Scoping Software: Short Takes From the Old Grab Bag.

I am becoming swamped with scads of terrific-sounding recordings, and by necessity this particular column will contain shorter reviews than usual. However, this does not mean that the recordings are less technically able than usual. It just means that I have been less able "than usual" to handle the influx of materials to my mailbox.

Pops: Harry Allen Quartet: Blue Skies. Recorded in 1994, at the Church of the Holy Trinity, New York City. Engineer: David Hancock. 66+ minutes. John Marks JMR-9. The insert that came with this disc has loads of information on how it was recorded and what equipment was used (ribbon mikes, Studer A80 analog recorder at 30 ips, Wadia A/D converter, etc.), and the techniques (including mastering by Bob Ludwig as well as all the tracks being "live, unedited takes, with the exception of track number five, which contains one splice") follow all the best purist guidelines. Indeed, the insert evens goes so far as to suggest that the playback volume be set so that the sax intro at the beginning of track number two peaks out at 84 dB. I followed this suggestion and the result gives us Allen (on the sax) fairly close up, with the supporting players a bit further back. Indeed, the church acoustics add a degree of reverberation to the sound of the piano and the drums in particular that definitely add a sense of depth to the soundstage. I also tried this recording with a pair of Atlantic Technology 271LR satellites hooked up to the system in my smaller listening room, and the recorded reverb had an uncanny ability to make that small system, playing in a smallish room, sound very much large scale. Dolby Pro Logic decoding was a bit too monophonic like for me, although from off-axis the soundstage was centered up better. DSP was better, with the added reverb making the saxophone sound a bit more integrated into the ensemble, rather than out in front of it. The Classical/Opera mode of my Yamaha DSP-A3090 was also good, and kind of split the subjective difference between DPL decoding and the processor's Cellar-Club simulation.

Bill Holman Band: A View From the Side. Recorded in 1995, at Oceanway Records, Hollywood. Engineer: Allen Sides. 61+ minutes. JVC 2050. This is another of those direct-to-2-track, 20-bit mastering jobs that JVC is promoting as the current state of the recording art in 16-bit, two-channel sound. (Interestingly, a photo in the book insert showed lots of microphones being used to record the group, so some kind of mixer had to be involved in this "direct" recording job.) In any case, this jazz ensemble sounds sensational, with extremely clean, wide-staged, and well-imaged sound across the board. Indeed, the ambience pickup was very well integrated, and the result is a sense of space that is almost surround-like. This is one of the cleanest releases I have heard in some time. Dolby Pro Logic decoding narrows the frontal spread considerably, but the effect is not unworkable, and the result is an increase in distance, and not any loss in realism. Usually, the "35 mm Enhanced" version of DPL that my Yamaha DSP-3090 offers works fine with movies but adds too much reverb with musical material. This release was an exception, and the result was a sound similar to what one might hear in a largish nightclub. DSP ambience simulation was terrific with a smaller-room simulation, such as that provided by my processor's Cellar-Club mode.

Faddis, John: Remembrances (with David Hazeltine, Peter Washington, Clarence Penn, and 12 others). Recorded, in 1998, at St. Peters Episcopal Church, NYC. Engineer: Barry Wolifson. 67+ minutes. Chesky JD-166. This trumpet extravaganza displays excellent orchestral spread and stage depth up front, with the horn nicely centered and properly sized. The trumpet is a powerful instrument, and this disc shows off that power. The only slight problem involved the drum set, which imaged right behind Faddis on the stage. I would have preferred it to be positioned a bit more to one side. Dolby Pro Logic decoding delivered a mono recording. If Dolby is what you have, opt for the phantom-center mode to spread out the soundstage. The DSP functions of my Yamaha DSP-A3090 worked very well, with the best by far being the Cellar-Club simulation. The Village Gate simulation was too largish.

Lamb, Joseph F.: 19 Rags. David Buechner, piano. Recorded in 1996, in the Music Hall, Tarrytown, New York. Engineer: Patricia Duciaume. 70+ minutes. Connoiseur Society 4216. Although the piano is large sounding in this recording, the imaging is not diffuse or muddied, and the overall effect simulates being up close in a small concert hall. If your own room is large enough, the piano almost sounds like it is in your own room. The dynamics of this material are sometimes surprising, and the engineer did a top-notch job of capturing it. I did notice what appeared to be some motor-traffic noise in the background, although this only was noticeable with my larger Velodyne sub and was inaudible when I temporarily substituted an Atlantic Technology 272PBM sub I had on hand to review. There was also an occasional very low-level buzzing noise, that I first noticed on track 4. It resembled an electrical artifact of some kind, and was nearly always masked by the music. Neither anomaly was able to detract from the excellence of this recording. Dolby Pro Logic added distance, and the effect eliminated any he-is-here feel altogether, and put us further back in the hall. It helped to firm up the soundstage considerably when listening from off axis. DSP synthesis only worked decently with a small-room simulation, such as my DSP-A3090's Cellar-Club mode, which was excellent. Other modes were OK, but they just did not fit in with this kind of music.

