How to tell if a CD is Encoded?
If it's this release it's the SACD, if not it's a CD only https://www.discogs.com/Beethoven-Karajan-Berliner-Philharmoniker-The-Symphonies/release/3344481 All versions can be found here https://www.discogs.com/Ludwig-van-Beethoven-Symphonien/master/30029 |
Thanks Erik and folkfreak! The discs do say "Compact Disc Digital Audio", so it sounds like they're PCM. Probably Redbook, but there may be no way to tell. I didn't realize CD's were exclusively PCM, or that DSD was only done on DVD's; good to know. But, of course, this opens up a whole nest of related questions! I've been restocking my music collection with some of my favorites from the 60's and 70's (my original library was stolen), and noticed that many of them have been reissued or remastered. Usually these versions are selling for much less than the originals, and I was wondering what might have been lost in the process. Some of them say Compact Disc Digital Audio, some say DSD Remastered, one says "2008 Digital Remaster and Stereo Mix" (with no indication of CDDA or DSD), and another says it's a 2004 Legacy Reissue of the original 1986 recording, with no indication of CDDA or DSD. The crystal case says CDDA, but it's not indicated on the disc or enclosure, so I wouldn't bank on it (also, it was made in Mexico, so I'm doubly skeptical). Aside from pure curiosity, one of the reasons I'm asking is because my DAC is a delta-sigma (Benchmark 1), and I'm wondering if I would get better SQ from an R2R DAC, at least with the Redbook discs. Any thoughts? PS to Geoff: good point; I should have said "encoded", not recorded. |
@cheeg you're still a little confused RedBook = CD Standard = 16/44.1PCM Any other PCM (e.g. 48/96) is not redbook and is not encoded on a CD, you can store these files on a CD ROM drive but it is not CD standard SACD as a standard is always stored on a SACD format disc, not a DVD (that's another thing entirely). Most SACD are dual layer with one layer that plays SACD and the other that plays redbook Higher rate DSD (e.g. dual DSD, or quad DSD) can be downloaded or played back from other storage media but there is no commercially available disc format for them But it seems you have a plain old vanilla CD set |
Thanks for the response folkfreak-- I did know that Redbook was the original CD standard format, at 16/44.1 (Sony-Phillips 1980), but I thought that some more recent recordings were being pressed to disc in higher density/bitrate formats, such as 48/96. Am I wrong about that? Unfortunately, most folks have gotten used to calling all these discs "CD's", which makes things even more confusing. Your second to last paragraph says that there is "no commercially available disc format" for higher rate DSD, but that seems to contradict the markings on several albums I bought recently (2002 remasters of Rolling Stones such as Let It Bleed and Beggars Banquet), that say they are "DSD Remastered" -- are you saying those are remastered in DSD, and then re-converted to PCM? I can't understand what the point of that would be. |
