Past meetings of the Society
October 2004

Date: Saturday, October 30, 2004
Time: 2:00 PM (Note Time and Place)
Place: E. Brad Meyer's listening room.

Featured Guest(s):
E. Brad Meyer and Alvin Foster
Topic: High Res Audio vs. CD Quality channel, an ABX test

After hearing all the claims for better sound with 24 bit/96 kHz high-resolution audio, the BAS has decided to put them to the definitive test: a double blind comparison of the best two channel SACD and DVD Audio recordings we could find, with the same material passed through a 16 bit 44.1 kHz "bottleneck". Can you hear the difference?

We will be using the Pioneer 563A DVD-A/SACD universal player which keeps the DSD output of the disc in DSD form without converting to PCM. The conversion to 16 bit and back will be by a Sony DTC-790 DAT machine (1996 consumer model) which has been carefully checked to represent the best in conventional technology. This was partly inspired by Messrs. Lipshitz and Vanderkooy's tests of the best of analog LP playback (Linn turntable and cartridge, Naim preamp, NAP power amps, and Linn Isobarik loudspeakers) versus a 16 bit PCM-F1 channel, performed in 1984 and written up in the BAS Speaker (Aug/Sep 1984) and posted here on our website at: http://www.bostonaudiosociety.org/bas_speaker/abx_testing2.htm.

They tried to take every variable into account: asymetrical clicking noise of the relays, presence of undriven transducers in the room, the possible degradation due to the relays in the ABX box (a single blind test), and the presence of digital clocks in the room (!). In addition it was prompted by the AES Journal issue on High-Resolution Audio (V52n3) and the subsequent letters from David Hadaway and David Moran (BASS V24n3).

You're invited to bring your favorite discs (no CDs please) for auditioning. More than 2 channel ones are OK as long as you realize you may miss some of the music (which won't affect our tests. We auditioned the Dark Side of the Moon issue in our preliminary tests and found that the cash register was missing at the beginning!

For Directions:
Please contact the society.