
Is it CD, SACD or Hybrid?
Article by Gigi Krop
We are about to embark on a listening experiment that involves three CD’s
from Chesky Records and two different play back systems. The three CD’s are: 4
Generations of Miles Davis (Chesky JD238) a live high-resolution two-track recording, Three Guitars (Chesky JD248)
a standard Chesky studio recording
and, An Introduction to SACD (Chesky SACD204), a hybrid stereo Super
Audio CD. The first hi-end sound system is located at a well-known NYC dealer;
the second hi-end system belongs to a friend of mine who lives in the Ft.
Lauderdale area of Florida. The sessions evolved into a two-part comparison: The
first part was between Miles Davis and
Three Guitars, which I auditioned in
NYC and Ft. Lauderdale. The second part takes place in Ft. Lauderdale and
compares the two different formats on the An
Introduction to SACD. Are you
with me so far?
It all started a few weeks ago during a visit to Chesky Records in NYC. Lisa
Hershfield, Production Assistant (the one who runs the joint when the boys are
out of town) was gracious enough to show me around the office.
After the tour Lisa hands me a bag of goodies... several new CDs and
some literature.

"David told me to give you this."
Then she looked at me and smiled, "Gigi, I have a treat for you, follow
me. Our Mastering Engineer, Nick Prout is in the studio working on a special
project."

Lisa ushered me into a quiet room. In front of the room is a pair of Wilson
Watt Puppies hooked up to two small tube amplifiers. In the middle of the room
is a comfy leather couch flanked by another pair of Watt Puppies. The back wall
is a mountain of blinking glowing electronics. Sitting at a small desk and
computer monitor is a sandy-haired young man. He stares at the screen,
alternately tapping the keyboard keys and adjusting the levers, buttons and
knobs on the impressive array of electronics.

