2. digital
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why dsd

Until a few days ago, i had never heard of dsd. Apparently it was developed thru sony/philips and used as the foundation for super audio. Why is everyone so hyped on this. I have had a sony 9100es for several years and have a handful of discs. Big deal. I am selling the damn thing and will toss in the discs if anyone is interested. I get the waive stuff bla bla bla. Yes- digital can sometimes sound bad, but have you ever listened to a poorly engineered record. Ugh. Less to do with the medium and more to do with the recording

My MAc mini into my C2 sounds good and upgraded spotify is great.

We are so caught up in hype. We split hairs over everything and talk about stuff that only an electrical engineer gets. We call 4k budget gear! Are you kidding me???

Music is something that touches your soul, and we don't listen in a perfect room with a lab coat on. If my foot taps then I'm happy.

I am trying to buy a dac with pre and HT pass, not because I am going to squeeze an additional drop of shimmer out of my system, but because I need something easier for my family to use.

Stop buying into hype! Records sound great but digital is more convenient and has opened the door to a world of music that should blow you away. If you are more concerned with being sold than just enjoying the music then you are missing the point.

Any thoughts on a dac/pre combo with bypass :-)
128x128famoej
bifwynne
2,206 posts
 
Kijanki ... admittedly I don't understand anything about Delta-Sigma DACs or Alpha-Pi-Omega D/As configureed in quad mono mode, or this or that. But I have a thread running about redbook CD not being a dead medium. I maintain that redbook CD can still provide a meaningful, engaging and enjoyable musical experience if the source material is well engineered and recorded.

My contention about redbook CD is validated, at least to me, when I listen to "Gold" quality CDs, e.g., from Mobile Fidelity. I also bought a pot pourrie box of used classical CDs from a vender here on A'gon. I'm listening to a surprise CD out of the box right now: Stravinsky's Rites of Spring. Excellent!!

There's also a couple of technical articles I've read which make a convincing case, at least to this non-techie, that the redbook CD format is quite capable of rendering an exellent musical experience. The author of one article credibly maintains that the so-called "problem" with the medium isn't its technical foundation. Rather, it's the crummy quality of engineering, mastering and recording. My personal experiences anecdotally support that view.

DSD ... sure. I'll bite, or at least take nibble, if the industry settles on a standard format and I am convinced there's as much attention paid to engineering and recording quality as there is to "quality electrons." :)

Cheers,
audioengr
3,282 posts
 
Most of the excitement is due to the limited quantities of really well-recorded tracks and the fact that it is hi-res compared to CD sample-rate. If they took this kind of care to record CD tracks, they would be even better than DSD IMO.

I have compared a number of dual-layer PCM/DSD disks and I always find the PCM layer of the same recording to sound even better than the DSD layer.

Even with this result, I must offer some DSD capability in my products in order to compete in the current computer audio market. Its what the customers want and expect.

Steve N.
Empirical Audio
stereo5's avatar
stereo5
6,441 posts
 
DSD is not a big concern to me. I have a Wyred Dac1 which was all of 999.00. I have had it for 2 years and am more than satisfied and I get 192K from my dedicated laptop going through a Musical V-Link 192 usb/spdif converter. I rip all my sacd's using the Sony PS2 method into flac.

So why would I need DSD?
lloydc's avatar
lloydc
755 posts
 
I have never heard a redbook disk played back through one of the $40,000 - $100,000 digital sources. Based on current projections- which do not include any form of retirement, and a child bound for college - I will never own such a thing. If you have heard or owned digital at this level, how good does redbook sound? Better than a $10,000 tt/phono pre/cartridge? As good as? So far, regardless of the numerous advantages of digital, ime, records sound more enjoyable. I sort of take it on faith that sufficiently large sampling rates, possibly even dsd, may be equivalent to analogue, especially to my aging ears, but...there is just something about analogue that reaches me in a way no digital sound ever has.
I almost gave up on recorded music in the 80's, until I figured out the problem was cd's and solid state amplification. Never did get on the SACD bandwagon. Got away from all that, and have had listenable sound ever since. It would be great to avoid the hassles of tubes and lp's, but...
Not repeating the stupid digital/analogue argument here, just asking about the experiences of those who have heard better digital equipment than I.
bifwynne
2,206 posts
 
Lloyd ... if you look at Stereophile's 2013 List of Recommended Components, you'll see some reasonably priced and highly regarded redbook CD players listed. I think the cost of top grade CDPs has gotten to the point where the entry cost will not require you to sell your kids off to buy a great product.

I think Steve N's comment about the real problem *not* being the technology per se, but rather the recording and engineering quality, is spot on. I believe it is possible for redbook CD to provide a satisfying musical experience if the source material is of good quality.

And I do have a decent vinyl set up which sounds pretty ok, provided the LP is well recorded. But you know, sometimes I just want to listen to my music while reading a book or fiddling with my computer and not get up off my lazy old butt after 15 or 20 minutes to flip the friggin' record.
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