When audio CDs first came out almost 14 years ago, they sounded harsh and strident. The discs could be particularly grating in the higher frequencies, where cymbals and violins reside. By comparison, good vinyl pressings conveyed a timbral rightness that kept listener fatigue at bay.In the last 10 years, digital playback has gradually come into its own. CDs are now generally mastered with more know-how; and affordable, good-sounding players by companies such as Rotel, AMC, Marantz, and NAD are giving even pricey turntable/cartridge combinations a run for the money. But perhaps the greatest single advance in digital reproduction to date is Pacific Microsonics' HDCD technology, an encode/decode system that reduces subtle distortions in digital recordings. The process requires that the discs are encoded in HDCD (high-definition compatible digital). Several hundred of these releases now exist, including recordings by Neil Young, Better Than Ezra, and Chris Isaak. Pacific Microsonics says the CDs carry audible improvements over regular versions, a sonic refinement that is apparent even on non-HDCD players. In playback gear equipped with an HDCD chip, however, the encoded discs purportedly really show their stuff. I put the claim to the test with an outboard digital-to-analog converter, the Theta Chroma 396.The Theta squeezed information out of my regular CDs that I never knew was there. Especially the bass, which was much firmed up; I felt my heart beat faster with excitement when I heard the extra slam the unit extracted from almost any rock or blues disc I played. HDCD recordings provided additional surprises. Emmylou Harris's heart-wrenching Wrecking Ball was as wonderful as ever but rendered with more space and palpability. Comparisons between non-HDCD material and the encoded version of the same recording (try HDCD Sampler Volume 2, by Reference Recordings) yielded a better score for the latter every time.The differences are rarely night-and-day, so they may not matter if you're not that fussy about your sound. But if you have audiophile leanings, the Theta Chroma with the special chip (like other affordable HDCD-equipped units from Adcom, Rotel, and Audio Alchemy) will give you a more intimate perspective of the music. Listen for yourself and be prepared to be amazed.
Theta Chroma 396: US$750; $829 with HDCD chip. Theta Digital Corp.: +1 (818) 597 9195, fax +1 (818) 597 1079. More information about HDCD on the Web at www.best.com/~hdcd/.
STREET CRED
Atari DazeDawkinian Evolution
Big Audiophile Dynamite
