What is the DSD music format?
What is the DSD music recording format?
What is the PCM audio recording format?
Where to download or buy music recordings in DSD format
The DSD format is becoming increasingly popular as Internet connections accelerate and home appliances become more and more powerful. And if 10 years ago the mp3 format dominated unconditionally in computers and players, today there are more and more lovers of music recorded with high quality. Recently, several dozen people have asked me where to download music in DSD format. This really surprised me, because no one had asked me those questions before. It’s good that people are starting to value quality over compactness of audio files.
What is the DSD music recording format? What are DSD files?
To clearly imagine what DSD files are, we need to know a slightly different format: PCM.
I apologize for the fact that the video lesson is in English, unfortunately in Russian there are no good videos explaining the method of recording data in digital format in PCM format. However, even with a basic level of knowledge of the English language, you will understand almost everything, because the video has illustrative drawings.
What is the PCM audio recording format?
PCM is a pulse code modulation used to digitally represent analog signals. It is the standard form of digital audio in computers, CDs, digital telephony, and other digital audio applications. PCM is an uncompressed audio format that stores lossless audio data and often serves as the input for other types of audio files. For example, CD music is stored in PCM format with a resolution of 16 bit / 44.1 kHz.
The DSD format was developed by Sony and Philips in 1999 and was intended to replace the standard CD format. At that time it was called Super Audio CD or SACD. Today this format is called DSD.
You may have come across the name of the DXD format from time to time, and no, this is not a typo. This is a different type of file. DXD stands for Digital eXtreme Definition and is used when the original DSD signal has been converted to 24-bit / 352 kHz PCM. We can say that DXD is very high resolution PCM.
But going back to DSD, how good is it? The What Hi-Fi site finally put an end to this question, saying:
“There is no exact method or way to compare PCM and DSD formats one by one due to different encoding algorithms, but if you need a general idea then DSD is roughly equal in recording resolution to PCM 24 bit / 88.2 kHz. . As for the dynamic range, for DSD it is about 120 dB. In comparison, the dynamic range for a CD recording cannot exceed 96 dB, while a 24-bit / 192 kHz recording can theoretically have a dynamic range of up to 144 dB. ”
Where can I download or buy music recordings in DSD format?
We have talked very briefly about how DSD music recordings differ from others. In short, quality. Today, DSD recordings are of the highest quality and if your equipment supports DSD music playback, I recommend that you listen to only those records. Even with mid-range headphones, you’ll notice a difference, not to mention high-end headphones.
