DSD Question...

DSD (Direct Stream Digital) is currently one of if not the best way to record/remaster CDs. All SACDs use this process. My SACD player I use for my surround sound system indicates when an SACD is playing, but if a regular CD was recorded in DSD, the SACD indicator will not come on.

My question is, do you need an SACD player to extract the DSD layer from a regular CD, or will any CD player play it?

Thanks for any help.

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Originally Posted by R.S.

DSD (Direct Stream Digital) is currently one of if not the best way to record/remaster CDs. All SACDs use this process. My SACD player I use for my surround sound system indicates when an SACD is playing, but if a regular CD was recorded in DSD, the SACD indicator will not come on.

My question is, do you need an SACD player to extract the DSD layer from a regular CD, or will any CD player play it?

Thanks for any help.

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You are confusing the technology used to record, i.e. capture, the sound with that used to distributed it.

The technology used to record the original sound doesn't have to be the one used to "master" the sound, that is, combine and otherwise process the sound to produce the stereo or multi-channel sound tracks. Nor does the mastering technology have to be the one used to distribute the final product.

Ever noticed the 3 character code that appears on most CDs and SACDs? It consistst of three letters, each either 'A' or 'D' each indicating analog or digital. The first refers to the recording technology, the second to the mastering, and the third to the distribution.

CD is a digital distribution technology and is by definition PCM, (pulse code modulation), at 44.1 kH x 16 bit resolution. Neither a CD player nor an SACD player can extract DSD from a CD because it isn't there in that form regardless of whether the recording technology was DSD or something else. SACD is also a digital distribution technology that uses DSD technology, but the recording and mastering technologies might have been anything.

A typical "hybrid" SACD consists of three layers

1. DSD-encoded stereo
2. DSD-encoded multi-channel
3. PCM 44.1 x 16, that is, CD

Because of the 3rd layer a hybrid SACD can be payed on a CD player but you are only getting a CD level of resolution.

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Originally Posted by Feanor

You are confusing the technology used to record, i.e. capture, the sound with that used to distributed it.

The technology used to record the original sound doesn't have to be the one used to "master" the sound, that is, combine and otherwise process the sound to produce the stereo or multi-channel sound tracks. Nor does the mastering technology have to be the one used to distribute the final product.

Ever noticed the 3 character code that appears on most CDs and SACDs? It consistst of three letters, each either 'A' or 'D' each indicating analog or digital. The first refers to the recording technology, the second to the mastering, and the third to the distribution.

CD is a digital distribution technology and is by definition PCM, (pulse code modulation), at 44.1 kH x 16 bit resolution. Neither a CD player nor an SACD player can extract DSD from a CD because it isn't there in that form regardless of whether the recording technology was DSD or something else. SACD is also a digital distribution technology that uses DSD technology, but the recording and mastering technologies might have been anything.

A typical "hybrid" SACD consists of three layers

1. DSD-encoded stereo
2. DSD-encoded multi-channel
3. PCM 44.1 x 16, that is, CD

Because of the 3rd layer a hybrid SACD can be payed on a CD player but you are only getting a CD level of resolution.

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I wonder if he is also confusing HDCD and SACD????

Nice answer, Feanor. + Karma for you :-)

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Originally Posted by noddin0ff

Nice answer, Feanor. + Karma for you :-)

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Appreciated. I try to offer clear explanations to people who like to learn -- I like to get them too to address my own deficiencies.

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Originally Posted by PeruvianSkies

I wonder if he is also confusing HDCD and SACD????

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Just a guess, but I suspect that the confusion arises from what appears on the disc. Many of my Telarc discs are tagged with the following: " This Compact Disc was produced from Direct Stream Digital masters made during the recording sessions with the Sony DSD recording system."

It would be pretty easy to not follow that through and realize, as Feanor said, that we're talking two seperate issues--the means of production and the method of replay.

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Originally Posted by bobsticks

Just a guess, but I suspect that the confusion arises from what appears on the disc. Many of my Telarc discs are tagged with the following: " This Compact Disc was produced from Direct Stream Digital masters made during the recording sessions with the Sony DSD recording system."

It would be pretty easy to not follow that through and realize, as Feanor said, that we're talking two seperate issues--the means of production and the method of replay.

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Thanks Feanor for clearing that up, I understand it much better now.

I did a little further research too. Apparently they eliminate the filters used for regular Red Book CDs when mastered or recorded in DSD to give it a more analog sound.

To actually listen to the DSD layer, you have to listen to an SACD on an SACD player. Red Book CDs that have "DSD" somewhere on the packaging have been converted from DSD to Red Book CDs through SBM (Super Bit Mapping), and as you mentioned, you can not listen to the DSD layer through Red Book CDs. I've also heard the Red Book CDs that have been converted from DSD do sound better than any other CDs.

Thanks again for your help. I'll certainly be searching for more CDs labeled with DSD as well as SACDs.