| Is Super Audio Compact Disc Technology Worth It? |
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| Electronics - Gadgets |
| Written by Shane Rofrigues |
| Thursday, 08 January 2009 10:02 |
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Today's audiophiles and music lovers have wide arrays of options when it comes to music listening and recording. The latest innovations in home audio are Super Audio Compact Disc and DVD-Audio. Each of this has its distinct leap from present CD format technology, in which, each comes with its own great quality sound and storage capacity.
Today's audiophiles and music lovers have wide arrays of options when it comes to music listening and recording. The latest innovations in home audio are Super Audio Compact Disc and DVD-Audio. Each of this has its distinct leap from present CD format technology, in which, each comes with its own great quality sound and storage capacity. The underlying difference between normal CD versus SACD technology is how the data are encoded. CD format and DVD format make use of the digital encoding of analog signals through the so-called PCM process or pulse code modulation. PCM takes on the digital snapshots of an analog signal wave from varied points within the wave's motion. The CD player then reads the corresponding data found on a compact disc, after which, it converts the snapshots back to sound waves. This is done by interpolating the approximate values in accordance with the waveform and loading them between the "snapshots" acquired by the pulse code modulation process, which is then depicted as music by the amplifier. On the other hand, DVD-Audio or SACD has a finer PCM potential because of the sampling speeds. DVD-Audio sampling speeds are 96 kHz, 24 bit. It also has two channel or six channel data at 129kHz. Additionally, DVD-Audio provides a storage capacity with seven times more than the current compact disc technology. Such add-on capacity may be used for lengthy recordings, or advanced quality sound, plus visual contents that are accessible via PC-liner notes or television, artist bios, video clips, photo galleries, or song lyrics. On the other hand, SACD features new technology known as DSD or Direct Stream Digital, which is touted as the "PCM killer" by two huge companies, Philips and Sony. Direct Stream Digital enhances music resolution to an admirable degree, even greater than DVD-Audio, by means of following closely to the music's original waveform. With the DSD method, SACD do not have to interpolate the data. The music is recorded at a higher sampling rate like 2.8224 Mhz. And theoretically, the sound result is superior even in comparison with a DVD-Audio sound. And another notable distinction between normal CD and SACD technology is that, SACD provides six times greater storage capacity than CD format. DSD of the SACD is alot better than the PCM of CDs, because it contains more musical data. As a result the music sounds fresher, warmer and smoother than that of CDs. The purity of the music is retained with SACD. Moreover, such unprecedented sonic realism is enhanced further by multichannel SACD's. Some of these are taped in two channel stereos, but lots have taken advantage of its ability to stow music up to six discrete channels. Above all, multichannel SACD is highly designed for ultra compatibility with home theater system comprised of the average 5.1 channel. Although much better in sound quality and reproduction, the cost of new audio equipment may be slightly out of some people's budget. The great thing about SACD and DVD-Audio players is that they also can play CD and DVD-Video formats. No need to double up in equipment. Overall, if you truly love the sonic fidelity of more data and smoother tone, why not consider adding a SACD player to you system. In addition, it makes an awesome addition to your home theater system. |