beat, and the sacrifice in these areas in favor of some dubious notion of 'punchiness' is to me simply not a valid tradeoff. There are always exceptions, but this KOB shows that stereo rules. This is an amazing release in hi-res, and essential - superbly well done. I know, some wankers are complaining that it is a remix - bullshit, this is a new mix from the original three tracks tapes rather than an aged, over-used master tape (that is in fact no longer playable), and that is a good thing - the proof is in the listening, and that is superb. Throw out the dogmatic preconceptions.
There are other worthwhile releases to quickly note on HD Tracks - the Van Morrison stuff is good, but I felt that it could have used a good mastering as opposed to a straight flat transfer, the Joni Mitchell material has been getting better and better as the series rolls out - Miles And Aisles is flat out astonishing and sounds like a whole new record it is so warmly rich and lifelike analog in sound. Court and Spark is similarly warm and alive, Hissing of Summer Lawns has never sounded so good - and so on. The Yes series has a lot of high spots - The Yes Album is amazing, so is Relayer. The early ones are big improvements, particularly Time and a Word, which is a great album. Anything on ECM will sound fabulous. The Everest classical transfers are not as good as the Classic Records DVD-A series, but are still worthwhile - the Copland, for example. Approach with caution, though, as many of the performances are not of 'classic' standard. The Pearl Jam titles are a missed opportunity and too compressed to be definitive, a shame as they are analog recordings. One day Pearl Jam will be done right in hi-res, wait for that. The Clash also have compression applied, but not nearly as heavily as the Pearl Jam, and are excellent sounding - detailed and alive, rocking like crazy.
The Grateful Dead studio albums collection at 24/192 is essential, and yes, I do find a worthwhile sonic difference from the 24/96, which I had first. The Ella Fitzgerald Songbooks series is rolling out at 24/192 and is drop dead amazing, a voice with the range of Ella simply cries out for 192k extension.
SubPop have a number of titles on HD Tracks, and while I welcome more and more new/indie hi-res, these are pretty much all compressed at the mastering stage - mastering done obviously in hi-res - and it seems labels have not yet realized that this is not acceptable in the high resolution format. Avoid. I am not dogmatically allergic to compression, but these are too extreme. A fabulous album like the new MGMT is demolished in hi-res. So is the latest Tame Impala. Stick to vinyl as the preferred format for new releases.
An exception is Dream Theater, which have pretty much their entire Roadrunner catalog at 24/96 - and this stuff is awesome, the kind of sound you really need to wear diapers for - you'll wet yourself, massive dynamic sound, another example of where hi-res can really shine. If Opeth used hi-res in recording, it would make my 2014 to see THAT band in hi-res!
There hasn't been much of anything worthwhile from Bee Jazz in 2013, I hope that changes in 2014. Yet Qobuz remains a source rich with the jazz that is still quite regularly recorded in France, by fabulous talents that came through the fusion era with a nod back to the 60's, and there is a lot of fantastic modern jazz around France. Aside from the rich mine of BeeJazz titles on Qobuz - nearly all incredible, diverse, unique and even visionary. Best label in jazz today. Superb recordings. Some interesting artists operating in France - tenor Eli Digibri, drummer Stephane Huchard leading a Rhodes driven quintet, tenor Vincent Mondy's quartet, baritone Jean Philippe Scali, bass clarinet Thomas Savy, soprano Vincent Jourde - so many others. Adventurous, yet coming from the history - particularly the mid 60's to mid 70's.
For more straight ahead, modern jazz - on HD Tracks get anything by Smalls Records you can - excellent recordings and the cream of today's crop, Joel Frahm, Alex Sipiagin, Ralph LaLama, Dezron Douglas, David Schittner - all of these are wonderful hard bop albums 'in the tradition' of advanced bebop playing.
I should also point out that there is a fantastic series of 24/96 downloads available on Peter Gabriel's website - every show from his current tour is coming up to download shortly after the show, in terrific sound, and these shows are direct hi-res recordings mixed on the spot, the shows as they were heard that night - flaws, hits, misses - everything. I have three so far and all are excellent.
Next time, I may kick around the hi-res classical scene more deeply.
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