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DSD SACD


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Direct Stream Digital can mean a lot of things. Pure DSD would be a DSD recording not run through any PCM equipment during the engineering phases, played back on an SACD player that doesn't have any PCM processing. There aren't all that many releases like that, pure DSD all the way through.

A lot of SACDs have been through a PCM process of one kind or another, whether it be in editing, noise reduction, mixing, etc. That means you essentially have a DVD-A that plays on an SACD player. Usually they are 24 bit/96KHz. That includes the vast majority of Universal/Deutsche Grammophon releases.

There are also a lot of SACDs made from old analogue masters, and these generally are excellent, the closest thing possible to the master tapes.

P.S. Artto's unit is a good choice.

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On 6/21/2004 1:23:11 PM paulparrot wrote:

A lot of SACDs have been through a PCM process of one kind or another, whether it be in editing, noise reduction, mixing, etc. That means you essentially have a DVD-A that plays on an SACD player. Usually they are 24 bit/96KHz. That includes the vast majority of Universal/Deutsche Grammophon releases.

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Actually the mastering engineers that are doing the PCM cleanup on old analog masters are using 24bit/384Khz ADC's and using 32bit upwards of 56bit digital processors to do the actual work - so it's a far cry from straight DVD-A.

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On 6/21/2004 1:01:08 PM powdermnky007 wrote:

Does this really make a big difference?

DSD, that is. I read a review saying it was great.

If so I will have to pick up a dsd sacd title and try it out.

-justin

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You might try taking a peek at www.audioasylum.com. Once there, go to the Digital - SACD forum. There are some very well versed participants that come down on both sides of the DSD debate. Some say it's a great thing, others believe it's a sham created by Sony and Phillips for purposes other than audio quality. Most of the SACD's I own sound great whether or not they are DSD. Overall they get to about 90% of the sound quality I get from good vinyl. Then again some sound like doo-doo. A close friend of mine who is an executive at UMG described the the current format situation as "...we'll (UMG) take as many bites of the apple as we can get...". Or, you might say, just how many times will these audio nuts buy the same recording?

Another point of view was that discussed on the Audio Asylum... "Like the old saying in Washington, D.C. says, "Follow the money." The very real possibility of a format "war" seems to be driven by two forces - the DVD group wanting to wrest away the CD hardware and software royalty stream that Sony and Philips have enjoyed for the last decade-and-a-half, and Sony/Philips equally anxious to maintain it, although spokespersons for Sony deny that this is the motivating factor behind DSD."

Chris

PS While the Sony C333ES is certainly a nice player, there are more than a few reports of problems with them.

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As far as I'm concerned DSD/SACD is the way to go. 1 bit format is translated easily into any sampling rate, therefore much better for archiving. It also eliminates several 'steps' in the digital recording process that are required in PCM and that are at least in part responsible for the "CD sound".

Sound quality wise, very analog-like sound, without the usual digital artifacts & without the analog noise & potential handling/damage/storage problems. But beware, as usual, not all recordings are created equal. Some transfers from will expose the worst regardless of the format, analog or PCM. Others like Miles Davis 'Kind of Blue' (1959?) transfered magnificently. The very best seem to be ones that were recording in DSD format to begin with, although even here I have experienced some letdowns, even from companies like Telarc who should have known (& done) better.

For more in depth info:

http://www.superaudio-cd.com/technology3.html

http://www.positive-feedback.com/Issue11/meitnerinterview.htm

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