Steven Gordon Plays Chopin: The Sonata #3 in B Minor, Reference Records RR-5 (45 rpm)

ReSound Metrix ITC all-digital

Timbre was quite good with the Metrix, sounded like a piano (piano sound is very difficult to reproduce).  Rhythm and pace were very good.  I heard some smearing and congealing of the notes, particularly on more complex chords and phrases in the midrange and lower midrange – didn't hear this as much on the higher notes/frequencies.  I didn't hear the slightly bloomy quality that sometimes was present on the Royal Ballet recording.

The leading edges of transients were slightly fuzzy/poorly defined, less clean – decay of notes less natural.  I heard a haze or veil on the rendering of the presentation.  There was some compression of macro dynamics, but it didn't sound plodding.  There was some loss of micro dynamics making the presentation slightly dull and diminishing the excitement and emotion of the music some (however, this was subtle).

In the Finale, the long runs in the treble (right hand) were muted and barely audible, a problem with balance of the loudness between the midrange and treble – until the very end of the composition when Gordon's playing is louder and the treble runs became more prominent, but were still unbalanced.

Phonak Savia CIC all-digital

The piano solo recording sounded much better than the recording of the full symphony orchestra in The Royal Ballet.  There was good balance between the right and left hands – all in all, this sounded fair – good piano sound, but thinner than with the CC4s.  Transient attack of notes was a bit heavy and percussion-like.  Decay of notes seemed truncated, the notes didn't naturally trail off, but ended too abruptly.

There was a loss of micro dynamics and they were somewhat suppressed.  The presentation was distant and slightly muted – there was some loss of nuance and expression in the playing.  Piano runs didn't sound natural and didn't flow, they sounded somewhat mechanical.  Complex passages at fortissimo (fff) were slightly smeared, but not by much – softer passages (ppp) were more smeared at times.  I heard some circuit overload (distortion) on loud complex passages.

In the Finale, the long piano runs in the treble (right hand) were seriously muted, they were barely audible – the left hand totally dominated the Finale until the last few bars at the end.

Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto No. 1, with the Vienna Philharmonic and Curzon and Solti, Decca SLX2114

ReSound Metrix ITC all-digital

Timbre was good to very good with the Metrix.  In general, balance among the sections of the orchestra was very good, also between the theme, solos and the accompaniment/foundation of the orchestra.

Dynamics were compressed and muted – overall presence was a little distant.  Big orchestral passages were congealed and smeared with a lack of separation and air – rendering the presentation less alive and vivid, this sounded leaner than the Royal Ballet recording.

Decay of piano notes were slightly diminished, very slight truncation of piano notes, micro dynamics need better definition.  The definition of treble piano notes was better than the midrange, separation and air was also better and cleaner in the treble.

When the full orchestra is going full tilt in full cry, the music became smeared and plodding – complex music was congealed – macro dynamics very compressed.  The more simple musical passages sounded surprisingly good.

Transients were less defined and slightly percussion-like, but quite good nevertheless.  There was slight smearing and the decay and reverberation of the decay of notes was compromised.

There was smearing and congealing of loud (fff) passages when the full orchestra is in full cry (this sometimes happens with the CC4, but not very often; however when it does, the deterioration is more graceful than with the Metrix, doesn't break up as badly and is less noticeable).  fff transients were poorly defined and either break up or get very edgy and harsh as they approach the point of breakup (distortion).  When the composition became complex and the lead passages/theme was loud, there was some compression and smearing, as well as a loss of air and separation.  The foundation (bass and mid-base) accompaniment became undefined and congealed with considerable loss of detail.  As volume increased, transients became less defined, muted, and compressed, with a loss of natural decay until they completely broke up in an orgy of distortion.

Metrix micro dynamics were fair to good.  Low-level detail on soft passages, ppp, was poorly defined and smeared.

Etymotic Digi-K CIC all-digital

I heard congestion on loud, complex passages.  Piano was muted, timbre was off – transient attack of the notes was slightly smeared.  Violins/violas sounded more like an accordion, but not always.  Pluses: these aids were fairly musical, rhythm and pace was pretty good.  Heavy orchestral passages were undefined, sounded more like noise.  Highs and lows were rolled off.

Sometimes certain passages sounded quite good and others sounded awful – very inconsistent!  Maybe different combinations of instruments, etc. calls different algorithms for processing.  Sometimes piano was badly smeared and undefined and other times just marginally okay.

There was much missing musical information, but different character than all the other all-digital aids I have listened to: not exactly missing information, it's mostly there, just not delivered right.  There was a problem with balance among instruments/groups and across the frequency range.  Distortion was fairly high, but much less than the other all-digital, except for the ReSound Metrix.

