Oh Boy & Yippie Here We Go Again!

[wkhanna]

Oh Boy & Yippie Here We Go Again!

Another new (same) format to make obsolete all our music libraries.
OK, I know DSD is the same as SACD, but it means replacing our hardware & software!

Why did not they just do this in the first place years ago when SACD first came out?

Was only because of file size? I think not!

The older I get the more I appreciate my vinyl.

Anyway, here is a recent list of hardware for those interested.

DSD Data Base

[btf1980]

Zzzzzzzz....

Let the other guys worry about this, I'll listen to my trusty LPs. Thank you very much.

[JonMarsh]

I might have been interested in this at one time, but repackaging SACD into another software and data product is not so appealing to me since I got the hardware/software capability to convert standard SACD disks (stereo or Multi-channel) into 24/176.4 PCM. For myself, it's easier to find fairly high performance PCM DACs, IMO. I haven't heard an SACD player at $7K or less that sounds better than an NAD M51 ($2K) on high res material, much less as good on CD. Or measured nearly as well for either 16 bit or 24 bit.

Now, dCS, that's another level, but you can get mighty close to that level with something like the TotalDAC D1.

[Alaric]

I remember when my alternate format choices were vinyl or magnetic tape. And my Nakamichi ZX9 was 'only' $1100. LOL

[PewterTA]

I like it... Foobar2000 on the list. Good thing I got that all set up and can play anything now.

I like being able to play anything and everything. ha ha.

[wkhanna]

In this interview with Audiostream, Charles Hansen has an opinion regarding DSD



Question: "This leads us to the question of DSD and PCM playback. Do you see a benefit to one approach over the other?"

Hansen: "The advantage of DSD is that there is no filtering, and therefore no ringing on the record side. There is some relatively gentle filtering on the playback side with minimal ringing. The disadvantage is that above 20 kHz the noise climbs very rapidly, so that at 100 kHz the S/N ratio is only about 30 dB. Well, in a recording of music (as opposed to a recording of, say, bats) there is absolutely no signal at 100 kHz that is within 30 dB of the full-scale output.

So the effective bandwidth of DSD is really only 30 to maybe 40 kHz. It also requires completely new equipment, not only for playback, but also for the entire recording chain.

In my opinion, the best solution is to use quad-rate PCM (176.4 kHz or 192 kHz) with very gentle filters that exhibit little or no ringing. It is that lack of ringing that gives DSD its sonic benefits and this can be obtained with quad-rate PCM, but there is no problem with out of band noise, and standard equipment can be used for recording and playback. This is what we have done in our new QA-9 A/D converter.

In the old days, to play a high-res recording you had to use either an DVD-Audio player or an SACD player. There were a few audiophile-grade SACD players made, but almost no audiophile grade DVD-Audio players. So there wasn't much point to buy the discs, because the proper playback equipment wasn't available. But with the advent of computer-based digital audio playback, high-sample-rate PCM is trivial, and even DSD playback is possible. So the entire game has changed. The format war is a thing of the past and it is easy to download high-res audio files with a broadband internet connection."

[madmac]

I'm not sure what he means by 'Ringing' ??

And in any event, we are approaching the limits in audio reproduction today, even with ordinary CD's. What we should do is put music on BD technology. Piles of room there for excellent audio reproduction. :W

[Hdale85]

There are bd audio disks.

[madmac]

There are bd audio disks.

Really??....You guys in the USA have it good!!. A 24 bit audio only disc in 2 or 5 channel stereo would be sweet!. The only issue I have with these SACD's DVD-A's and BD discs is that you need to turn on the TV to set them up.

To me, TV and music listening are two different things and I do not like the TV on when I'm listening to music. It distracts unfortunately......I would simply like to pop them in my player without the TV and listen......just like CD's work.

[Hdale85]

Either way I don't think we're hitting any limitations. SACD uses regular CD-Rom disks and can have 192khz/24bit (I believe maybe it's 96khz? or maybe some use 96 to conserve space) multi-channel audio and hold an entire album. Honestly I think a new audio disc format is going to be doomed to fail regardless, digital is where it's at and where things will go. Working on new disc formats is just asking for failure, not to mention the overhead for doing a digital format is so much lower.

[madmac]

@ Hdale85........Absolutely agreed !!