X Marks the Audio Spotlight

From the CD Vault Dept.: Back when Dorian Recordings was a thriving label based in Troy, NY, the aim was to produce the best-sounding CDs possible, which began with a recording location – the Troy Music Hall – that was (and remains) one of the best in the world. Beyond that, there were technical considerations brought to bear, and I wrote the piece below to explain the engineering wizardry that went into the finest-sounding of their CDs.  

                                                                                            

AS AN AUDIOPHILE LABEL launched early in the digital age of recordings, Dorian Recordings has always set, maintained, and even exceeded the finest standards. Since its inception in 1989, Dorian has presented a varied series of CDs that include the exciting early music performances of the Baltimore Consort, the organ fireworks of Jean Guillou, the warm sound of the Dallas Symphony, and many other performers who transcend the bounds of classical music.

Craig Dory and Brian Levine
in the Troy Music Hall

Recently, Dorian introduced the xCD series of compact discs, a hand-selected group of recordings that embody the best of the meticulous technology that goes into every Dorian recording – technology that is itself, in Dorian’s hands, an art form. To understand what makes the xCD series special, let’s look first at the recording chain that’s behind every release.

It begins with excellent musicians, of course, and an appropriate venue. Dorian co-founder Craig Dory is the mastermind behind the recording technology, but for him the process begins with the sounds. “I look for a hall that’s spectrally interesting with complex reflections, in which the sounds arrive early and stay longer. Not only does this add an attractive glow to the sound but the artists feel better in a great hall.”

Dory names the Troy Savings Bank Music Hall in the upstate city of Troy, NY, as the acoustically finest location “small groups up to Mozart-sized orchestras. I’ve recorded in halls around the world and this is the best.” Other venues that top his list are the Dallas Symphony’s Meyerson Symphony Center and the Zürich Tonhalle for large groups, and Québec’s Domaine Forget for more intimate recordings.

Next is choosing a good spot for the performers. “It’s not always obvious where they should be on stage, and where you’d place a piano isn’t necessarily where you’d place a lute.” Placing microphones is another art. “When a listener can see the performers, it’s easy to make allowances for sound. With a recording, we have to do everything with the sound. Our goal is to transport the listener into a perfect space – unlike many record companies, whose goal is to bring the performers into your living room. Your living room probably isn’t a good space for the group you’re listening to.”

Which microphones? Dory uses models from Neumann, Schoeps, and B&K, but they’re usually modified. “We put in thinner diaphragms and new circuitry. Most microphones are limited in their low-frequency response, and they’re made safe so that you could use them in the arctic or the desert. We don’t record there, so we don’t need that safety. Our microphones are flat down to 3 or 4 Hertz.”

Next is a very short cable run to the preamp. Dorian was the first label to put microphone preamps and the analogue-to-digital converter on the stage, thus keeping the cable run as short as possible. Fiber optic cables, which are virtually impervious to error, carry the signal from the A-to-D converter to the recording equipment.

Twin-server designs by Deane Jensen are the basis for custom-built microphone preamps, and the A/D converters were designed and built for Dorian by Vince Capizzo. “Because all of our electronics were designed for us,” says Dory, “we can think of the whole chain as a circuit. And each successive amplifier stage has been designed with a wider bandwidth than the previous stage so that we have the best phase and group delay characteristics.”

For added clarity, the 24-bit A/D converters sample at a rate of 6.144 mHz, which is nearly 140 times greater than the CD standard of 44.1 mHz. The clock is accurate to seven picoseconds, which was as low as the measuring equipment could go.

From there the signal is stored on a computer’s hard disk, with backup storage on a Nagra D recorder. Dorian was the first company to use the Sonic Solutions editing system, and no post-production sweetening is added. “Our goal,” says Dory, “is to maintain the integrity of the digital signal. There’s no compression on our recordings, so they will sound softer than what you’ll find on other labels. But do this comparison: Listen to a recording of Mahler’s Fifth Symphony. Compare it to ours. (Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Andrew Litton conducting, DOR-90193.) You’ll have to turn up the Dorian version to match the level of the other one, but you’ll hear a much greater dynamic range.”

Craig Dory at Work

Dory likens his job as a recording engineer to that of a fine arts photographer. “Too many engineers think of themselves a photo-journalists, trying to capture a picture of the scene. But we have more control over the variables than that! We can choose the hall, place the musicians, choose the right microphones and electronics. Our challenge is to make the best possible recording.”

Over the years, Dory has been asked to select those recordings that best exemplify the excellence for which he strives. “It’s not as if these are somehow better than the others,” he’s quick to point out, “because all of our recordings have the same care and technology behind them. But these are the ones that will make the most of your audio system.” 

They feature punchier, brassier music with the kind of dynamic range that is an audiophile’s dream. The entire series of brass ensemble Proteus 7 have been so chosen, along with the Burning River Brass, the auditorium organ at Ocean Grove, and recordings of Bach, Vivaldi, and Handel by Les Violons du Roy conducted by Bernard Labadie. Also on the list is a recording of Latin favorites (Danzón) with Keri-Lynn Wilson conducting the Simón Bolivar Symphony Orchestra. 

“Dorian’s philosophy always has been to record great performances of interesting repertoire with absolutely the highest production standards in the industry,” says Dory. “Our goal in recording is to catch the true essence of the artists’ performance, not just what the performance happened to sound like in the recording venue. A great recording propels the listener into a different place, maybe a different time, much like great art and great literature.”

– 7 December 2000