Tchaikovsky: Pathétique
Symphony
Chicago Symphony Orchestra; Fritz Reiner, conductor.
JVC XRCD JMCXR-0021
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| Recording Quality |
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| Overall Enjoyment |
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Boston Symphony Orchestra; Charles Much, conductor.
JVC XRCD JMCXR-0022
| Musical Performance |
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| Recording Quality |
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| Overall Enjoyment |
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 While the format
war between SACD and DVD-Audio continues to confuse audiophiles interested in
higher-resolution digital discs, there is an alternative available that actually
makes the most of the humble CD. That would be JVC's superb series of XRCD2
recordings.
XRCDs aren't, technically speaking, a higher-resolution
format; they are simply Red Book CDs that are crafted with the utmost care.
Let's start with the name: XRCD stands for Extended
Resolution Compact Disc and the superscript 2 means it has reached its second iteration.
The process starts with the mastering, where the analog signal is taken straight from the
console and converted to digital using JVC's 20-bit K2 Super Coding, which is a 20-bit,
128X oversampling A-to-D converter providing: dynamic range of 108dB, -96dB THD, flat
frequency response of +/- .05dB, and a substantial reduction of harmonic distortion for
low-level signals. The K2 Super Coding also converts 20 bits to 16 bits, and reshapes the
signal to eliminate time-based jitter in the digital data stream.
The 20-bit digital signal is then transferred to a PCM-9000
using S/DIF-2 and stored on a magneto-optical disk (as opposed to archiving it on a
U-matic 1630 tape). The magneto-optical disk is more stable than tape and accommodates
20-bit word length. At JVC's Yokohama manufacturing plant, the information on the 20-bit
optical disk is converted to 16 bits using K2 Super Coding without resorting to noise
shaping. Another K2 circuit, called the K2 Laser, is used to reshape the signal
immediately before it reaches the laser that cuts the glass master. This last stage
eliminates time-based jitter that may have occurred in the data stream. Throughout this
process, the word clock is amplified and distributed to the other stages to keep the
signal quality pure; similarly, all the mastering equipment is powered by regulated AC
power, giving the reproductive chain an unsullied mains supply. All cables and connections
between equipment use the S/DIF-2 interface, which offers superior transmission of digital
audio to the AES/EBU standard.
Although JVC tested many substrate materials, including 24K
gold and pure copper, it ultimately chose aluminum after extensive listening tests.
JVC's engineers must have awfully good ears, because I have
heard very few CDs that match the XRCD2s -- their sound is extended, deep, and
full-bodied. And always, intensely musical.
Early on, JVC focused on jazz recordings, and some of my
favorite mainstream jazz CDs resulted from that emphasis -- Bags' Groove, Waltz
For Debbie, Saxophone Colossus, and John Coltrane & Kenny Burrell,
to name a few. However, more recently, the label has concentrated on releasing the
catalogs of two of the golden age of audio's most revered conductors: Charles Munch and
Fritz Reiner.
The two releases reviewed here are typical of the lot -- if
these sound good to you, you should explore JVC's catalog, which is stuffed with similar
treasures.
Tchaikovsky's Pathétique certainly doesn't lack for
great interpretations, but even among the great ones, this Reiner/CSO outing has to rank
among the best sounding. It's a Lewis Layton and Richard Mohr recording, natch -- but you
don't need to read the liner notes to know that. All you have to do is listen to the rich,
warm, detailed sound, with its immense soundstage and natural perspective.
When people speak of the coldness and analytic precision of
CD, they are referring to the absence of this kind of golden luminescence.
As for the performance, Reiner had obviously decided that
music itself is emotional enough; it's clear that he did not need to milk it for more. As
a result, this interpretation is restrained and precise -- an approach I find powerfully
affecting. The CSO, as always under Reiner, is a model of precision and attack. First-rate
conducting, supported by playing of the first water -- what could be better?
 Well, sound like this.
The Munch/BSO pairing of Romeo & Juliet and Till
Eulenspiegel is every bit as fine. Here, Munch has given free reign to the wild
emotional swings of the music, ranging from the soft sobs of the passage depicting the
denouement of the doomed lovers to the brassy nose-thumbing bravado of Strauss's rude
hero.
And the Boston players respond with brio, playing up a
storm. This is idiomatic music-making of a sort we are not treated to today and Boston's
refined, bold sound is about as good as it ever got.
This recording paired producer Layton with living legend
Max Wilcox, and it has an intimacy that the Reiner disc, for all its sonic glories, just
doesn't match. That and its phenomenal dynamic range garner it an extra half star,
although surely no one could complain about the sound of either disc.
Opt out of the format wars and see just how good Red Book
CDs can be when they are treated as artisanal objects rather than mass-produced ones. And
while you're at it, peer deep into JVC's catalog for even more of its treasures. Compact
discs just don't get much better than this.
...Wes Phillips
wes@onhifi.com
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