[James Tanner]

HI Folks,

Interesting article on DSD - I have the PDF if you want it - jamestanner@bryston.com

[Phil A]

The link to the pdf is here - http://www.grimmaudio.com/site/assets/files/1088/dsd_myth.pdf

[Phil A]

The conclusion is interesting and echoes what I've been saying that as consumers we do not have the power to dictate what hi-rez gets released in a particular format (the same as the DVD-A/SACD format war where one would read peoples comments and it sounded like one was a low-rez MP3 and the other was great when it reality they were both nice hi-rez)

"A fi nal remark. If in our opinion 192/24 fi les
are a better choice than DSD fi les, then why do
we include the ‘DoP’ DSD format in the USB
interface for our LS1? The reason is simple.
Until recently there were just two important
formats for musical content, CD’s with 44.1/16
and SACD’s with 64 fs DSD. A lot of wonderful
music has been released in these formats and
recently the SACD masters are becoming
available as online downloads. We want to
enable our customers to enjoy that music and
therefore we will support every quality format.
In our view it is music over format, not the
other way around."

[barrows]

The folks at Grimm Audio know exactly what they are talking about and I could not agree more.  The current fervor over DSD is a little ridiculous to me, and yes I have two DSD capable DACs (my DIY Twisted Pear Audio Buffalo with Sonore USB interface and PS Audio DS) here, and many DSD downloads and SACD rips.  And yes, I have also heard a "pure" DSD DAC which only passively filters the single bitstream to produce its output (nice, but some artifacts).

These guys make the best DSD A/D in the world, as they mention, listen to Jared's recordings, excellent.  Sure, DSD can sound great.  But the current fervor where DSD is given almost magical qualities by some is not founded in reality.
I listen to DSD as that is the best version of some music which I can get my hands on, I listen to PCM because that is the best version of some music I can get my hands on.
The only drawback with high resolution PCM is that it needs to be done right to sound good.  The digital filters need to be figured out for subjective sound performance, and not just compliance with the Nyquist theorem.

I am really looking forward to the Mola Mola DAC (although I will not be able to afford it), as I think it will be awesome with all formats in both measured and subjective performance.  And, I am keeping my fingers crossed that Hypex will produce a DIY DAC based on Bruno Putzey's work developing the Mola Mola...

Now for manufacturers like Bryston, it makes sense to include DSD playback in your DAC, specifically for the same reasons mentioned in the Grimm paper: there are some great DSD recordings out there, and customers should be able to play the best version available of ther music which they love.

[HT cOz]

The current DSD craze is due to the hacking of the Playstation and the subsequent ripping of SACD. If it were not for that development people wouldn't care because they had little interest in buying SACD.  It would be interesting to see a chart of used SACD prices and the impact of the Playstation hack on that market.

[Phil A]

The current DSD craze is due to the hacking of the Playstation and the subsequent ripping of SACD. If it were not for that development people wouldn't care because they had little interest in buying SACD.  It would be interesting to see a chart of used SACD prices and the impact of the Playstation hack on that market.

There's no doubt that it is a large contributing factor given the price point one can get a PS3 for.

[ted_b]

The folks at Grimm Audio know exactly what they are talking about and I could not agree more.  The current fervor over DSD is a little ridiculous to me, and yes I have two DSD capable DACs (my DIY Twisted Pear Audio Buffalo with Sonore USB interface and PS Audio DS) here, and many DSD downloads and SACD rips.  And yes, I have also heard a "pure" DSD DAC which only passively filters the single bitstream to produce its output (nice, but some artifacts).

These guys make the best DSD A/D in the world, as they mention, listen to Jared's recordings, excellent.  Sure, DSD can sound great.  But the current fervor where DSD is given almost magical qualities by some is not founded in reality.
I listen to DSD as that is the best version of some music which I can get my hands on, I listen to PCM because that is the best version of some music I can get my hands on.
The only drawback with high resolution PCM is that it needs to be done right to sound good.  The digital filters need to be figured out for subjective sound performance, and not just compliance with the Nyquist theorem.

I am really looking forward to the Mola Mola DAC (although I will not be able to afford it), as I think it will be awesome with all formats in both measured and subjective performance.  And, I am keeping my fingers crossed that Hypex will produce a DIY DAC based on Bruno Putzey's work developing the Mola Mola...

Now for manufacturers like Bryston, it makes sense to include DSD playback in your DAC, specifically for the same reasons mentioned in the Grimm paper: there are some great DSD recordings out there, and customers should be able to play the best version available of ther music which they love.

+1  I have been saying that since 2011.  It's not that DSD is better (everybody wants to rank everything) but there is no logic in refuting a treasure trove of newly available higher resolution music.  Why would a gold miner look the other way when he finds a once dead silver mine with newly found silver veins in it.  Mine it, for damn sure! 

For many titles, it's the only way to hear that music in hirez (even if it's PCM-based, unfortunately, although the masters are now finding their way to the hirez PCM side too, finally).  As I've been saying since day one of this: "if it's recorded in PCM, let me hear it in PCM; if it's recorded or mastered (analog tape transfers) in DSD, let me hear it in DSD."  I don't have an R2R tape machine, so those are my main choices.