Night & Day (music of Cole Porter, Jule Styne, Fats Waller, and others). Joe Utterback, piano. Recorded in 1998, in the Music Hall, Tarrytown, NY. 72+ minutes. Connoiseur Society 4220. This is very intimate, close-up sound, the way it would be in a good nightclub. The soundstage is centered just to the right of center, giving a feeling of sitting off to the side a bit, in a "real" place. This release was done with the 96 kHz, Super Bit Mapping technique pioneered by Sony, but the background noise was no better than what I have heard on good conventionally done compact discs. No doubt this is because microphones are often noisier than standard digital recording gear, anyway. Dolby Pro Logic decoding re-centers the stage, and I rather liked that and thought that the solid center was more realistic than the phantom center of the stereo presentation, even if the subjective listening distance was increased. DSP ambience synthesis was OK, but only if a small-room simulation was chosen. As with straight stereo, this kind of processing kept us close to the instrument.

Okoshi, Tiger: Two Sides to Every Story (with Jack DeJohnette, Gil Goldstein, Dave Holland, and Mike Stem). Recorded in 1994, at The Power Station, NYC. Engineer: Jim Anderson. 65+ minutes. JVC 2039. I found excellent clarity and definition on this trumpet-highlighted transcription, with a nice spread, although the drum set was maybe a tad too wide. It also displayed attention-getting dynamic contrasts. This is a 20-bit recording, done directly to two tracks, which may or not mean something to you, depending on your ideas about digital mixers. Dolby Pro Logic decoding nearly simulated mono, but might be acceptable if you like to sit at the back of the nightclub. Most listeners would probably prefer the phantom-center mode, unless they had to sit a fair distance from the sweet spot. DSP ambience synthesis was outstanding, particularly with my Yamaha processor's Cellar-Club simulation. Small-environment simulations by other decent processors should have similar luck.

Classics: At the Meyerson. Mary Preston playing the organ at Meyerson Symphony Center, Dallas, Texas. Works played include numbers by Max Reger, Paul Sifter, Julius Reubke, and others. Recorded in 1996. Engineer: Harry Munz. 72+ minutes. Gothic 49094. The organ in this hall, if the microphones are properly positioned, can develop some very deep pedal sounds, and this recording shows how it can be done. The overall sound is very clean, large-scale, and spacious. The acoustics of this building are marvelous and some of the music that is played is subtle and refined, and the recording captures it all. Dolby Pro Logic decoding moves us back further into the hall, but the soundstage holds up nicely. This is rare in organ recordings, which are usually somewhat amorphous up front and which tend to lose a sense of frontal depth and spaciousness when DPL is applied. DSP ambience synthesis was terrific. Even my DSP-A3090's church simulations worked well, which is unusual.

Bach, J.S.: Sonatas and Partitas For Unaccompanied Violin (transcribed for 8-string guitar by Paul Galbraith). Paul Galbraith, guitar. Recorded in 1998, in The First Congregational Church, Los Angeles. Engineers: John Eargle and Jeff Mee. 117 minutes (2-disc set). Delos DE 3232. As with some of the other releases reviewed in this issue, I first tried out this music on my smaller room's system, with a trio of Atlantic Technology satellites across the front (271LR mains and 273C center), but with my Velodyne FSR-12 subwoofer in place of the AT subwoofer, and with my four regular Radio Shack surround speakers. (This system employs a vintage Yamaha DSP-A1000 surround amp, which has four surround channels, just like the bigger system's A3090.) One of the first things that struck me was the excellent focus and detail of this transcription, with some of the most technically refined close-up sound I have ever encountered. However, this detail and clarity came at a price, because there were some noise artifacts in the background that at first I could not figure out. After a while (and after also listening to the recording on a pair of Grado SR-80 headphones, just to make sure) I came to the conclusion that the noise was almost certainly the sound of Galbraith breathing. These sounds were not so compelling as the humming that Glenn Gould has done for us while performing, but they were definitely an uncalled-for part of the program. There were also what appeared to be some occasional background-traffic noises that often are the bane of recordings made in churches. On my larger system, the good things I heard on the smaller one became even better, while the breathing-noise artifacts were somewhat submerged into the background. Unfortunately, my big F1800 subwoofer made the traffic noise even more apparent, so if you find that kind of intrusion, be prepared to either temporarily bypass your subwoofer or back off on its gain a bit. It would not be needed for this material, anyway. Dolby Pro Logic decoding was excellent on both systems, and I preferred what it could in contrast to straight stereo, or anything else. The center focus was improved both on and off axis, and the extracted reverb enhanced the feeling of you-are-there space. DSP ambience simulation was terrific if a smaller room simulation, such as Cellar-Club, was chosen. Larger room simulations tended to bloat the guitar out of proportion to the environment.

