Jun Fukamachi At Steinway (Take 2) – Toshiba-EMI Direct Disc!/First Impression Music Silver DXD CD LIM DXD 038, 55:16 *****:
This is probably the most specifically audiophile-oriented commercial CD release in history. It’s already caused huge excitement at audio shows and audio society meetings. Mr. F.I.M., Winston Ma, explains in his notes to the very unusual album that although comparing different formats can often be like comparing apples and oranges, he points out that he has always felt the ultimate best recorded sonority that is possible comes from direct-cut LPs. (I agree completely, and like Winston have a library of most of the direct-discs that were ever issued. I would only add the minor point that 45rpm direct-discs are even better!)
Winston bought the Toshiba-EMI direct disc Jun Fukamachi at Steinway in 1978 and was bewitched by it. In 1986 he asked the label head if he could license it for release as an audiophile CD. They let him take their one copy home with him and said they would contact him with a decision. He never heard from them until he learned that the person he had spoken to had retired. Recently communication with EMI resumed with a new managing director and he was given permission to realize his dream of issuing the first audiophile CD sourced from a direct-disc – this is it!
In the meantime, the F.I.M. label has been active on the cutting edge of audiophile optical discs, releasing gold CDs, xrcds, SACDs, and most recently the K2 HD CDs, which utilize masters recorded at a 100 kHz/24-bit sampling rate and then bit-mapped down to a Redbook CD playable on any standard CD player. For the Fukamachi CD, a further improvement of the K2 HD process has been perfected by F.I.M., called Super HD format. It uses the native Pyramix DXD digital format of 352.8 kHz/32-bit. This Definitive Extreme Definition results in an ambiance similar to analog sound, lower distortion and a richer soundfield. But remember, the final product is still a standard 44.1/16bit CD.
Another highly unusual technical aspect of this release is that each of the four tracks of the original direct disc is repeated, using two different moving coil cartridges on a highly-tweaked Rockport turntable system. First is the Van den Hul Colibri cartridge, followed by FIM’s own Black Ebony cartridge. I found the Black Ebony tracks to have a richer and more fleshed-out sonic as well as better low end, so I made by comparison with them. (Having the repeated tracks seems a bit excessive to me, but probably will captivate some audiophiles. It can be skipped on most players by programming the disc in advance.) Still another interesting tech aspect is that this disc is available in three different forms. The one I’m reviewing herewith is the 99.99% silver DXD Super HD disc, which comes in a hard bound booklet similar to FIM’s previous xrcd and K2 HD releases, and sells for $35. The next step up, raising the price to about $50, is the Collector’s Edition UDC. These are 24K gold CDs certified to have under 10 Averaged Block Errors. They are Resonance Control Coated and individually number for quality control. For the real audio cognoscenti, FIM offers the custom-made Direct-from-Master Edition UDM. This gold disc is dubbed directly from the label’s hard drive; it is in effect a second master. Their error rate is less than 3, and only 50 of each will be hand-crafted at a cost of $150 each – also a first for CD pricing. Both UD (Ultimate Discs) are also cleaned with deionized water and dynamically-balanced using the German Audio Desk cutter.
PlayList:
1. Chopin: Nocturne in E Flat Major*
2. Chopin: Nocturne in E Flat Major**
Jun Fukamachi:
3. Just Driving You Crazy*
4. Just Driving You Crazy**
5. Ran-Man*
6. Ran-Man**
7. Don’t Shoot Me, I’m Only The Piano Player*
8. Don’t Shoot Me, I’m Only The Piano Player**
Bonus Tracks:
Super Strings:
9. Day Tripper (John Lennon-Paul McCartney)*
10. Day Tripper (John Lennon-Paul McCartney)**
*The Van Den Hul Colibri XC-HO Cartridge was used on tracks of ODD numbers.
**The FIM Black Ebony Cartridge was used on tracks of EVEN numbers.
Winston Ma reports that a German audio magazine said die-hard classical lovers will hate the selections because they are just hi-fi and not music, but audiophiles will love it. I certainly agree with the latter but I think the former idea is a bit harsh. Chopin themes have been bounced around by various European jazz and crossover ensembles, and they come out not necessarily better but still enjoyable in a spirit of fun. The same goes for the many Bach re-dos. This is more listenable than some of the classical crossover junk that the major labels are offering lately. Fukamachi has his way with Chopin’s Nocturne but it shouldn’t shock Chopin lovers too much. The sound of his Steinway is up close, rich and spread out across the stereo stage. It’s almost like your head is under the raised lid – not just standing in the crook of the piano. Everything is highly detailed and bigger than life. One doesn’t mind the grand piano being 30 feet wide – it seems to fit the music here. Ran-Man is an interesting original influenced by Japanese folk music, and Don’t Shoot Me is a wild blues-piano free-for-all with Fukamachi really tearing up that Steinway. The bonus track is from another Toshiba-EMI direct disc, with a small string ensemble performing arrangements of Beatles tunes.
Although Winston Ma felt the direct disc special enough to keep in a safe for 20 years, I have owned the same direct disc all that time (and for the last several years it’s been in my garage). I did an A/B comparison, of course. First, my TT system: Spirit Transfiguration MC cartridge, SME-V tonearm with Sumiko resonance tape on it, SOTA Star turntable with vacuum and elastomer suspension, Grado phono preamp, on Mapleshade giant brass cones on Mapleshade 4-inch maple base with Cardas & Jena Labs cables. The disc was cleaned on my VPI record cleaner and treated with LAST.
My verdict? Identical. Even the few subtle ticks on the direct disc are audible exactly the same both from my turntable and from the FIM DXD CD via the Benchmark DAC1. They are not a bit annoying, and entirely separated from the music. Surprisingly, I didn’t have to advance the level when switching to the turntable in the A/B comparison, as I usually do. If I raised both levels to ear-shattering heights, there was a difference between the direct disc and the DXD CD – a very low hiss generated by my cartridge and phono preamp, which wasn’t present on the DXD disc. Clearly no noise reduction software of any sort was used in making the master, because even the very best of those (the CEDAR process) would probably compromise the fidelity of the direct disc. While I no longer had the direct disc of the Beatles string arrangements, I did have a Japanese RCA 45 rpm direct disc of three similar Beatles arrangements for strings. As expected, it sounded even somewhat better than the one on the DXD disc. The DXD booklet, by the way, contains an introduction by Winston Ma, extensive tech notes about the production, and reprints of the back jacket and insert from the direct disc – printed for once large enough that it can actually be read without a magnifying glass…Thank you, FIM. This could be the start of a whole new genre of audiophile CDs; now how about a DXD CD version of For Duke – the best mainstream jazz direct disc ever? It would also be interesting to compare SACD and DXD CD versions of the same sources, since it appears less stringent data rate reduction would be required for SACD than for Redbook CD compatibility.
– John Sunier
