DSD v PCM

Posted by: naimUnT on 20 December 2012

Is DSD the future if digital media, perhaps one day overtaking PCM as the medium of choice! I'm beginning to see a few DACs embracing DSD capability (Mytek, Benchmark) and I'm sure there will be more to come! Even audio streamers like J River and Pure Music feature DSD playback (either direct or converted, depending on DAC). Is Naim considering DSD format in their future DACs? Perhaps that is why there is some buzz about the nDAC MK 2? From what I've read, the DSD format seems to be much more analog sounding than PCM although controversy surrounds this for sure.

What are your views about these two formats and the future of digital replay?
Posted on: 20 December 2012 by PinkHamster

People are still using MP3 for the largest part. So what are we talking about?

Posted on: 21 December 2012 by likesmusic

DSD is the high-resolution recording format used for SACDs, and as such has been around for well over a decade. Alas, SACDs never really caught on, in part I believe because of the difficulty of editing and mixing with DSD. When you look in detail, it turns out that only a relatively small proportion of the already small number of SACDs that exist were recorded and mastered in DSD - many are of (often 70s) analogue master tape, and others, such as Linn Records SACDs originate from hi-res PCM masters. Since hi-res PCM masters can now be downloaded in native format, and hardly anybody records in DSD,  it's hard to see how useful DSD downloads will be for music going forward - unless of course you want to listen to those 1970s analogue tapes, hi-res hiss and all.

Posted on: 21 December 2012 by Mr Underhill

Interesting article here:

 

http://www.audiostream.com/con...192-64x-dsd-128x-dsd

 

M

Posted on: 21 December 2012 by BigH47

OOOh the battle of the TLAs can't wait to se who wins

Posted on: 21 December 2012 by likesmusic
Originally Posted by Mr Underhill:

Interesting article here:

 

http://www.audiostream.com/con...192-64x-dsd-128x-dsd

 

M

 

That test is really to do with what is the best digital format to release or archive analogue tape in. Indeed, according the this link DSD was originally developed for archiving analogue tape. As few recordings are made to analogue tape nowadays, it doesn't have so much relevance to producing, distributing or consuming current music. Most recordings are made and mastered in PCM, and these masters can be distributed without loss. There can be no merit in transcoding hi-res PCM to DSD for computer based playback - the only conceivable merit (to me) would be releasing it on SACD for which there is now very little demand.  DSD may sound great, but it's application for recording is severely limited because of the difficulty of mixing in it. According the the wiki :

 

Because it has been extremely difficult to carry out DSP operations (for example performing EQ, balance, panning and other changes in the digital domain) in a 1-bit environment, and because of the prevalence of studio equipment such as ProTools which is solely PCM-based, the vast majority of SACDs — especially rock and contemporary music which relies on multitrack techniques — are in fact mixed in PCM (or mixed analog and recorded on PCM recorders) and then converted to DSD for SACD mastering.