Anyone else check out the Fischer Mahler 3rd yet?

If and when I can figure out how to play it back as a Hi Rez PCM file..., posted on May 16, 2017 at 10:12:13
Ivan303 Audiophile Posts: 48887 Location: Cadiere d'azur FRANCE - Santa Fe, NM Joined: February 26, 2001	using iTunes with the Bit Perfect plug-in (which Bit Perfect claims should be possible), I plan to. First they came for the dumb-asses And I did not speak out Because I was not a dumb-ass

My review..., posted on May 16, 2017 at 11:08:24

krisjan
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...will appear in the Jul/Aug issue of Fanfare magazine (issue 40:6). The review was completed weeks ago but due to print lag time it won't be out until that issue. I reviewed the 2X DSD stereo tracks via download. I won't say much (folks can read the review) but will say that sonically it is very high quality for such large forces. Performance-wise, it ranks in the top second tier as far as Mahler performances go. Fischer doesn't indulge in histrionics which I think many are looking for in Mahler. But his performance is not boring and one could do much worse, especially in the sound category. I think it is one of Fischer's best Mahler performances. The supporting cast is wonderful, too.

Top 2nd Tier, posted on May 16, 2017 at 11:59:15
oldmkvi Audiophile Posts: 10581 Joined: April 12, 2002	Left-handed compliment, to be sure. Maybe they Tour and Record too much. Fisher's probably too tired to wave his arms any harder.

RE: My review..., posted on May 16, 2017 at 15:25:13
vahe Audiophile Posts: 449 Location: Houston, Texas Joined: September 11, 2005	I will order the SACD this Friday, the official release date. I have not received my Fanfare yet. In the meantime here is another review; http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2017/May/Mahler_sym3_CCSSA38817.htm

Just downloaded the DXD multichannel incarnation about an hour ago, posted on May 20, 2017 at 20:22:36
Chris from Lafayette Audiophile Posts: 26430 Location: SF Bay Area Joined: February 17, 2004 Contributor Since: February 6, 2012	So far, so good! ;-)

Just listened to it again. OK. It's not that bad. At all., posted on May 21, 2017 at 11:26:23

jdaniel@jps.net

It just took awhile to get used to Fischer's ebb and flow in the final mov't, and although I'd prefer a little more emphatic conducting in a few places, such as the usually-remarkable trombone slides in the 1st mov't, I can live without such indulgences considering how fresh and spirited the playing throughout. Just a dollop more "spirituality" and the interpretation would be perfect.

Then, of course, there's the recording quality.

But you should be listening, not surfing the 'net! : )

Well? Reaction? I doubt you were left in catatonic state of bliss, only Adler would cause that. : ) nt, posted on May 21, 2017 at 16:55:50
jdaniel@jps.net	N

Jared has surpassed himself yet again! Unbelievable SQ!, posted on May 21, 2017 at 17:56:51
Chris from Lafayette Audiophile Posts: 26430 Location: SF Bay Area Joined: February 17, 2004 Contributor Since: February 6, 2012	I'm actually surprisingly busy today (I have to leave to play for a teacher's recital in about 15 minutes) - I'll have more to say much later tonight! Basically though, I agree with your assessment of the performance.

It's very likable. Nt, posted on May 21, 2017 at 17:58:28
jdaniel@jps.net	I

Can't play.... :-(, posted on May 21, 2017 at 19:33:01

Ivan303
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Planning to download the Stereo DXD (PCM after all) as my multibit DAC will handle the 352.8k PCM but I may have to convert it to whatever CODEC that iTunes/Bit Perfect plug-in will play and my freeware converter won't go past 24/192 at the moment.

But as soon as my 'Mac Mini Music Player' guy gets back from vacation, I'll download it.

In the mean time, I found the above on TIDAL mislabeled under 'various artists' rather than Bu

First they came for the dumb-asses
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a dumb-ass

Man, so complicated! nt, posted on May 21, 2017 at 22:51:37
jdaniel@jps.net	.

