Originally Posted By: Hellcommute
DSD is arguably the best format ever. It is as close to the studio master you can get, so long as the mater was used, of course.

...

Cd audio vs dsd is like comparing dts to dts hd master. The differences are there, and huge, but your system will become the bottleneck for performance.

I can argue against DSD.

1. DSD has a finite slew rate, and is thus has a dynamic limitation when storing higher frequencies that isn't present for PCM. In fact you can take a 24-bit 192 kHz PCM, digital master, convert it to DSD, and then convert it back to PCM, and there will be changes in the data. That means PCM can store information that can't be represented by DSD.

2. DSD can't be processed by any standard DSP routines. So any normal work that is done during the mastering process has to be performed on PCM data, and then that is converted to DSD, which can be a lossy process (see #1).

3. It may be fair to say DSD is comparable to tape, but the only time tape is used during the modern recording process is as an effect (compression/saturation), and that's mostly emulated by DSPs these days (working on PCM data).

4. Receivers that can take DSD as an input format can only perform channel volume trims (and sometimes delay compensation) without converting the DSD to PCM. That means no Audyssey, or any sort of room correction/EQing, and not even a cross-over to send the lowest bass to a sub. If you want any of that to work you need to convert the stream to PCM, so why not use PCM in the first place?

5. Even Sony didn't submit DSD to be part of the Blu-ray spec. They knew it was a dead end, and have given up on it.


As for comparing CD audio to DSD vs. DTS vs. DTS-HD Master Audio. DTS was a lossy encoding scheme, as it can be argued that DSD is. CD is 16-bit, 44.1 kHz lossless. Nearly all BDs that use DTS-HD MA are 24-bit, 48 kHz lossless. So, quite a bit more dynamic range, but nothing more worth noting in the frequency response. I'd say that DTS-HD MA has more in common with the standard audio CD than the original DTS spec. The biggest addition is the inclusion of more than two channels.


Pioneer PDP-5020FD, Marantz SR6011
Axiom M5HP, VP160HP, QS8
Sony PS4, surround backs
-Chris