Hardcore

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Talos - I believe you may be missing the point. In my system, to me and everyone I have ever had listen to it, DSD sounds so much better than PCM that it is not even a contest. With DSD, the soundstage is soooo much larger, the details soooo much more present, transients soooo much more forceful, the sound soooo much more "natural," that I often wonder why the "debate" over PCM vs. DSD even exists (between audiophiles...) Have you ever A/B'd PCM vs. DSD recordings (I know, it is difficult to know what the original master is and etc., etc., etc.)? I have multiple versions of Dire Straits - Brothers in Arms (which, interestingly, I understand were made from a PCM master) including the DVD audio (high-rez PCM), the XRCD (16/44 PCM) and the SACD. The SACD is hands down superior in every way. Similarly, I have multiple versions of CCR's hits including high-rez PCM and the SACD is so much better that it is almost laughable. I am 100% confident that anyone listening to my system would come to the same conclusion and cannot even fathom someone preferring any of the PCM versions. I stopped comparing a long time ago due to the landslide supremacy of DSD. Without actually knowing all of the technical details/differences between the formats, I believe its superiority has something to do with the time domain as it is really the "natural" sound signature that I believe sets DSD apart and makes ALL PCM (including 24/192) sound digital in comparison. My recommendation: Buy a Sony SCD-XA5400ES SACD player and compare SACDs w/the redbook layer and make some DSD discs from some DSD downloads--I would be curious to see if your opinion changes. This player has been hailed for not only is SACD performance but redbook performance as well; however, on dual-disc SACDs, the PCM layer was miles away from the SACD layer. While I wish that PCM were as good as DSD due to the fact that 95%+ of my collection is PCM, I am still searching for a DAC that can rival SACD and doubt that I will ever find one. I am waiting for more DSD dacs to come out and the availability/re-release of more DSD downloads. As far as a sustainable advantage, I believe it is the vastly superior sound quality of DSD that COULD make it the future of digital. But I suppose you could always ask why it has not "caught on" after 10+ years of existence...Quite frankly, I am shocked that it has not taken off yet and can only conclude that not enough people have had a chance to experience DSD on an adequate system.

I believe that you will soon be able to stream DSD digitally over USB. There is a DAC coming out from Mytek that touts this capability although I do not know the details. Currently, you can download pure DSD files and rip them to DVD-R (to make a "DSD" disc) and then play the DSD disc on only one or two SACD players on the market (the Sony SCD-XA5400ES is one). I am hoping that instead of having to rip DSD discs, more manufacturers will make DACs that allow DSD streaming (over USB) and that this will help high-resolution DSD downloads become more popular. Bluecoast Records is the only place I know of that offers DSD downloads (and a couple of independent artists have released their albums via DSD download).

Hi Chris - Great site! I have been casually visiting this site for a couple years now but do not remember you discussing DSD much before this thread. It is somewhat surprising to me given that I believe DSD sounds so much better than PCM that it is not even a contest. I know that there are some people, including mastering engineers who swear by PCM and that the "debate" rages on for some people, but to me (and everyone I know, including non-audiophiles who have heard my system) DSD is WAAAAYYYY better, more analog and natural sounding. In any case, I am really looking forward to you reviewing the newer DSD dacs that are coming out. The Mytek Stereo 192 DAC comes to mind, which is supposed to accept DSD over USB. ...I am really hoping DSD downloads catch on!