From: weems@cs.umass.edu (CHIP WEEMS)
Newsgroups: rec.audio.high-end
Subject: SBM first impression
Date: 29 Dec 92 22:47:00 GMT
Organization: University of Massachusetts CS Department
NNTP-Posting-Host: 129.89.7.4
News-Software: VAX/VMS VNEWS 1.41
Originator: tjk@csd4.csd.uwm.edu


I recently got the Super Bit Map version of the Dave Brubeck Time Out
album and thought I would report my first impressions very briefly.

I also have the standard CD release of this recording, but not the
LP. After giving the standard version a once-through to refresh my
memory of it, I put on the SBM version, went through it and then
did some track by track comparisons.

So, what does double the price get you? First off, a large book-style
holder for the jewel case, with a standard jewel-case size cover
glued to the outside. Inside, there is a foldout page, the size of
an LP jacket with the art (sans text) for the cover enlarged to full
size on one side. On the other side are the original jacket notes
for the LP, with a few sentences at the end about the new release.
The jewel case (separately sealed) is held opposite in a piece of
plastic a well and indentations to let you get your fingers in to
pry out the jewel box. There are no separate liner notes or art
on the jewel box -- just the name of the album on the spine and
a program listing on the back.

The CD itself has the art printed again on its top side, and it is
gold coated. Presumably the ommission of the notes from the jewel
case are so that you can appreciate this gold gem without having
to open the case, but I find it annoying that I have to keep it
with the oversize package (which doesn't fit my CD shelf) in order
to have access to the notes.

Sonically, the first difference is that the SBM version accurately
reproduces the tape hiss of the 1959 recording. What it really points
out is that the standard CD was heavily low-pass filtered. I guess
that the rationale for the standard release was that people expect
silence from a CD, so tape hiss would be unacceptable in the quiet
passages. But for SBM, they are selling to audiophiles who are
sophisticated enough to understand.

The result is that, once you get past the noise level, the recording
is much more alive. In fact, I found the cymbals to be so lively
that they were harsh and fatiguing. I was so relieved when the drum
solo came on Take Five and he finally stopped hitting the brass.
However, the rest of the instruments are much improved. On the
standard CD, the bass dominates everything, but the SBM version
takes the cotton wadding out of the piano and it sounds like the
bass player has taken off a pair of gloves. There are places where
some distortion (which may be tape defects) comes through, but even
that is better than having the whole high-end filtered out.

The trouble is that the new mastering is so different from the old
that it is really impossible to distinguish the contribution of SBM.
Maybe in this case they should rename it "Simply Better Mastering."
In summary, I'd say that if you really love this music, then you
will probably want to spend the money on the new release. As to
whether SBM is all it is hyped up to be, the jury is still out as
far as this particular release is concerned.

Chip