Showcase DVD-A's

Bach – Matthäus Passion (Teldec)

I think many hi-fi salesmen will tell you that when it comes to demonstrating hi-fi systems: whatever you do, don’t put on classical music. But if there was ever an exception to this rule, the Matthäus Passion would be it. It’s the closest thing to being there I have ever experienced from a recording and when I close my eyes I could swear that I was sitting in a church and the performers were right there in front of me. The clarity and realism is simply stunning.

Big Phat Band – Swingin’ for the fences

A nice example of using the surrounds to widening the sound stage. On most the disc the sax section is way out to the right, trombones way out to the left while trumpets are in the middle (try 1 min 20 sec into “Count Bubba”). While the sax and trombones sound very good, unfortunately the producer added some kind of “anti-audiophile” effect to the trumpets.

Boz Scaggs – Dig

The last song “Thanks To You” is perfect for testing the bass ability of the front speakers. Several times the B note from the 1st octave (30Hz) is hit. Since this is usually the lowest note on a 5-string bass, it’s not that unusual. What’s unusual is that bass notes are very long and clean. You can almost count the frequency just by looking at the speaker drivers.

Joni Mitchell – Both Sides Now

I don’t know if it’s just me, but listening to the music on DVD-Video’s was what first made me notice the potential of surround music. I noticed that sometimes subtle strings in the surrounds made the music “airy” for a lack of a better word. You get that feeling a lot on this DVD-A, especially if you have raised the rear speakers.

Artificial Intelligence (John Williams)

Lots of subwoofer action on this one. My favourite is “Stored Memories and Monica’s Theme”, which combines “airy” subtle strings and vocals with powerful ultra deep bass. Unfortunately there’s some very annoying noise on the first part of the song.

The Latin Jazz Trio

A prime example of capturing the ambience of a room. Very clean sound all around and a very tasteful surround mix.

Sonic Boom

Most of the album is actually not very good and the brass in particular is a real horror to listen to. But there is one song that really does it for me. The record is divided into a classical and a jazz section, and in the jazz section there’s a cool funky tune by Bob Berg which is very impressive. It’s very clear that this is not an ordinary stereo recording, you really notice the room created by the rear speakers. A cheap trick perhaps, just adding ambience to the rears but it works great here. And as an added bonus there's some test and set-up material. I could see my bass drivers move at 16Hz but could rarely hear a sound. No problems at 30Hz, cool bass.