What I Think, What’s New On Qobuz

I’d like to talk a little about music choices for testing equipment or more to the point revisit the subject as I have covered it before. While I am looking at this from the point of view of a reviewer who needs to find the assets and deficits of various pieces of gear so that I can communicate my experiences to my readers, this also applies to evaluating things that you may want to purchase to enhance your home audio system.

I’m a big believer in real-world reference, I feel that reviewers should listen to live, unamplified, acoustic music as often as possible. I don’t do it as often as I like, but as a musician, I have a piano that I hear every day, though that is not the same as hearing one played in a hall or club from the point of view as audience, it does keep the element of timbre fresh. It is one of my pet peeves at supposed audiophile HiFi shows, walking into a room with hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of gear and have it playing so loud with the bass so boosted that it sounds like a concert PA system, not like having the performer in the room with me. Of course for the consumer, if you never listen to acoustic music then a real-world reference is not important unless you are trying to replicate a particular experience.

There are two schools of thought when choosing what music to use, one is to use music you are intimately familiar with, the other is to use music you are unfamiliar with. The logic goes a bit like this, if you are listening to music you hear all the time, then you are listening for particular clues and not to the music itself, and therefore are not learning how you feel about the listening session. This is why I start every review with new music on Qobuz, it gives me a sense of the equipments’ overall performance, whether it makes me feel like I’m with the musicians or listening to HiFi, does it hurt my ear or give me pleasure. But on the other hand, I have a list of songs that I know intimately, some are recordings of performances I attended, but each has particular aspects that tell me a lot about the sound of the gear, and the capabilities and limitations of said gear.

And likewise, I recommend that anyone who is auditioning new equipment, whether professionally, or for personal use, or just for fun, or to learn about the state of the art, have a list of songs that are important to your end goal, and mix that with music new to you.

Now, on to the music.

“Can You Hear Me Dreaming?” (24-bit/44.1kHz – Qobuz) by Kučka reminds me a lot of the early Fairlight CMI (an early digital synth) experimentation of the late ’70s and early ’80s where the artists were more entranced with the interesting sounds that could be generated than creating melodies, much in the vein of “Animusic” paired with what sounds like a 10-year-old girl singing through an Auto-Tune (more for effect than correction). Unusual captivating contemplative music but probably not something I will revisit. “Heaven” is probably the highlight of the album, though it is fairly even throughout.

On the other hand, “Eric Coates: Orchestral Works, Vol. 4” (24-bit/96kHz – Qobuz) as performed by John Wilson and the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra was quite a bit of fun. It has the flavour of old film or television, which I guess you could expect from the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra. Light, airy, sentimental at times. “The Three Bears (Phantasy)” exemplified this, with its series of titled movements of less than a minute each, telling the story in music, you can close your eyes and see a “Merry Melodies” epic cartoon in your head.

Jake Xerxes Fussell’s “When I’m Called” (24-bit/96kHz – Qobuz) opens with a solo guitar and vocal ode to “Andy” Warhol. This is followed by “Cuckoo!” which features a full band with multiple acoustic guitars, bass, piano, drums, and strings in the same lamentive tone as “Andy”. In fact, the somber feel infuses the rest of the tracks, accompanied by stylish finger-picking and contemplative accents from the other musicians. All in all, a great example of Country Folk.

Most appropriate title goes to “Charm” by Clairo, mellow and melancholy with deep percussive bass, light keyboards, and finger-picked acoustic guitar the opening track “Nomad” catches you right away. The songs have a bubbly ’60s/’70s feel with a modern bassy production value.

I think that covers this session, until next time remember it’s all about the music.

Reference system used in this review: LSA VT-70 Tube Integrated Amp, Audio-gd R2R-1 DAC, Black Dragon Cables, Core Power Technologies A/V Equi=Core 1000, Vera-Fi Audio VBH-1 (Vibration Black Hole) isolation feet, XSA-Labs Vanguard Loudspeakers, two Veri-Fi Audio LLC Vanguard Caldera 10 Active Subwoofers, and Dan Clark Audio E3 Planar Magnetic Headphones

HiFiAudio.Guru Playlist: https://open.qobuz.com/playlist/10673532