A standard shared by three musicians
Irving Berlin’s “How Deep Is the Ocean?” arrives on Explorations as familiar song material, but Bill Evans, bassist Scott LaFaro and drummer Paul Motian do not treat familiarity as a reason to settle into fixed accompaniment. The trio’s developing conversational approach makes each player part of the musical argument.1
Begin with the piano’s statement, then let the bass become an independent melodic voice rather than a shadow. Finally bring the drums into the same frame and hear how Motian shapes time around the other two. The pleasure lies in following three streams of thought without losing the song they share.
Three Cascade chassis, three defined tasks
A Laufer Teknik Memory Player MP-32 fed an MSB Technology Cascade DAC. A darTZeel NHB-18NS preamplifier and NHB-468 monoblocks drove Kharma Enigma Veyron 4D loudspeakers. HighendMann Analog Ethernet cables were used in the system.
The same system appeared in an earlier SELekt article focused on the darTZeel interface and the Kharma loudspeaker’s electrical load. This article turns to the converter itself. MSB separates the Cascade into a Digital Director, an Analog Converter and a Powerbase; the Digital Director sends conversion-ready data to the analog chassis over the optical Cascade-Link. The three units give processing, conversion and power their own defined places in the chain.2
Listen across the trio
A first pass can stay with Evans and the shape of the standard. On the second, follow LaFaro through an entire chorus, including the moments when his line moves toward or away from the piano. A third pass can belong to Motian: hear how cymbal, accent and silence hold the conversation open.
This shifting attention offers a more useful test than searching for one impressive instant. Ask whether the trio’s simultaneous choices remain connected and whether the tune continues to feel whole as your focus moves among the players.
Captured at SELekt
HFI recorded the playback at SELekt on 11 November 2025 using a matched pair of DPA-4011 microphones and a Zoom F8n Pro at 192 kHz/32-bit float.
A laser distance meter was used to match the microphones’ distances from the loudspeakers at the position that most closely captured the sweet-spot sound. Settle into your own sweet spot with headphones and let piano, bass and drums finish the question together.
Watch and listen
The complete HiFi Immersion video
For the clearest sense of the room, listen on headphones at a comfortable, consistent level.
