Popular Post Chris A Posted August 28, 2020 Popular Post Share Posted August 28, 2020 On 4/25/2017 at 2:39 PM, The Computer Audiophile said: I just read this post on DSD Guide about DSD and dynamic range. The post is a bit misleading, especially the sentence, "For me this analysis clearly shows that DSD has the best DR values." On 9/26/2017 at 10:47 AM, The_K-Man said: Mastering (and to a big extent mixing) plays a far more significant role in how the finished product sounds than does format. This thread, to me, exemplifies the anti-pattern of the drunk looking for his car keys under the streetlight because the light is better there. Engineers (like me) tend to do that a lot in order to stay away from those subjects that they know little about. I think The_K-Man has the right answer as to why, in practice, early DSD music tracks typically have measurably more dynamic range, but no one here has seemingly paid much attention. In this case, we're talking both about greater crest factor and/or EBU R 128 loudness levels. Does anyone here understand that DSD files cannot be edited (i.e., "mastered") in DSD without first converting them to some form of PCM? (Even Sonoma converts to PCM internally before editing DSD files). So the format itself--DSD--is one that forces those who put out music albums to either: 1) put them out without change from the mix-down tracks, or 2) to lie to the consumer and in fact convert to PCM so that they can be "mastered" (i.e., a euphemism to re-EQ and edit using other nice little tricks), then converted back to DSD. This is the chief reason why, in practice, early DSD tracks before Sonoma workstations hit the scene sounded better and had higher dynamic range: they weren't edited into corned beef hash. Sonoma actually lies about not converting to PCM. They do it--but you can't see when they do it (as Mark Waldrep pointed out in his article linked above). Nowadays, the record companies most often simply take the PCM master tracks and convert them to DSD, and call them "DSD" so they don't have to spend the money on Sonoma workstations. They lie by omission. Audiophiles typically have a blind spot about this portion of the music making business, that is, what the record companies do to the music before the consumer buys them. If there was a law that said that mixing and mastering people had to list the exact sequences and parameters of commands used for every music track that they produce, some/many of those people that call themselves "mastering engineers" would go to jail for falsification of records by lying to their customers about what they're actually doing. And most audiophiles I find don't want to know what's happening (...sort of like taking a tour through an abattoir...most people don't want to know). When you ask those who are in the business of "making the sausage" what they actually do to their product, I find that they rationalize their actions away...but not before you catch them with a smoking gun in hand, i.e., hard data to prove what they've done. Then they say something like "I have to make a living...", and appeal to their jury (the audiophiles) that "everybody does it", etc. Don't look too closely or you might find something that might disturb you. Chris sandyk and One and a half 2 "Those professional loudspeakers with dedicated electronics have a huge advantage over passive loudspeakers. Consumers in general, especially high-end audiophiles, have not caught up with the advantages that technology has to offer. Good loudspeakers and amplifiers can deliver good sound, but merging them with dedicated digital crossovers, equalizers and amplifiers designed for those specific loudspeaker components, in their specific enclosure, can yield even better sound." F. Toole, 2018, Sound Reproduction the Acoustics and Psychoacoustics of Loudspeakers and Rooms, 3rd ed., chap. 12.5, pg 356. Link to comment
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