Digital Processor Reviews

Sidebar 1: What Does Mahler Think?

I thought it would be illuminating to listen to a Mahler symphony—I chose No.7—but with a different recording, orchestra, and venue for each movement, to show the kinds of distinctions the M1SE MDx is capable of facilitating. To level the aural playing field, I made sure that all the recordings were streaming at 24/96 resolution, via Qobuz. Here are some of my listening notes, both plusses and minuses.

Mvt.I "Langsam." Kubelik/Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra. (Deutsche Grammophon, 1989; appears in Mahler: 10 Symphonies): Sounds compressed and overly dry. Little of the sense of space that benefits this music. Top and bottom ends are missing in action. A fine performance, though.

Mvt.II "Nachtmusic." Haitink/Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra. (Decca, 2019, appears in Mahler: The Symphonies & Song Cycles): Now we're talking! Lovely, very wide soundstage. Fine massed strings. Basses where they belong in orchestral perspective: to the right. Lovely details from the winds.

Mvt.III "Scherzo." Gergiev/London Symphony Orchestra. (LSO Live, 2008): Much narrower soundstage than II; almost mono. Wider frequency range than in I, but muddier midrange with less detail than in either I or II. Radio broadcast perhaps?

Mvt.IV "Nachtmusic." Gilbert/New York Philharmonic. (New York Philharmonic, 2017): This one's hard to find because of poor metadata at Qobuz (and the other streaming services). Great wide-open sound. Sounds better than Fisher/Geffen Hall actually does in-person. The mandolin floats naturally in the middle of things. Lovely sustained strings.

Mvt.V "Rondo." Vanska/Minnesota Orchestra. (BIS, 2020): Splitting the difference: a narrower soundstage than II or IV but full, lively, realistic sound from the winds. A little darker than IV, missing some breath up top. A fine performance.—Sasha Matson