38 of 40 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Great intro to 24/96 audio. Too much music, not enough test., July 22, 2000
This review is from: The Super Audio Collection & Professional Test Disc (DVD Audio)
If you want to get your feet wet in 24/96 audio, this isn't a bad way to go. The tests included are pretty much the usual lot (1k 0dB, L/R ID, FR, Sweeps, etc.). The tests are given in two sets. The first set is at 48kHz, the second set is at 96kHz. There is a little variety in bit depth.
A word about the warnings on the disc. In a couple of places, you are warned about turning your speakers off before going on to the test tones. I couldn't understand why, so I gave Chesky a call. I don't remember the name of the person I spoke to (she was, I think, their main engineer). You don't have to exercise any more caution than you would using any other test disc. Test tones are very clean recordings (usually), and because of the dynamics involved, you want volume settings very low. For those of you with meters on your amps, output readings should be around 1/10 of a Watt. For those of you without meters, turn the volume down to zero, then bring it up while the test is playing.
Something recorded at 0dB FS is brutally loud when compared to everything else. Exercise caution when using any test tone disc.
At the risk of calling down the wrath of Cheskians (Cheskites? I don't know the proper term for Chesky worshipers), I think there is a significant shortcoming on this disc: too much music.
There is about an hour of music on the disc that serves (partially) as a test bed. My preference would have been for less music and more tests tones, including more spot frequencies and disc error correction tests.
The sonic impact of the music and the new technology behind it could have just as effectively been relayed using three of the nine music tracks included. I understand part of this disc's intended function is to serve as advertising for acts on the label. That might not be so bad, except the disc runs full price.
Delivering short where it counts (for me, test tone content), and going long where it hurts (price) is why I'm giving three out of five stars.
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21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great Intro into 96/24 (No 'But'), November 17, 2001
This review is from: The Super Audio Collection & Professional Test Disc (DVD Audio)
I already own several test CDs, so when I bought this DVD I was looking for a wide introduction to DVD's 96/24 format to compare with CD's 44/16 format. For me, this is a perfect mix. It starts with almost a CD's worth of music, most of it with a startling dynamic range and clarity, and a pitch black background, as well as a large enough selection of test tones and the likes for me to get a great view of what this format can do. I ended up loving more than half the musical selections enough to buy the DVDs of them. A few I merely liked and two just wasn't my cup of tea.
I guess, I wanted to know what music was available using DVD's higher resolution and if it were worth the higher price. If I hadn't bought this DVD and listened to it for a year, I would have had no other way to find out about the various music available using DVD's higher resolution without buying them all.
In short, I bought this DVD to answer the questions, "Does a variety of music recorded on DVD's 96/24 format sound better than what I'm generally used to from CD," (my answer: YES, much better.) "What, of the music available in this format, are recordings I'd like to own?" (My answer: more than half.)
It seems to me that this format makes it easier to produce a spectacular musical recording--almost all the musical selections on this demo DVD were as good as the best CD recordings I'd heard from Eargle. The best John Eargle recordings match this in quality of recording, but few others. The musical selection ranges from pop, jazz, and classical to Celtic, African, and Caribbean.
So if you're looking for a stereo demo DVD to give you an across the board look at what DVD's higher audio resolution sounds like, using selections from available DVDs, then buy this one. If you're looking for a complete collection of test tones on DVD, maybe there's a better one out there, I don't know.
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