Certainly it is!, posted on May 22, 2017 at 01:01:41

Chris from Lafayette
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I pretty much liked the whole thing. The last movement perhaps misses some depth, as you suggested in an earlier post, but flows really well. In the "O Mensch" movement with the solo alto, I thought Romberger overdid her consonants - probably the result of being used to projecting out into large halls. But on recordings, the microphones are much closer, so that her singing sounds like "O Men. . . SCH!" etc. This of course is not the only recording where you hear this kind of over-enunciation of consonants from singers. Were you bothered by this too?

But, to reiterate, I did like the performance (including Romberger's) overall, and the sound quality is fantastic!

I could buy the 24/96 or even the 24/192 PCM directly from Jared's site..., posted on May 22, 2017 at 06:58:31

Ivan303
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But nativeDSD site has the real deal (I think), the DXD file which MAY be the file that comes out of the original mastering as 32/352.8k PCM.

"What we have done now is also make a direct conversion to DSD128 and DSD256 from that original DXD edited master, without going through any interim processing steps."

Link below:

First they came for the dumb-asses
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a dumb-ass

Mahler Symphony no. 3 in D-minor

RE: "over-enunciation of consonants from singers", posted on May 22, 2017 at 07:38:32
Ivan303 Audiophile Posts: 48887 Location: Cadiere d'azur FRANCE - Santa Fe, NM Joined: February 26, 2001	Consonants are not the singer's friends. Vowels, on the other hand.... :-) First they came for the dumb-asses And I did not speak out Because I was not a dumb-ass

"the DXD file which MAY be the file that comes out of the original mastering", posted on May 22, 2017 at 23:57:19

Chris from Lafayette
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Sure sounds like it to me. So the DXD (multichannel) files were what I downloaded. The whole process was very fast, and there were no problems at all with the 24/352.8 playback.

BTW, I DID finally download my first DSD (DSF) file earlier tonight, also from Jared's nativedsd.com site - It was the Reference Recordings (Soundmirror) "Elektra for Orchestra" with Honeck and the Pittsburgh SO. It's DSD 256, so we'll see. I won't be able to listen to it until tomorrow. Since I downloaded only half the album (I don't care for Rosenkavalier), it seemed to take quite a long time to provision and assemble the tracks on the site (like an hour or so) before the download even started, but files seemed to arrive on my local disc safely. More to report tomorrow.

RE: "the DXD file which MAY be the file that comes out of the original mastering", posted on May 23, 2017 at 06:52:17

jdaniel@jps.net

That's the recording that gave me tinnitus! (Just kidding, The squeal is going away. Or I'm just getting used to it.)

The RR was originally recorded in DSD64 though, IIRC. In that case, I don't get the point of upsampling. For "pure" quad, I'd recommend some of the old Deccas at HDTT. Unedited.

Channel has a new Dvorak America Quartet disc that actually was encoded in 256. I may try that one, though my machine maxes out at 128.

RE: The DXD download...., posted on May 23, 2017 at 07:40:28
Ivan303 Audiophile Posts: 48887 Location: Cadiere d'azur FRANCE - Santa Fe, NM Joined: February 26, 2001	Was it a FLAC or WAV file? Did you have to convert it? Do you use iTunes with a plug-in for Hi Rez? First they came for the dumb-asses And I did not speak out Because I was not a dumb-ass

I agree with you about upsampling from the original master, posted on May 23, 2017 at 13:45:42

Chris from Lafayette
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However, in the case of this particular recording, the note on the RR booklet states, "This recording was made and post produced in DSD256 on a Pyramix workstation. . . " So for this particular recording, playback in DSD256 perhaps isn't overkill. (I say "perhaps", because at this level of digital refinement, the differences between DXD, DSD256 and DSD 128 may not be easily apparent unless the comparisons are sighted - LOL!)

In any case, even if the master was DSD64, I still would have downloaded the DSD256 file, because I'm putting my new DAC through its paces during its 30-day trial period, and I want to make sure that it stands up to the processing demands of 256.

