"We had, in Aspen, a perfect opportunity to explore this kind of recording," Drucker said. "And in Da-Hong [Seetoo, producer, recording engineer, and violinist] we found the ideal collaborator. Computer editing stations and the ability for us to take…
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"One rationale for doing any recording these days is that superior recording technology enables listeners to hear these works in a way they haven't been able to hear them before—they'll discover something new in a performance of a Beethoven piece they've heard many times, or hear an intensity or a passion that had been masked previously."
Sidebar 1: Da-Hong Seetoo's Recording Tools
"I used four Schoeps MK2H omni [microphone] heads on bodies of my own design in a square arrangement in the middle of the Quartet, about 70" from the musicians, going straight to hard drive at 24-bits/44.1kHz. I burned CDs for the Quartet from each day's performances. I edited the sessions using Sound Designs software."
Da-Hong Seetoo designs electronics under the Omnitronics name.—Wes Phillips
Sidebar 2: Emerson Quartet: Discography
BARBER: String Quartet
IVES: String Quartets 1 & 2, Scherzo ("Holding Your Own").
DG 435 864-2
BARBER: The Complete Songs, Dover Beach
HARBISON: String Quartet 2
SCHULLER: String Quartet 3
WERNICK: String Quartet 4
Thomas Hampson, baritone
DG 437 537-2
BARTóK: String Quartets 1-6
DG 423 657-2 (2 CDs)
BEETHOVEN: String Quartets 1-16
DG 447 076-2 (7 CDs)
BEETHOVEN: String Quartet 11
SCHUBERT: String Quartet 14 ("Death and the Maiden")
DG 423 398-2
BEETHOVEN: String Quartet 16
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Things are changing rapidly in the world of professional digital audio. After a decade of stability, with slow but steady improvement in the quality of 16-bit, 44.1kHz audio, the cry among audio engineers is now "24/96!"—meaning 24-bit data sampled at 96kHz. Not coincidentally, DVD offers audiophiles a medium with the potential for playing back music encoded at this new mastering standard.
Originally a defense and space contractor offering high-performance (and presumably high-cost) analog/digital converters (ADCs), British-based Data Conversion Systems is one of a small number of…
Sound
I first used the Elgar as a conventional processor, its level control set to 0dB and its analog outputs feeding the preamplifier. The Elgar was able to lock to all my digital sources in its narrow-window, "Digital" PLL mode, so that was how I used it. The unit runs hot—don't place other components on top of it.
I first used the Elgar as a conventional processor, its level control set to 0dB and its analog outputs feeding the preamplifier. The Elgar was able to lock to all my digital sources in its narrow-window, "Digital" PLL mode, so that was how I used it. The unit runs hot—don't place other components on top of it.
The first series of listening sessions was both satisfying and dissatisfying. Satisfying because the sound was always musical; I enjoyed my favorite CDs and DATs for hours on end, one leading to another. Dissatisfying because I am a professional reviewer, dammit, and…
Better sound
But it was when I abandoned 16-bit CDs and DATs that the Elgar scaled the highest sonic heights. Not only did my 20- and 24-bit master tapes sound delightful in their analoglike sense of ease; that delicious sense of detail when the processor was used straight into the power amplifier was invaluable when I was editing the 24-bit hard-disk masters for Stereophile's new Rhapsody CD (see June '97, pp.70-81). Choosing the right note on which to splice between two takes is an exacting business. Not only do you need the musical flow to match each side of the edit point, the…
But it was when I abandoned 16-bit CDs and DATs that the Elgar scaled the highest sonic heights. Not only did my 20- and 24-bit master tapes sound delightful in their analoglike sense of ease; that delicious sense of detail when the processor was used straight into the power amplifier was invaluable when I was editing the 24-bit hard-disk masters for Stereophile's new Rhapsody CD (see June '97, pp.70-81). Choosing the right note on which to splice between two takes is an exacting business. Not only do you need the musical flow to match each side of the edit point, the…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Remote-control D/A processor with volume and balance controls; switchable narrow- and wide-window PLL on data input; 64x-oversampling digital filter; and 5-bit "Ring DAC." Sampling frequencies: 48, 44.1, and 32kHz (standard), plus 96 and 88.2kHz (with dual-AES/EBU software option). Inputs: 2 AES/EBU on XLR jacks, 1 S/PDIF on BNC jack, 1 S/PDIF on RCA jack, 1 S/PDIF on ST-optical, 1 S/PDIF on TosLink optical. Outputs: unbalanced analog on RCA jacks and balanced analog on XLR jacks. Frequency response: "set for optimum transient response." S/N Ratio:…
Sidebar 2: System Context
The main digital source was a Mark Levinson No.31 CD transport feeding the Elgar via Madrigal and Illuminati AES/EBU cables and a Meridian 518 jitter-reduction unit. When I sent my No.31 back to Madrigal for updating to No.31.5 status, I used a Meridian 500 to spin CDs. Master tapes of Stereophile's recordings, some sampled at both 44.1kHz and 96kHz, were played back on a Nagra-D digital tape recorder via AudioQuest's new Digital Two AES/EBU cable, while a Sonic Solutions Macintosh-based Digital Audio Workstation was used for the editing mentioned in the text.…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
All measurements were performed at 44.1kHz. With pin 2 of its output XLRs connected as positive, the Elgar was noninverting with its front-panel phase switch set to Normal, inverting with it set to Inverting. The output impedance was very low (in the region of 1 ohm) from the balanced jacks, and somewhat higher (51 ohms) from the unbalanced RCAs. The output levels were inconsequentially lower than specified, at 2.95V/985mV balanced and 2.98V/990mV unbalanced. I haven't shown the Elgar's frequency-response or de-emphasis error graphs: both were flat within ±0.02dB…
The Elgar's linearity (fig.3) is indeed excellent, there being no deviation from perfect until -110dBFS, due to the unit's very low noise floor. The waveform of an undithered -90.31dBFS, 1kHz sinewave with 20-bit resolution (fig.4) looks like a sinewave. Only in the otherwise superb noise-modulation plot (fig.5) is there a hint of what might be a spurious component at 2kHz. The Elgar's output spectrum while decoding 16-bit data representing an equal mix of 19kHz and 20kHz tones, each with a level of -6dBFS (not shown), was clean. While the 1kHz difference component was noticeable by its…