2. digital
  3. 1391614689

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
doggiehowser
672 posts
 
I remember getting a launch PS3 many years ago. One of the first gen units that also played SACDs. I didn't get the hype.

I compared the CD layer to the SACD layer and in my budget home theatre system, I didn't see what the hype was all about.

And then I had the chance to hear some really well designed SACD players. A friend of mine had gotten the EMM Labs TSD and DAC2 combo and it was spectacular. The DAC converted all signals (PCM/DSD) into 2xDSD and it was clear to me that the DAC was doing something right - even when converting CDs to 2xDSD.

I think the technology has improved many fold since the SACD was introduced. EMM Labs, Playback Designs and dCS all build their own custom DSD DACs (not off the shelf chips) which really show the advantage of DSD.

These days, there's trickle down technology from more affordable offerings like Teac, Mytek and Benchmark so I think there's some momentum behind the DSD train.

It's enough to get Sony to tie up with an online reseller to sell their old catalog of SACD titles as DSD downloads. I think that's a really good thing. Some of the old SACDs are out of print and cost a bomb. So this way, we get the quality recordings but without the crazy mark ups.
tomcy6's avatar
tomcy6
2,582 posts
 
SACD or DSD Hi-Res files can sound better than cd. They don't always, but they should and frequently do.

We have not yet reached the pinnacle of sound reproduction. The sound quality of recordings continues to improve as time goes on. DSD is part of this improvement. It can be a major improvement.

If you don't care about sound quality, what are you doing here? You could save a lot of money shopping at BestBuy or ebay.
gz3827
232 posts
 
+Tomcy6

I don't know yet to what extent I will jump on the DSD "flavor of the day" bandwagon, but I certainly want to at least check it out for grins and giggles.
davt's avatar
davt
500 posts
 
If you have the beatles white album on original vinyl you needed at some time the original MFSL vinyl. then the cassette, then the CD. Once we all bought the CD there was nothing else to buy, until we were told that vinyl was better again so we needed the new "audiophile" vinyl reissue. then the 45 rpm reissue. somewhere along the way we also needed SACD. Then we were told we really needed to download it cause everything prior sucked. Add a re-re-reissue super quality 33 rpm vinyl somewhere along the way. Wow, finally, we can enjoy an album. Nope, we were wrong all along, to really enjoy it we need DSD download. In the future it will be DSDx4, DSDx8 etc. Then LMNOP then QRST. See, the biggest reason to go DSD is so we can keep buying the same thing over and over again. Isn't' that fun!
bhobba's avatar
bhobba
303 posts
 
Mate - its simple - utterly simple.

Go out and listen to gear and make up your own mind.

Until a while ago the best DAC I had heard was a Playback Designs via DSD. But recently I have heard two PCM DAC's that best it - a Killer and Phasure - and I prefer the Killer which uses an old Phillips Double Crown 44.1 16 bit chip. This modern stuff isn't the be all and end all by a long shot - let your ears decide.

Thanks
Bill
More to discover