I must say, that I found this recording pretty overwhelming in terms of its sustained ability to provide an absolutely thrilling, spine-tingling listening experience. I was shaking at the end and for several minutes afterwards too. As you know, the microphone layout was 5 DPA 4006 microphones, with spot microphones as needed. The spots are VERY well integrated into the ultra realistic (IMHO) sonic framework, and I'd say that this is the best Soundmirror engineering effort I've ever heard! I'm eager now to do some more comparisons, even though I have a couple of nagging annoyances with the DAC (one of which is a hum problem - not really too bad, but still too audible for my taste - which I'm pretty sure can be solved).

In any case, listening to this RR recording was a pretty dynamite experience for me!

It was FLAC - I may not be converting FLAC's to WAV's so much anymore - we'll see, posted on May 23, 2017 at 14:30:23

Chris from Lafayette
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Since I'm using the exaSound ASIO driver right now, I can only use HQ Player. With ASIO, HQ Player seems a bit happier playing FLAC's so far. (I'm talking about multi-channel here - but OTOH this may be just a mistaken first impression on my part.) More of the history of my experiences with my new exaSound e38 is posted over on Digital Drive here on AA (link below). The exaSound SW provides for easy switching between core audio and ASIO, but, for some reason, it's not so easy for me. . . yet. I plan to talk with George at exaSound support later this week - he says switching between ASIO and Core Audio SHOULD be easy.

BTW, I think iTunes supports AIFF files up to 192K just by itself IIRC - no plug-in needed. You just set your parameters on Audio MIDI Setup in the Applications -> Utilities folder. However, iTunes doesn't support multi-channel, so that's why I'm also using Audirvana+ (which has a nice interface with iTunes) and HQ Player. But Audirvana+ doesn't support ASIO (which has certain advantages compared to Apple's Core Audio), so, for right now, if I want to use ASIO, I have to use HQ Player. To add further complication, the new version of Audirvana+ supports MQA. (I can just see some listeners here shaking their heads - LOL!) The 2L site has some MQA downloads available which I might want to try.

https://www.audioasylum.com/audio/digital/messages/18/184075

Bit Perfect (iTunes plug-in) claims to support 32/352.8k PCM..., posted on May 23, 2017 at 18:57:54

Ivan303
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That said, I do not know what format I need to convert the FLAC to, as AIFF only goes up to 192k.

I REALLY want to hear what my DAC sounds like at 32/352.8 (which, of course, the PMC1704U-K can't do). But it should at least play music.

Need to chat with the guy who set up the Mac Mini for audio but he's not back from vacation. The freeware converter he had me download only converts FLAC to AIFF at up to 192k but not higher nor any other CODEC higher than 192K.

Makes not sense to buy a 32/352.8k download and convert it to 24/192 in order to play it.

First they came for the dumb-asses
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a dumb-ass

Well, you've tempted me regarding the Elektra Suite, but the opera itself is so relatively short, posted on May 23, 2017 at 20:28:34

jdaniel@jps.net

I promised myself "no more highlights."

(But then the famous RCA British Dog Faust and Carmen Suite is available now in DSD at Acoustic Sounds.) IMHO that one surpasses just about every other Shaded Dog I've heard. I sold a copy for over $500, in fact. My brother found it in a Central Valley Thrift.

BTW did you ever pick up the Ansermet Petrushka from HDTT? Treat yourself. The Campoli Tchaikovsky VC is another stunner.

Yes - Honneck's "Symphonic Synthesis" must have at least 30% of the whole opera!, posted on May 24, 2017 at 00:24:25

Chris from Lafayette
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Yeah - I saw that RCA Faust and Carmen Suites album at Acoustic Sounds. But I'm trying to stick to multi-channel for the time being because I want to test out how much of a stress HQ Player's multi-channel upsampling options put on the Intel processor in my Mac Mini. In a way though, I don't really see why I'm bothering - the guy at exaSound recommended NOT using upsampling in the playback (just play the file at its actual resolution), and I'm not really sure upsampling makes any audible difference. But, just for grins, I do want to run experiments for the next couple of weeks.

Music Lane

Anyone else check out the Fischer Mahler 3rd yet?

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