DSD vs PCM…hmmmm

[Cohibaman]

Interesting read on DSD vs PCM….

Your thoughts?

https://www.mojo-audio.com/blog/dsd-...myth-vs-truth/

[Antonmb]

The article is 7 years old and I don't think really adds anything new to this old discussion. Bottom line, it's not the format, it's the recording and engineering - if done right, PCM, DSD, and yes, vinyl, can all sound great. Find good recordings of good music and enjoy in your format of choice, or in the format for which that recording was optimized.

[Puma Cat]

Originally Posted by Antonmb

The article is 7 years old and I don't think really adds anything new to this old discussion. Bottom line, it's not the format, it's the recording and engineering - if done right, PCM, DSD, and yes, vinyl, can all sound great. Find good recordings of good music and enjoy in your format of choice, or in the format for which that recording was optimized.

Bingo.

In my experience, it comes to two things: 1) the quality of the recording and 2) the quality of the mastering.

The best digital recordings I own are the Audio Wave Blue Note Jazz XRCD 24s that were re-mastered by the incomparable Alan Yoshida, and are....16/44 PCM.

[Cohibaman]

I posted referring strictly to the technical side of DSD vs PCM only, especially archiving; not the remastering, which of course makes all the difference. Thanks guys.

[Puma Cat]

Originally Posted by Cohibaman

I posted referring strictly to the technical side of DSD vs PCM only, especially archiving; not the remastering, which of course makes all the difference. Thanks guys.

Ah, sorry, Mike, I mis-understood.

Cheers!

[Antonmb]

Yes, sorry, I misunderstood and jumped in with both crooked feet.

[blacsno]

Well..... How deep are your pockets for DSD audio mastering/archiving?

1.) Example: Analog LP to DSD
a.) DSD editing software cost isn't priced for Audiophile usage! To make matters
even worse their aren't even DirectX plugins or MacOS equivalent for audio
repair available. Now for the gut punch. If one just did a straight LP to DSD and
was willing to accept the LP's flaws "ie pop or click". The DSD software by design
will still executes a PCM transition step before writing the DSD file. I'd like think
that DSD for archiving is the wrong tool for the job.

I've found three helpful tip items that yielded the maximum results for LP archiving.

1.) Use a lossless format! You'll hear the difference.
2.) Clean the LP's as best you can. The less software processing used will allow the
lossless file sound to closer to the source LP.
Before I write the last item..... If you've done everything possible in the archiving process to get the DATA into a file. Albeit some LP's may give you issues. Replace those LP's as needed. Trust me on this point the analog unami is captured in your work!
3.) Hopefully your DAC is able to reproduce the same sound as the turntable. If the DAC unable to get at least 90% of the unami. Then look to replace the DAC.

I switch from the MDA1000 which is still a beast by any measure today to the D1100. Yet the biggest bang for the buck was the D1100 handling the LP archive files. Those file damn near sounded like the LP source. The CD ripped files saw improvement but not the same level as the LP archive files. Side note their is not benefit for recording in higher the 96 Khz. All you'll get is a LOT bigger file for a minuscule improvement. Let the DAC do the heavy work!

Ken

[doggiehowser]

Did the PS Audio NuWave phono convert to PCM before recording in DSD?

[PeterMusic]

Originally Posted by Puma Cat

Bingo.

In my experience, it comes to two things: 1) the quality of the recording and 2) the quality of the mastering.

The best digital recordings I own are the Audio Wave Blue Note Jazz XRCD 24s that were re-mastered by the incomparable Alan Yoshida, and are....16/44 PCM.

Thanks for the recommendation. Although I don't think it's possible to build a library of significant size around media choice, I love recordings that are next level up from typical. I will try a couple of these.

In return--I recommend the Three Blind Mice label, especially the 24K Gold CD of Blow Up by Isao Suzuki

[clpetersen]

Cohibaman - this is a nice article, nice history of all the various formats. The quantization error is a bit overstated - simpler to think of it as a noise source, limiting the ultimate SNR of the playback. But the relative importance of the clock in DSD is very informative.

My understanding of the original impetus for DSD was not archival , but copy protection.