Just got a catalogue in the mail from a music shop - selling a Korg MR1 DSD recording device, which is Sony's super audio format.
This is a very interesting format that I am surprised to see in a pro audio device - I thought it was basically dead as a format and PCM was going to stay.
For anyone who doesn't know about DSD basically it records audio in 2.8mhz (not 44.1khz!) in a 1bit stream. The supposed effect is that this in effect "analogues digital". It means that the wave recreation creates very pure sine waves at very high sample rates, and supposedly no more "bit rate" head room issues, since it has a very high headroom and thus the ability to record much greater live dynamics than pcm technology. Of course it requires a completely different set of processing systems and it would mean that all of todays plug ins, and platforms would have to be re-written - most of the technology behind the plug ins themselves, as I understand it, is useless and you can't simply "port" it over, it requires a completely new set of application.
But it is very interesting for what it does to sound quality. Naturally PCM is here to stay for quite some years, and I would assume the next step would be that IF this technology becomes more and more mainstream we will be able to play both PCM and DSD tracks within a platform like Cubase or Logic for some time after that. But it is really a dream come true in as far as fidelity is concerned.
I have only had the opportunity to listen to a DSD recording, which was transferred directly to DSD from the original analogue master 2 track, and that is dark side of the moon by pink flloyd, although it was converted to 192khz 24bit before being converted to analogue for listening (that is the fault of the SACD player I was using, I haven't heard a true DSD straight to analogue player in action) - but regardless I can say that the sound quality it was very noticeably improved, it really sounded like tape and the bass was very different, and the top end much smoother but not less bright. It really sounded like I was listening to a master tape and a side by side comparison with the re mastered 16bit CD version it was noticably different, and definitely more music. Well, that is my personal impression of it.
I wonder what the engineers - Dietz? - at VSL think about this burgeoning technology - does it have legs - future applications - presumably it's something that is more than 10 years down the track and certainly I would assume it's not really applicable to current VSL plans for some time, but it terms of future proof fidelity - as i understand it, it basically can't be beaten - are you looking at recording future libraries with a DSD recording side by side with the PCM process for future re-editing and re-release? Just wondering.
Regards,
Miklos.
This is a very interesting format that I am surprised to see in a pro audio device - I thought it was basically dead as a format and PCM was going to stay.
For anyone who doesn't know about DSD basically it records audio in 2.8mhz (not 44.1khz!) in a 1bit stream. The supposed effect is that this in effect "analogues digital". It means that the wave recreation creates very pure sine waves at very high sample rates, and supposedly no more "bit rate" head room issues, since it has a very high headroom and thus the ability to record much greater live dynamics than pcm technology. Of course it requires a completely different set of processing systems and it would mean that all of todays plug ins, and platforms would have to be re-written - most of the technology behind the plug ins themselves, as I understand it, is useless and you can't simply "port" it over, it requires a completely new set of application.
But it is very interesting for what it does to sound quality. Naturally PCM is here to stay for quite some years, and I would assume the next step would be that IF this technology becomes more and more mainstream we will be able to play both PCM and DSD tracks within a platform like Cubase or Logic for some time after that. But it is really a dream come true in as far as fidelity is concerned.
I have only had the opportunity to listen to a DSD recording, which was transferred directly to DSD from the original analogue master 2 track, and that is dark side of the moon by pink flloyd, although it was converted to 192khz 24bit before being converted to analogue for listening (that is the fault of the SACD player I was using, I haven't heard a true DSD straight to analogue player in action) - but regardless I can say that the sound quality it was very noticeably improved, it really sounded like tape and the bass was very different, and the top end much smoother but not less bright. It really sounded like I was listening to a master tape and a side by side comparison with the re mastered 16bit CD version it was noticably different, and definitely more music. Well, that is my personal impression of it.
I wonder what the engineers - Dietz? - at VSL think about this burgeoning technology - does it have legs - future applications - presumably it's something that is more than 10 years down the track and certainly I would assume it's not really applicable to current VSL plans for some time, but it terms of future proof fidelity - as i understand it, it basically can't be beaten - are you looking at recording future libraries with a DSD recording side by side with the PCM process for future re-editing and re-release? Just wondering.
Regards,
Miklos.
