For this shootout, four tracks were selected from the forthcoming album “True Analogue: The Best of Groove Note Records”.
During each session, first the reference 30ips Master Tape was played on the ATR 102. Then two cuts on the lacquer were played on a VPI Avenger Direct with the Hyper Sonic X4 cartridge into the Aesthetix Io Eclipse phono stage. Playback was through Genesis Forte S2 loudspeakers. The tracks could either be from a 30ips Analog Master or a DSD256 Master in any order. As the shootout was conducted double-blind, the presenters did not know which track was which.
Five sets of lacquers were cut by Bernie Grundman. Each set had different order of Analog/DSD. Set #2 was randomly chosen as the set to be used during the Shootout. The actual order is as follows:
Side A: Anthony Wilson Trio: Love Theme from “Chinatown”
Cut 1 was DSD256; Cut 2 was Analog Master
Side B: Roy Gaines: Stormy Monday Blues
Cut 1 was DSD256; Cut 2 was Analog Master
Side C: Jacintha: Light My Fire
Cut 1 was Analog Master; Cut 2 was DSD256
Side D: Vanessa Fernandez: Here But I’m Gone
Cut 1 was Analog Master; Cut 2 was DSD256
A total of 79 survey cards were received, of which 65 (82.3%) said that they heard a difference between the two tracks played.
Of the 65 responses – 38 or 58.5% identified the tracks from Analog Master and DSD256 Master correctly.
Of the 38 correct responses, 33 (86.8%) preferred the cut made from the Analog Master.
However, one of the tracks was a statistical outlier in which out of 14 responses, only 1 was correct. 11 out of 14 respondents preferred the cut made from the DSD256 Master. This was the track by Jacintha – Light My Fire. The three expert listeners also got that track wrong.
Eliminating that track leaves 51 responses: 37 (72.5%) correct. Out of the correct responses, 32 (86.5%) preferring the cut made from the Analog Master.
