That should have been HOW, not IF — thank you, Apple auto-correct…
How to tell if a CD is Encoded?
I recently bought a boxed CD set of Beethoven’s Symphonies (von Karajan’s 1963 recordings, on DGG), and cannot find any information on the digital encoding, either on the CDs or the Internet. Is there a simple way to determine whether a CD was recorded as PCM or DSD, and at what sample rate (my DAC does not display this)?
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- 20 posts total
Hi Cheeg, If it says "compact disc digital audio", then it is always PCM: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compact_Disc_Digital_Audio If it says SACD then it is DSD. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_Audio_CD CD, being older, has very limited space, about 650 megabytes. DSD requires a lot more per song. The Wiki links I posted will show you the logo’s to search for. The confusing part is CD’s, DVD’s, blue rays and SACD’s all share the same physical dimensions. Same diameter (120mm), same size spindle hole (15mm). Otherwise the data density and encoding is all different, except for hybrid CD/SACD’s which have both on one. Best, Erik |
I should also point out, as far as I know, the only legal way to go from a SACD player to an external DAC is via HDMI for use with multi-channel DAC/processors. Even ripping SACD’s is difficult due to copyright fears. There are however boutique music vendors like Blue Coast who let you download DSD files directly, and if your DAC supports it, play them. These files use DSF or DFF as the extension. Best, E |
- 20 posts total