I couple weeks ago I described my visit to Doug Sax’s the Mastering Lab in Ojai, California to listen the live-to-DVD-Rom demo recordings made by engineer Bill Schnee in concert with the ultra hi-rez JCF Audio 24-bit/192kHz DACs. The demonstration while not conclusive (I’ll need to hear this at home!) was stunning in terms of space and depth, and layering. There were silky piano harmonics and a dynamic envelope that stretched the boundaries between bone-crushing explosiveness and poignant delicacy. This was beyond any prior digital format that I’ve listened to. In fact it wasn’t immediately clear whether it was digital or analog–it was just, well, music. It also spoke to me about the traditional divide between pro audio and the high end as if the two worlds never dovetail. True, each universe has its own imperatives but this was an instance when a pro system could challenge in every criteria the finest I’ve heard in the high-end world.
Sax still argues that analog direct-to-disc is the best sonic format he’s ever heard, including master tapes. Yet he feels that this two-track process is the closest thing to that standard he has yet heard, and a clear step beyond DVD-A and DSD formats. I have to agree. It won’t be easy introducing a new format in these hard economic times. SACD and DVD-Audio disappeared without a whimper as we all recollect. But I’d sure like to see this format reinvigorate the high rez sector. But at the moment I have to admit it seems like a tough sell. By the way-For those who haven’t heard a Direct to Disc recording plenty of used mint Sheffield recordings are readily availabe online. Check ’em out and hear what you’re missing.
By Neil Gader
My love of music largely predates my enthusiasm for audio. I grew up Los Angeles in a house where music was constantly playing on the stereo (Altecs, if you’re interested). It ranged from my mom listening to hit Broadway musicals to my sister’s early Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Beatles, and Stones LPs, and dad’s constant companions, Frank Sinatra and Tony Bennett. With the British Invasion, I immediately picked up a guitar and took piano lessons and have been playing ever since. Following graduation from UCLA I became a writing member of the Lehman Engel’s BMI Musical Theater Workshops in New York–working in advertising to pay the bills. I’ve co-written bunches of songs, some published, some recorded. In 1995 I co-produced an award-winning short fiction movie that did well on the international film-festival circuit. I was introduced to Harry Pearson in the early 70s by a mutual friend. At that time Harry was still working full-time for Long Island’s Newsday even as he was writing Issue 1 of TAS during his off hours. We struck up a decades-long friendship that ultimately turned into a writing gig that has proved both stimulating and rewarding. In terms of music reproduction, I find myself listening more than ever for the “little” things. Low-level resolving power, dynamic gradients, shadings, timbral color and contrasts. Listening to a lot of vocals and solo piano has always helped me recalibrate and nail down what I’m hearing. Tonal neutrality and presence are important to me but small deviations are not disqualifying. But I am quite sensitive to treble over-reach, and find dry, hyper-detailed systems intriguing but inauthentic compared with the concert-going experience. For me, true musicality conveys the cozy warmth of a room with a fireplace not the icy cold of an igloo. Currently I split my time between Santa Fe, New Mexico and Studio City, California with my wife Judi Dickerson, an acting, voice, and dialect coach, along with border collies Ivy and Alfie.
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