Bach, J.S.: Toccatas and Fugues. Joan Lippincott, organ. Recorded in 1996, in the Duke University Chapel. Engineer: Harry Munz. 73+ minutes. Gothic 49093. There are two organs in the Duke chapel. For this kind of material, the smaller Flentrop that was used to do this recording was definitely the best choice. The overall sound is wide-staged and spacious and very room filling. Indeed, the effect was almost surround-sound like, even with only the two front speakers in operation. The bass was not super deep, but this music is generally not something that delivers that kind of rumbling, anyway. Dolby Pro Logic decoding was excellent. There was some distancing from the organ, but the depth and sense of hall space held up nicely, no doubt due to the surround channels. Overall, I preferred the processing to straight stereo. DSP ambience simulation was also good with either the larger hall or church settings available from my processor, although the extreme reverb of the latter will not be everyone's cup of tea, particularly if they are not happy with the sound of a Baroque-style organ in a very large room.

Bax, Arnold: Nonet; Oboe Quintet; Elegiac Trio; Clarinet Sonata; Harp Quintet. The Nash Ensemble. Recorded in 1995, in Henry Wood Hall, London. Engineers: Antony Howell, and Julian Millard. 73+ minutes. Hyperion 66807. Hyperion always seems to come up with terrific sounding recordings of works that are able to showcase high-quality sound reproduction. This particular series of works is front-row close and exceptionally clean, with a perfect balance between the direct sound and the hall reverb. The imaging is among the best I have ever heard, and enthusiasts who have systems that are configured for pinpoint perception of instrumental locations are going to love this release. Dolby Pro Logic decoding was a bit squeezed for my taste, but some will prefer the slightly more distant perspective. If you are sitting off-axis, you will discover that the center steering does help to keep the soundstage where it is supposed to be. DSP synthesis was OK with the regular hall simulations, but for the most part the best results were had with the smallest room my processor could simulate: Cellar-Club. Do not let that jazz-club term unsettle you. There are good, small-scale classical-ensemble recordings that work to very good effect with this processor setting.

Biber, Heinrich, and Johann Schmelzer: Seventeenth Century Music and Dance from the Viennese Court. Ars Antiqua Austria, conducted by Gunar Letzbor. Recorded in 1997, at Marienkapelle, in the St. Florian Monastery, Austria. Engineer: Miguel Kertsman. 70+minutes. Chesky CD-173. This release was not done by the regular Chesky crew, but that did not prevent it from being one of the best recordings of this kind of music I have ever heard. The soundstaging was superior, as was the sense of frontal depth, clarity and detail. This is a sensational recording: one that I recommend to anyone who wants to have a good piece of demo material to use for speaker shopping. Interestingly, in addition to listening to this disc on my main system, I also used it to audition a pair of Polk RT-35 satellites in my small listening room (my trusty Velodyne FSR-12 sub was also utilized to allow the woofer/mids in the RT-35s to concentrate on the midrange and upper bass), and the result was some of the best small-listening-room sound I have ever experienced. Dolby Pro Logic moves us back, but the effect was not all that bad. I also tried the "35 mm Enhanced" version of this processing that my Yamaha DSP-A3090 offers, and the result was just marvelous - indeed, amazing. DSP hall simulation was also excellent. This is one of the best recordings of any kind I have ever heard, and for me it is a must for analyzing all but the deep bass performance of loudspeaker systems.

