PCM v DSD Comparison: 16/44.1, 24/96, 24/192, 64x DSD, 128x DSD

BlueFox

FYI:

"There's a lot of buzz about DSD, talk of CD's demise, and music offered in various PCM formats from CD-quality up to 24/192. What's a person who cares about the quality of their music reproduction experience to do? And the answer is, listen. I got the idea to listen to various files in different resolutions and formats after receiving some comments on my Mytek Stereo192-DSD DAC review asking about double rate DSD or 128x DSD. Namely, is 128x DSD better than 64x DSD. It sure sounds better, mathematically! But the only way I know to figure out if one thing sounds better than some other thing is to listen. So that's what I set about doing."

etc.........................

"Where does this leave us? Well, there's the pesky issue of the quality of the original recording which obviously trumps all of the above. Then there are all of the variables, some of which we've touched on here, which makes drawing any firm conclusions potentially misleading. But to my mind when speaking in generalities why not go for ideals? Sure CD-"quality" can sound really good but higher bit/sample rate PCM and DSD can sound better. How much better will come down to the quality of the recording, the quality of the transfer, the playback chain, and your listening habits and preferences. Better still, if you value music first, all of this takes its rightful place in line."

http://www.audiostream.com/content/dsd-v-pcm-file-comparison-16441-2496-24192-64x-dsd-128x-dsd

tonyb

Agreed, but the problem first in line is still......find a quality recording that you don't have to pay an arm and a leg for and is other than elevator music.....AND, how do you know your getting a quality recording when buying over the internet ? Back to square one when we rolled the dice on what quality of cd we were buying, no ? Hit or miss ? Reviews ?

Some places charge big time for quality recordings. If I have to buy 10 songs at 5 bucks a pop, I'm spending the same as 50 bucks for a cd. Not going to happen in the mass market. Unless quality recordings become more mainstream and at real world prices, high rez will continue to be a niche market.

brgman

tonyb wrote: »

Agreed, but the problem first in line is still......find a quality recording that you don't have to pay an arm and a leg for and is other than elevator music.....AND, how do you know your getting a quality recording when buying over the internet ? Back to square one when we rolled the dice on what quality of cd we were buying, no ? Hit or miss ? Reviews ?

Some places charge big time for quality recordings. If I have to buy 10 songs at 5 bucks a pop, I'm spending the same as 50 bucks for a cd. Not going to happen in the mass market. Unless quality recordings become more mainstream and at real world prices, high rez will continue to be a niche market.

I agree and also consider wether that hi-res audio you are buying is truly a well done piece or just part of the loudness war.
As i am sure most of you read the same sources as i do there have been several reviews comparing Hi-res to vinyl to cd to sacd and depending on who did the work and what they did it's still a crap shoot.
With one the hi-res beats the vinyl.The next it is reversed.
The worst part about this for me is how many copies of the same music i have procured over the years always looking for "the best" one.
And i see no end in sight.

tonyb

Well, most aren't going to be chasing down mutiple versions of their music collection anymore than owning 4 different versions of the same movie. Most will research a bit, buy a certain version and be done with it as long as it sounds pleasing to ones ears. Listening to music is one area that most do not want to be complicated, nor should it.