Audiophile Reference IV.(Sound recording review)

Audiophile Reference IV. FIM 029 VD.

There is no doubt that FIM, First Impression Music, is first and foremost an audiophile label. Its president and producer, Winston Ma, is a dedicated audiophile for whom sound is everything. Fortunately, he is also a music lover and recognizes good music. So the contents of his discs must not only sound good, they must be worth listening to.

The Audiophile Reference IV disc is a Super 24-Bit HDCD, meaning it is done up in one of the premier processing modes around; perhaps not quite as pure as XRCD, but close. As the disc's name implies, it contains bits and pieces of audiophile material, the kind of stuff that dyed-in-the-wool audiophiles sit around and listen to when they're not talking over the top of the music. I'm not really keen on these kinds of compilations because there is never enough of any one thing to interest me, but when we get the kind of sonic results heard here, it's hard not to want to see what new delights are around the next corner. Kind of like popcorn; you can't just eat one.

There are 16 tracks on the disc, comprising more than 75 minutes of music. Selections include everything from classical to jazz to folk, but thankfully no rock or rap. Among the highlights for me were Saint-Saens' lovely "The Swan," a composite group of tunes and noises on "Olde London," a traditional Chinese set of variations called "Yang City," excerpts from Messiah, and Pachelbel's Canon in D done by a percussion ensemble. ...