General Asylum: UltraBit Gold: First Impressions by Quint

Coming on the heels of my review of the Jena Labs Esoteric 3D-X CD treatment, George Louis, creator of the RealityCheck duplicator, generously offered to send me a bottle of his newest flagship treatment, UltraBit Gold. Satisfied but ever curious, I took him up on his offer.

The treatment arrived yesterday, and I've been comparing it with the Jena and the old ClearBit/RealDisc combo ever since. Remember, that my results are relevant in MY system only, nobody else's. First things first: The UltraBit Gold represents a marked improvement over all other George L. fluids, and combinations of fluids, I've tried. Every CD-R I tried with the UB sounded markedly more dynamic, spacious and less "digital" than the versions treated with RealDisc and ClearBit. A good example is on "Wanna Be Startin' Something," from Michael Jackson's "Thriller" (SACD). On this particular recording, Jackson's voice can sound a little shrill and two-dimensional. With the UG applied, his vocals were more textured, and little details previously barely audible in the mix became more pronounced. In addition, the ebb and flow of the percussion was more dramatic than with the ClearBit/RealDisc combo.

The comparisons with the Jena were even more interesting. On "Wanna Be Startin' Something," the 3D-X and UltraBit Gold were more similar than not in the resolution department. At first, the UG sounded even more resolving, but after repeated playbacks, I determined that that wasn't the case. The UG simply had a more upfront presentation than the Jena. All details that were resolved by the UG were resolved by the Jena, just not as spotlighted, IMO. Overall, the Jena's presentation was just a bit more organic. Where the real separation occurred was in the naturalness and dimensionality department. Living up to its name, the Jena was noticeably more three-dimensional. On "Wanna Be Startin' Something," Jackson's voice was seemingly freed from the contraints of the soundstage, and hovered in space more believably than with the UG. His vocals were also just more present and natural, and saturated with color, on the Jena-treated disc.

This is just one man's opinion, but as good as the UltraBit Gold is--and it is very, very good, by any measure--I still prefer the Jena Labs Esoteric 3D-X. Many thanks to George Louis for being confident enough to send me some UG for comparison. It ranks right up there with the heavyweights.