Brahms, Johannes: Violin-Piano Sonata Number 1; Amy Beach: Violin-Piano Sonata. Arturo Delmoni, violin; Yuri Funahashi, piano. Recorded in 1990, in the Church of the Holy Trinity, New York City. Engineer: David Hancock. 58+ minutes. John Marks JMR-2. I tried this release first on my smaller room's system, which was at that time making temporary use of a pair of Atlantic Technology 271LR satellites and 273C center speaker, in combination with their 272PBM subwoofer. (The surround speakers were my usual four Radio Shack mini models; all satellites driven my a Yamaha DSP-A1000 surround amplifier). The overall sound was clean, detailed, and with an excellent sense of recorded space. Listening on my larger system substantiated me feelings about the excellence of this release, although the Velodyne F1800 subwoofer in that system did reveal a small amount of traffic-noise background rumble. This kind of noise is not uncommon at all with recordings made in churches, which are often close to street traffic, and which do not usually have the kind of acoustic isolation that typically good concert halls and recording studios have. The wide separation of my main-system satellites often make pianos sound a bit more diffuse than they would when played on my smaller system, but in this case the instrument was well defined and sized properly in relation to the violin. Dolby Pro Logic worked well on both systems. Indeed, I preferred it to straight stereo. The steering worked to very good effect. DSP ambience simulation was also terrific, and maybe the best overall sound was delivered by the Classical/Opera mode of the DSP-A3090 in my larger system, which displays the advantages of both DPL center steering and DSP hall-ambience simulation.

Copland, Aaron: A Copland Profile (suite from The Red Pony, plus Music For the Theater and the Symphony For Organ and Orchestra). Dallas symphony Orchestra, conducted by Andrew Litton; Wayne Marshall, organ. Recorded in 1996 and 1997, in McDermott Hall, Meyerson Center, Dallas. Engineer: John Eargle. 69+ minutes. Delos 3221. This is another Delos VR2 compact disc, designed to work best with a Dolby Surround decoder (not Dolby Digital, however). The overall sound displays the usual great detail exemplified by the work of John Eargle, in this case with a mid-hall soundstage perspective, and outstanding imaging and stage depth. The music was very dynamic at times, with the kind of organ climaxes you would expect from a Copland organ symphony. (Even so, this particular work is not your typical Copland, so be prepared). Dolby Pro Logic decoding was sensational -- much better than straight stereo playback for most listening positions, with only a moderate loss in spread due to the steering circuitry in action. The steering was particularly effective when listening from well off-axis, where it kept the soundstage both decently centered and spread out on either side of center. This shows the importance of a center channel for all but the most dedicated sweet-spot listening. DSP ambience synthesis was also excellent, and it might be more workable for some listeners in some rooms, than DPL decoding. My Yamaha DSP-A3090's Classical/Opera mode, which combines ambience synthesis with center steering, worked very well, too. Also outstanding was the processor's "33 mm Enhanced" version of DPL.

Daniel In the Lion's Den. Daniel Perautoni, tuba, performing works by Anthony Plog, Gustav Mahler, Jean Arban, Maico Pinkard, and others. Recorded in 1993, at the Gammage Center for the Performing Arts, Tempe, Arizona. Engineer: Clarke Rigsby. 56+ minutes. Summit 163. This is an interesting mix of tuba with acoustic instruments in a band, or with electronic accompaniment, or with a brass quintet. While this kind of mix may not be everyone's entertainment cup of tea, there is no denying that the sound is remarkably good, with excellent clarity and precise imaging, although the synthesizer accompaniment is surreal. Students of the tuba will love the way the recording captures the clarity of the primary instrument. Dolby Pro Logic just did not work well with most of the material, sucking the soundstage into an almost mono configuration. An exception was "Sweet Georgia Brown" (yes, you read correctly), which was excellent. Obviously, a number of different microphone techniques were used to make this recording, and the "Georgia Brown" number had one that worked with Dolby processing. DSP ambience simulation was excellent, especially on the piece that employed the synthesizer. The "Georgia Brown" piece was excellent with the Jazz-Club simulation.

Debussy, Claude: Images; Prelude a l'apres-midi d'un Faune; La Mer. Los Angeles Philharmonic, conducted by Esa-Pekka Salonen. Recorded in 1997, at Todd-AO Recording Studio, Studio City, California. Engineer: Richard King. 72+ minutes. Sony SK62599. This is a very clean recording indeed, more because of the expert job done by the engineer in his use of microphones than because of any special super-bit-mapping technology. The sound is spacious and well-imaged, with an excellent sense of frontal depth. Dolby Pro Logic was spectacularly good. Indeed, it decoded as if it was made for this kind of treatment. Those who think DPL only screws up ordinary stereo recordings need to get this disc and find out why that is not always the case. DSP ambience synthesis was also spectacular. Few two-channel recordings respond to a variety of surround-sound techniques better than this one does.