"Gigi meet Nick, our mastering engineer."
"Hi Nick. Impressive set up you got here. Can you tell me about it? He
gives me a quick run-down of some of the equipment and this was
custom designed for us."
Woops, can’t give away any Chesky secrets – not if I want to be invited
back. But I can tell you that Nick is mastering a new demo disc in
5.1 and 6.4 surround sound. He played me a few cuts and it sounded fabulous with
lots of variety in the music and incredible detail and dynamics. True to its
name, this format surrounds you in sound. Nick allowed me to peak at his
computer as he played the tracks and I also got to sit in the leather couch for
a quick listening session. What a treat to my senses: an excellent room, the
painstakingly set up system playing an original recording and me deep in the
womb of Chesky Records. As if that’s not enough, Nick pulled out some brand
new un-mastered recordings, "Gigi check this out."
A quick listen and a little chat about the various cuts, where and how
they’re recorded and then a bearded, long-haired gentleman sticks his head in
the door, "Nick, we need to talk."
"OK. Gigi I gotta get back to work."
"Nick, thanks for your time. Hope to see you again soon."
Lots of amazing stuff is in the works at Chesky Records. I depart the mastering studio and return to reality.
Session 1
My next stop was a nearby hi-end audio store, home of the NYC sound system
and the first part of my listening experiment. My friend Jack Rubinson (former
owner of Chestnut Hill Audio in Philadelphia) greeted me at the door.
"Gigi, what do you have there, some Chesky CDs?"
"Yeah, you wanna listen?"
"Sure follow me."
He took me into a room with Naim electronics, Spectral amplifiers and Wilson
Watt Puppy 7 loudspeakers.
"Let's try the Miles Davis High Resolution CD, 4
Generations of Miles." An experiment in high-resolution, 4 Generations was recorded live at a small venue in New York City.
This tribute to Miles Davis brings together a select group of musicians for a
memorable concert. Ron Carter - Acoustic Bass, George Coleman - Tenor Sax, Jimmy
Cobb - Drums and Mike Stern - Electric Guitar play classic tracks such as "On
Green Dolphin Street" and "My Funny Valentine". All four musicians played
with Miles Davis during their careers and experienced the effortless phrasing
and melodic genius of Miles Davis first hand. They also bring their individual
style and interpretations to the music. The genius of Miles Davis is the glue
that bonds them together for a once in a lifetime performance.
Jack popped the Miles CD into the Naim all-format player and the music was
splendid. The well-known musicians and classic tracks are an unforgettable
combination. But something wasn't right. The music sounded soft, lacking in
dynamics and detail. The front of the CD pack says “High Resolution
Technology” but the CD played in 2-channel format. The CD notes say that this
CD is recorded at "Makor" NYC with a live audience... very interesting.
"Let's try a different CD" Jack suggested. "How about Three
Guitars (Chesky JD248)". The music of Larry Coryell, Badi Assad and John
Abercrombie filled the room with music. This CD is an interesting combination of
innovative modern jazz, Brazilian music and traditional acoustic styles with
cuts written by all three musicians. But the difference in sound quality was
incredible. The music from this CD sounded detailed, transparent and open. After
about 15 minutes the door to the listening room opened and a pleasant looking
guy said, "We're closing, got to turn off the system and lock-up."
"Bummer" I exclaimed, "what unpleasant news from a pleasant guy. We need more
listening time to investigate this sound enigma."
Jack handed me the two CD’s, I put them back in my shopping bag.
"Let's go to dinner; where do you want to eat?"
Session 2
A week later, I am back home in Florida and visiting my friend Michael M. in
the Ft. Lauderdale area.
Michael has a brand new custom-built designated listening room overflowing
with Krell Reference amplifiers, Krell 64D to A converter, Sony SACD-1, Apogee
Diva speakers, 3-Velodyne subwoofers, MIT V2-1 Oracle cables, BAT 515E preamp
and heaven knows what else. It also just so happens that I have a shopping bag
of new Chesky CD’s just begging for a listening session.
My friend escorts me to his audio shrine. Except for the lights of Krell
equipment glowing in the distant sound stage, the room is dark. In the middle of
the room is a single seat, an unusual looking lounge chair.
"Sit down, Gigi. Let's see what's in the bag."
He turns on a small lamp and rummages through my bag of tricks.
"Lets try Miles Davis."
"Yeah, I am interested to see how it sounds on your system. I played it in
NYC and it sounded kind of blue."
He replied, "I have 15 dedicated lines of 20/30 amps each and 1,400 watts of
power in this room."
And then the music... the music was beautiful. The sound was open and sweet.
The bass was defined and tight. I recognized the small club venue. The sax was
effortless and smooth; you could hear George Coleman’s fingers work the
tenor's valves.
I must digress a moment. My late father played the tenor sax and his big
band, The Philip Krop Orchestra got together on a biweekly basis to practice in
the basement of my family home. Needless to say I am well acquainted with the
live sound of the tenor saxophone (and live big band music). I still have fond
memories of my Dad striking up the band for a private concert and a special
rendition of the song "Gigi" in my honor.
And yes, the combination Chesky CD and Krell/Diva system reminded me of
that private concert when I stood in the middle of the room, in the center of
the soundstage surrounded by trumpets, saxophones, keyboard and drums. Just like
the live performance of my memory, the music in this listening room was all
around me, three-dimensional, transparent, lush and detailed.
"This CD sounds great on your system, but sounded soft when I listened in
NYC. I wonder why?"
"Gigi, it's late. I need to get up early in the morning. Why don't you
come back next week and we'll listen some more. Can you leave this CD with me
till next week?"
"Enjoy it, but remember to give it back."
The next morning I open one eye, jump out of bed, grab my phone and dial the
number for my friend at the NYC dealer.
"Hi Jack, it's Gigi. I'm really confused. Remember the Miles Davis CD
we listened to in the store?"
"Of course."
"It sounded soft on the Naim/Spectral/Wilson system. But when I listened on
a Krell/Diva system it sounded detailed and lush. What's the problem? It's
not the Naim, Spectral or Wilson equipment, can it be the room?"
"Well the room has some problems."
"Is it possible that the equipment was hooked up out-of-phase?"
"Well it is a store and the system is constantly being broken down and set
up, anything is possible."
"Perhaps it’s a combination of things."
"But the Three Guitars recording
sounded fine?"
"Yeah, I can't explain it. Gigi, the store is busy. Come visit again when
we can spend more time listening."
"OK."
I am totally baffled by this multi-format, different system same CD scenario.
After
a cup of strong coffee, I call Nick Prout at Chesky. But he is out of town
working on a recording project. Totally frustrated, I arrange another listening
session at Mr. M's home in Ft. Lauderdale.
Session 3
"Michael, can we listen to the Three
Guitars CD?"
"Gigi, sit down and relax."
"What's this remote for?"
"The massaging chair."
"How does it work?"
"Let's find a CD first."
"Michael, what about the Three
Guitars?"
"Gigi, we'll listen to that one another time."
He picks An Introduction To SACD (Chesky
SACD204) a Hybrid SACD/Super Audio CD
and sets the Sony for the SACD format. Then he turns on the chair. It comes alive and begins to message me. I feel
like a message therapist is in the chair messaging my neck, back etc. I start to
get crazy. I tell myself, "Calm down, Gigi. It's only a chair." Then I
am
able to relax and enjoy the therapeutic message and the music.
Livingston Taylor is singing in my ear and I am in heaven. The Piano, Sax,
Drums and Bass of the McCoy Tyner Quartet have excellent separation and sound
stage. There’s a light touch on the piano keys and the drums have
incredible detail... you can feel the sticks hit the drum skins. Rebecca
Pidgeon’s Spanish Harlem is one of my favorite tracks. The SACD version has a
sweet natural voice and effortless bass. The violin is compelling and the
castanets are airy.
I announce, "Let's try an experiment. Please play the McCoy Tyner track
in the stereo mode." My host changes the format and stands behind me to listen. At the end of the
track we sit in silent thought. "Michael, I like the stereo version better. It
is more natural, more
focused."
"Gigi, I agree."
After the confusing results of all our experiments, I still leave Michael's
listening room with a smile on my face and an invitation to return again
soon... with another shopping bag full of wonderful CDs.
Conclusion
"What does it all mean?" Two hi-end systems, three
different high-quality CDs from the same recording company each one recorded
under different conditions and different formats. What conditions result in the
best recording; which format is better?
The reply, "I dunno. But I do know that there are few things in this world
as beautiful as talented musicians on a well-recorded CD, a fine playback system
and a custom-built sound room."
The bottom line: In my opinion, many more listening sessions, more hi-end
systems and more recordings are needed to determine what formats sound best on
which systems. On a personal level, I would like to see more recordings of
mainstream musicians on the Chesky Records label.
Note: Earlier today
I was chatting with Richard (Rick) Fryer owner of Spectral
Audio, Inc. (Stay tuned for my upcoming article on Rick Fryer and Keith
Johnson of Spectral Audio, Inc.) In passing I mentioned the Chesky Records
listening dilemma. Rick replied that the people at Chesky were very special and
that the music-lovers of the world are lucky to have small recording companies
that are willing to push the envelope and work with new formats. When you
experiment with new recording techniques, the results can be unpredictable. But
we should appreciate the time and effort that goes into these experiments. I
agree that experimentation is necessary to develop new techniques and formats.
We both agree that unlike the large commercial labels, the small audiophile
companies are concerned about the accurate reproduction of sound and the
ultimate beauty of the music.