Digital Drive: REVIEW: 47 Laboratory 47 Laboratory Digital System CD Player/Recorder by NGeorge

Model:	47 Laboratory Digital System
Category:	CD Player/Recorder
Suggested Retail Price:	$12,000.00
Description:	A complete digital system from 47 Laboratory
Manufacturer URL:	47 Laboratory
Manufacturer URL:	47 Laboratory

Review by NGeorge on December 10, 2001 at 12:00:01
IP Address: 208.196.60.32

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Note: I personally feel this review could be at either the Vinyl or Digital Forum, not because of their opposing formats, but for what they share that's really important: the reproduction and enjoyment of recorded music.
Historically, it has always been digital by itself and vinyl - supposedly more superior - on another plane. In fact even here at the Asylum, some inmates refuse to cross format lines because of their philosophical differences and beliefs as to what medium is best. What is lost then in this split is the music. But if you could really bring out what's in the master tape, regardless of medium, wouldn't you have accomplished what you've set out to do?
Therefore, I dare say, as in my set up, digital and analog can live togerher. And happily, too.
So even if you're a dyed-in-the-wool vinyl advocate, you could be swayed into believing this is true. How? Listen to the 47 Laboratory digital system.
My digital front end is just as good as my analog, and maybe more so! Both share so many attributes (no listener fatigue) that their similarities don't end even when the music begins. Although I could tell one from the other, I don't arbitrarily say, "Yes, analog is better" like I used to.
That's because the 47 Laboratory system is full and totally free from glare, with a wholeness that keeps the music intact. But so what, you say, many digital systems are like that. But what they lack, however, is what the 47 system has a lot of: a truly analog sound that is natural and involving from end to end.
Like analog, the 47 system doesn't have that digital artifact - that squeaky clean, clinical sound that has removed the essence and soul of music. Done, ironically, by the filtering process. (The 47 Laboratory system has no digital or analog filter!) Just imagine how it feels when you wear fur (analog) in the winter, or leather (digital) to keep warm.
But the test is in the listening, right? So here goes:
First up is Cilla Black's "The 35th Anniversary Collection" (EMI 243 496181 2), a 1998 import CD and its LP counterpart, "The Very Best of Cilla Black" (EMI 41 5653 1) pressed in the late 70's. The CD version is the epitome of digital which neither my Accuphase DP-65 nor Sony SCD-777ES could really handle. If there's digititis and how much of it could make you swear off digital, this is it: shrill, thin and ear-shattering.
On vinyl, you feel the presence of Cilla in the recordings - albeit a little raw - but still quite earthly in her presentation. Not touched by much manipulation since the cutting and reformulating of the bits have not yet become standard in the studio. (In general, though, I believe EMI needs to upgrade their hardware.)
But on the 47 Flatfish/Progression, listening to the CD was a real surprise: I was able to sit through all 20 tracks - and enjoying it! Hmmm, can you say the same about your digital front end?
Next up, "Breakfast in America" (A&M CD-3708) by Supertramp. This is at best an average sounding CD. A typical early analog to digital transfer: clean but not much else. Kind of flat with vocals and instruments dotting on the surface and on a straight line. The LP (A&M SP-3708), on the other hand, is a marvel and personal favorite recorded and pressed, I believe, when vinyl was at its peak.
On the 47 system, it has brought this camatose CD back to life. I heard more layering and 3-dimentionality than ever before. On track #6, "Take The Long Way Home," I experienced some of the emotional involvement I did the LP where I didn't before. The following track "Lord Is It Mine?" made the system really work to dig up the nuances and decay that were left off by the other players. Rick Davies' pleas sound more convincing, too.
And "Time & Charge" and "Portraits" (Sundazed SC 11073), a 2-in-1 by The Buckinghams, really shows how much you can go back to your CD library and listen to discs that you haven't bothered with in a long time, primarily because they were unlistenable. (One other CD player that has the capability to make awful sounding CDs listenable is the Accuphase DP-75V.) I've always liked this LP (Columbia CS 9598), but the CD, newly re-mastered by Bob Irwin - although tonally thin on my Accuphase and Sony - the 47 was able to make it sound more right, despite its limitations. Yet now I'm convinced digital is here to stay.
How about good recordings? Well, take "Pop Pop" (Geffen 24426) by Rickie Lee Jones. If you want to truly enjoy an even more transparent rendition of a good recording, the 47 system has very few rivals. Bluesy, jazzy and swinging with minimalist accompaniment, Rickie's vocals become extra special here. Just listen to it in tandem with Richard Ford's nylon guitar; then add those dynamic base lines - you've got really cool rhythm to match her impeccable pacing!
Finally, "A Portrait" (London 448 300-2) by Cecilia Bartoli put me near musical heaven with her powerful voice and sheer emotions. On "Voi Che Sapete," it feels like you've been transported back to the village and gone to the town theatre for a live show: simply grandiose performances in these Italian arias - even though I don't really speak the language! Bravissima! All, incredibly, on a 16-bit/44.1kHz format!
Sometimes during the many hours listening to the 47 gear - natural and spontaneous being the most noticeable - I could say without any reservation that it made me forget about format, speakers and everything else linked to them.
So have I found the digital that is like analog but actually is digital that could be analog?
Yes, and I can't prefer one over the other.

Product Weakness: If excessively handled, OTA cable can be brittle
Product Strengths: A most natural presentation

Associated Equipment for this Review:
Amplifier:	4706 Gaincard/4700 Power Humpty
Preamplifier (or None if Integrated):	None
Sources (CDP/Turntable):	4713 Flatfish/4705 Progression/4799 Power Dumpty
Speakers:	ProAc Response 1SC, Silverline Sonatina
Cables/Interconnects:	4708 OTA cable
Music Used (Genre/Selections):	As listed
Type of Audition/Review:	Product Owner
Your System (if other than home audition):	On vinyl playback, Basis 2000/RB 300/Glider and Audio Note M2 were inserted.

Product Weakness:	If excessively handled, OTA cable can be brittle
Product Strengths:	A most natural presentation