Debussy, Claude: Piano Music. David Allen Wehr, piano. Recorded in 1997, at the Music Hall, Tarrytown, New York. Engineer: Patricia Duciaume. 77+ minutes. Connoiseur Society 4219. Piano can be tough enough to record if the producer knows what he or she wants, but it can be a serious problem if he or she does not know. Do we want the instrument to come into our listening room or do we want to travel to a nice hall somewhere? This release opts for the latter, and does so extremely well. The image is not too diffuse, and the tonality and depth are just what is required. There was just a bit of low-level rumble in the background that resembled traffic noise--somewhat perversely, this enhanced the you-are-there perspective. Dolby Pro Logic decoding moved us back, and although there was some loss of close-up intimacy, I rather preferred the effect. DSP ambience synthesis was surprisingly good, because with close-up works like this, the result is often an elephantine instrument that sounds like nothing else on earth. I felt that both the smaller and larger room simulations were uniformly excellent, with neither being actually better or more realistic than the other. You select the room size you prefer and enjoy the music.

Dela Ciaja, Azzolino: Sonate per Cembalo. Yves Rechsteiner, clavecin. Recorded in 1995, in the Temple d'Epalinges, Switzerland. Engineer: not listed. 77+minutes. Gallo CD-868. Those who like harpsichord will love this disc. The sound is articulate and very well defined, which is critical with this instrument, and the room ambience is small scale, another important item with this kind of music. Dolby Pro Logic moves us back, but the overall effect is not that bad and it definitely is a good playback scheme to use if you are sitting away from the sweet spot any distance. With anything but the smallest room DSP simulation--in my case, the Cellar-Club function of my Yamaha processor--the sound was bloated and unnatural.

Frescobaldi, Girolamo: Il Primo Libro di Capricci. John Batt, organ. Recorded in 1996, in Brentwood, California. Engineer: Brad Michel. 61+ minutes. Harmonia Mundi 907178. Those who are expecting window-rattling pedal notes from this organ recording should look elsewhere. This is Renaissance organ music, and while that era may conjure up visions of Michelangelo's Last Judgement, the music of that time was decidedly less world shattering. However, the material here is remarkably clear, detailed, and revealing, which are three other characteristics of the Renaissance that may be as important as the epoch's larger-scale undertakings. The hall ambience (wherever in Brentwood this hall may be) is also well handled, with an excellent sense of space, and without the reverb competing too emphatically with the instrument itself. Dolby Pro Logic decoding gives us near mono, and I do not recommend its use unless the phantom-center mode is engaged. However, doing this and then switching on my DSP-A3090's "35 mm Enhanced" version of DPL worked extremely well, with the recorded ambience being very effectively augmented by the additional reverb from the processor. DSP hall simulation was not at home with this presentation, unless a small-room mode was selected. I got good results with Cellar-Club, a jazz-club simulation that works as well with some classical material as it does with small-scale classics. I will also note that if your listening room is fairly large, the best results of all might simply involve good old two-channel stereo.

Mozart, W.A.: Symphonies Number 25, 26, and 29. The English Concert, conducted by Trevor Pinnock. Recorded in 1990, at Henry Wood Hall, London. Engineer: Hans-Peter Schweigmann. 52+ minutes. Archiv 431 679. This release may be nearly a decade old, but the job that Schweigmann did is as up to date as any current 2-channel work. The overall sound displays extremely good imaging and depth, combined with proper dovetailing between up-close clarity and the hall reverberation. In particular, the lateral blend of the ensemble up front is seamless, and the result is an exemplary presentation. Dolby Pro Logic was very good. There was some narrowing, but the depth and spread was still realistic, particularly if you like to sit in a mid-hall location, rather than in the forward rows. DSP ambience simulation was also workable, and from the sweet spot I preferred it to either straight stereo (by a wide margin) or DPL.