Dynamics (macro) were compressed.  The sound was muted, dull and cold – higher order harmonics were missing – there was a lack of warmth and richness.  Loud transient spikes were significantly compressed and also sounded like noise, not music.  Loud complex musical passages congealed into noise.  Separation between instruments/groups was poor – air was lacking.

Phonak Savia CIC all-digital

This is a very demanding recording to reproduce.  The Savia had serious problems when the composition became more complex, the extremes of bass and highs, extremes of loud and soft, as more instruments are added to the presentation, etc. – but not always!  The Savia was very inconsistent (this is very characteristic of all-digital).  Macro and micro dynamics were good to very good as long as the music was simple – as it gets more complex, the sound breaks up – but not always.

On fff I heard massive smearing and congealing of the complex passages where the full orchestra is in full cry.  fff when only the piano was playing was better; add the full orchestra and worse problems – much smearing (distortion), etc.  At times I heard severe distortion of the piano, and at times it sounded much better – it was very inconsistent.  The circuit seemed to overload and go into distortion easily, there was very little headroom.  fff was just awful when multiple instruments/groups are playing.

Low-level detail on soft passages was very poor.  The presentation was smeared, distant, indistinct, undefined, and homogenized.  Small variations of both soft and loud were lost.

The overall character of the presentation was somewhat muted, and macro dynamics were compressed.  There was a substantial loss of micro dynamics, resulting in a loss of musical expression, emotion, and excitement, and the presentation became boring.  There was a sameness of transient attack on many notes, resulting in dullness.  There was a problem with the attack and decay of transients, the attack was often fuzzy and poorly defined (with the CC4 the attack is assertive without being overbearing, decay natural) – there was a loss of reverberation in transient decay.

In the opening, the timbre of the horn announcement was off – in general, timbre was usually acceptable except when the composition gets complex or loud or both, and breaks up (distortion).

Overall, I heard a significant loss of audio information on this recording with the Savia.

Nojima Plays Liszt: Sonata in B Minor, Reference Records RR-25, vinyl

Etymotic K-Amp CIC (from General Instrument Co.)

On this piano recording I detected a very slight smearing of notes.  Dynamic contrast slightly better with the CC4s – but sound was leaner on CC4, not quite as rich – also the CC4 may be less effective in reproducing the higher order harmonics than the K-Amp.  Micro dynamics better defined on CC4s (but not by much) – transient attack was faster on the CC4.  CC4 revealed more nuances, emotion of music a bit better – more punch without being aggressive.

ReSound Metrix ITC all-digital

The balance between lower midrange, midrange, and treble (left and right hands) was very good, as was rhythm and pace.

The piano sounded somewhat duller and heavier with the Metrix compared with the CC4 (and compared with the Metrix on the Steven Gordon Plays Chopin).  Transient attack was less assertive but heavier – there was some smearing between notes and slight overhang.  This was a bit plodding.  I heard this across the entire frequency spectrum.  This composition was more demanding with wider dynamic range than the Chopin, and the playing much more forceful and intense.

The sound was grainier with poorer resolution than the CC4, resulting in less brilliance and vibrancy in the midrange and treble/highs.  There was a loss of delicacy and nuance of expression.

The sound of hammer striking a wire was less realistic, more percussion-like.  There was a loss of micro dynamics.  I heard some distortion, and clarity was compromised.  Transient response was slower (than CC4); this was most noticeable on very fast, intense playing.

Dynamic range was compressed, the fortissimos were softer, and the pianissimos were louder, but not always!  There was a loss of air and separation between notes on runs in the treble register when the playing got intense – also a loss of timbre as notes became more percussion-like and there was some loss of pitch – the notes became homogeneous. 

There was another quality I heard that is difficult to describe – on loud passages the notes became more percussion-like, sounding less like a piano – there was a loss of timbre – sounded like fortissimos may be overloading the circuit, as there was more distortion.  I didn't hear this with the CC4.  Sometimes the presentation sounded quite good, other times very poor, depending upon volume and intensity of playing.  The faster and louder the notes were played the more smearing and distortion, loss of timbre and clarity – the percussion effect dominated.

Etymotic Digi-K CIC all-digital

Transient attack on notes was both percussion-like and muddy.  There was a lack of brilliance, dynamics, and richness.  The sound was hard – a definite lack of micro and macro dynamics resulting in lack of nuance, expression, and emotion.  Sound was cold and hard.  Highs were severely rolled off.

There was a sameness on the attack and execution of all notes regardless of how the musical phrase was rendered.  The decay of notes was wrong, no reverberation, and not much of a sense of hammer striking a wire.

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