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Mozart & Poulenc Double & Triple Piano Concertos - DXD 24 bits 352.8 kHz stereo and 5.0 vs Amazon 192 kHz vs Tidal Dolby Atmos

Jean.Francois

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Hello,

Recorded at Victoria Hall in March 2023, this concert “Mozart & Poulenc, Double & Triple Piano Concertos” brings together the four members of the Nagano-Kodama family – Kent (husband), Mari (wife), Momo (sister) and Karin (daughter) – and the OSR (Orchestre de la Suisse Romande), echoing the practice of Mozart, who also played with his father, sister and daughter.
Mozart and Poulenc -- small .jpg


The DXD format was used for this concert, and is also available for download in stereo and 5.0 versions. Does this super DXD 24-bit 352.8 kHz format live up to its promise in terms of musical quality (samples available)?

For this review, you will find 4 versions tested: Amazon UltraHD and Tidal Dolby Atmos, DXD stereo and 5.0 in 24 bits 352.8 kHz

This is a very dynamic album with a DR 13, as confirmed by the waveform below of the DXD stereo version.
Spectrogram  - Mozart and Poulenc - DXD 2.0  -- small .jpg



The graph below compares the spectrum of the DXD stereo – 2024 (white curve) with the spectrum of the Amazon UltraHD – 2024 (blue curve).Perfect superposition of the 2 curves up to 90 kHz, frequency limit of the Amazon UltraHD version due to its 192 kHz sampling frequency.
Spectrum - Mozart and Poulenc - DXD 2.0 (white) vs  Amazon UltraHD (blue)  -- small .jpg



The graphs below show the average spatialization for the Dolby Atmos and DXD 5.0 versions. We can see that the Dolby Atmos version is a small extension of the 5.0 version.
Mozart and Poulenc (Atmos) - Spatialization 4.2 (3.5 -- 4.6) -small .jpg
Mozart and Poulenc (DXD 5.0) - Spatialization 2.5 (1.7 -- 3.0) -- small .jpg



In multichannel listening, this DXD 5.0 version is far ahead of the Dolby Atmos version in terms of precision, dynamics and definition. The Dolby Atmos version, even if it fills more space with the upper speakers, remains less musical than this DXD 5.0 version. This 5.0 version brings a real immersion in the concert compared to the DXD 2.0 version, with the 3 front channels exploited to give the music excellent dynamics and energy. This DXD 5.0 version surpasses the DXD 2.0 version in terms of sonic and spatial realism.

The downside of this 352.8 kHz DXD format is file size, with a stereo version weighing in at over 2 GB in Flac and a 5.0 version over 8 GB!

You can find samples of the 352.8 kHz DXD stereo version here, and compare the different versions with the full set of measurements.

Enjoy listening,
Jean-François
 
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