Organ Spectacular. Organ works and organ transcriptions of short orchestral works by Mendelssohn, Verdi, Rossini, Elgar, Handel, Wagner, and others. Martin Souter, organ. Recorded in 1994, in Winchester Cathedral. Engineer: Geoffrey Horn. 75+ minutes. Isis 009. Although this material was recorded in a cathedral, the reverberation is rather subdued, allowing for great detail and clarity. The sense of stage depth is quite good, and the organ pedals, although not particularly loud, are at times very deep indeed. Interestingly, there was a bit more background hiss on this release than I am used to. It was probably microphone noise, and it was not intrusive enough to disqualify the disc from a high rating. Dolby Pro Logic decoding adds a bit of distance, and although we do not have a complete collapse to the center, I still preferred using the phantom-center mode. From a position well off-axis, however, the center channel did realign the soundstage effectively. My Yamaha processor also has a "35 mm Enhanced" version of DPL, and I found that to be a terrific performer, with or without the center channel in operation, and with the blend between the extracted ambience and the processor's own embellishments very workable. DSP hall simulation was excellent, but as usual the church simulations were overkill. With a normal concert-hall mode selected, this not-too-reverberant recording really took off and I got a very good sense of being at Winchester, or at least in a large church.

Respighi, Ottorino, and Gioacchino Rossini: La Boutique Fantasque; Sergei Rachmaninoff: Cinq Etudes-Tableaux (also orchestrated by Respighi). Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Jesus Lopez-Cobos. Recorded in 1995, in Music Hall, Cincinnati. Engineer: Thomas Knab. 66+ minutes. Telarc 80396. Telarc lists the usual assortment of recording components in its accompanying booklet, and as usual the components do their job. The sound is as clean as one would expect and comes across a bit less bloated than some other of the outfit's productions. The sound is a tad dry, but the ambience works well with this music. Dolby Pro Logic was quite good. There was some lateral squeezing, but the result is greater distance to the performers and not a general collapse. DSP was also nice, and you can dial in more reverb if you like a somewhat wetter environment than what the disc contains.

Richard Morris, Organist. Playing works by Liszt, St. Saens, J.S. Bach, Mozart, and others. Recorded in 1997, at Bel Air Presbyterian Church, Los Angeles. Engineer: Joe Bellamy. 71+ minutes. Gothic 49090. Supposedly, the instrument recorded here is "the largest digital/pipe combination organ in the world." I certainly would not dispute this claim, because this is a large-sounding recording, with an excellently captured churchlike ambience that almost seems to surround you, even with only the two main speakers playing. The frontal depth is outstanding, and there some impressive bass pedals at intervals, depending on the music. Dolby Pro Logic decoding squeezes somewhat and the result is a more distant feel that actually works OK. The substantial recorded ambience is well decoded and sent to the surround speakers and the soundstage holds up when sitting well off-axis. DSP also works OK, but not with either of the church simulations from my Yamaha DSP-A3090. The smaller-hall simulations worked quite well, however. I have found that most recordings produced in churches already have all the ambience they need, and that a DSP device tends to work best if it somewhat downplays the reverb, and does not try to give us too much of a good thing.

Telemann, Georg Philip: Telemann For Trumpet. The American Concerto Orchestra, conducted by Stephen Bums (also playing the trumpet). Recorded in 1994, at the Academy of Arts and Letters, New York City. Engineer: Brian Peters. 63+ minutes. Dorian 80132. This is a terrific sounding transcription, with excellent close-up clarity with the trumpet parts, wonderful detail and imaging, and a nice stage spread. The hall ambience is also excellent, imparting a nice sense of envelopment. Dolby Pro Logic decoding moves us back, but not all that far. The trumpet moves from slightly left of center to almost center, and further back into the ensemble, instead of in front of it, as was the case with straight stereo playback. DSP hall simulation was a bit too reverberant with any of the larger spaces, but with the two jazz-club modes my DSP-A3090 offers, I got decent results. The Classical/Opera mode was also effective, although its center steering tended to distance the way that DPL did.

A Special Disc: James Taylor Live at the Beacon Theatre. Recorded in May, 1998. DVD audio by Frank Filipetti and John Alberts. 109 minutes. Columbia Music Video (Sony) 50171. Yes, this is the DVD music video some of you may be have already heard about and, if you are lucky, heard. It is as good as they say, and it does two things. First, it delivers a fine performance, with exemplary sound. Second, it shows that Dolby Digital at 448 kbps is capable of all the fidelity we need, data reduction notwithstanding. Until you listen to this disc (well, watch it, because you need to at least access the video to operate the disc with some players), you just do not realize what is in store for us in the new, 5-channel age. -- HF