Question DSD128 Where,How And advice..!

fubar925

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Hi,

Need some guidance and help for downloading some albums in dsd would prefer dsd128 but is there any other formats that compare or are easier to get hold of?.. I got a Eric Bibb dsd128 from opus3 and i like it but finding it hard to find anything that compares on paper so confused by it all.

Is there much diff between dsd128 and 64? sound for price?
Is dxd better than dsd128 or dsd64? if so bollox cant do dxd!!
I know in first question I ask if dsd128 is better I assume it is which is stopping buying dsd64 from sites like highresaudio..

I guess whats the best download site for dsd128? or if you guys could explain am i going to notice the diff with dsd64 or even flac192.. Or am i just looking at this from the wrong angle???

Cheers Brett
 
Depends whether you rate DSD that highly? Sony don't, it's creator, as they've admitted it really isn't that great. You are using a one bit sample, then oversamplaing it heavily to get an audio signal. Unfortunately you then have to heavily filter it to get an artefact free sound, hence DSD has been described as more 'smooth' or more 'analogue'. A better analogy would be 'more like Tape with heavy Dolby applied'. People say a lot of things about hires, but rule of thumb is, anything over 24/96 (PCM) or DSD64 is not going to make any difference. In many cases it can sound worse, depending on the source. A friend of mine has one of the new, high end DSD capable DAC's, and he can't hear any difference at all over DSD64. More importantly, it confirmed his view that DSD is not as good as quality PCM in terms of resolving power, accuracy, and fine detail.

Also bear in mind that the recording is making a big difference to what you hear. There are two examples out there of this. Yes- Close to the Edge and ELP - Brain Salad Surgery. The first 'Close to the Edge' was recorded on SACD (AF) it's terrible. The second, was recorded on DVD-A and is very good. Different tapes, different mastering engineers. With BSS the first is no more than okay, it was recorded in the early days of MC, the other was done recently, and is truly awful. Both are on DVD-A

Remember, it doesn't matter how good the format, if the original recording is poor, if the tape is old and worn, the resulting disc will be poor. You can't polish a doggy doo.

In all cases, whatever you prefer, CD, SACD, or whatever, decide on the basis of what you hear, not what you 'think' should sound better.

It's a trap many fall into.
 
Yes I think I am one that as fell into the trap I purchased the sony Hapz-1es....
 
Depends what you are looking for? 16/44 or Hires? There are several sites now catering to Hires, but the prices, as ever, are fixed across the board. You won't find anyone offering a big difference between themselves and HDtracks.

The biggest problem is not pricing, it's quality. Hires downloads are an absolute nightmare, as it's about 30/70% (some say 10/90) in terms of getting good quality, well mastered downloads. The only ones I've actually thought were 'that' good are the ZZ top boxset and they, unusually, gave full details of who mastered them and what with. Case in point: the Lou Reed remasters. Just been released, feedback on them, consistently poor. Heavily compressed, badly done.

Pretty much par for the course with regards hires downloads.

If you want 'good' hires take a look at the SACD/DVD-A and blu ray threads over on the music and streaming forum. There are plenty of recommendations there for discs to buy, and comments on what's hot, and what's not.
 
Not looking to buy discs would prefer to just download. The Sony is not a streamer and all music is kept on internal hard drive.
Also looking for DSD tracks I guess. Like I said I have the sony hap-z1es and looking to start getting some more use out of it if not then might move it on.

What forum the one here? Link?
 
Tbh, I can't happily recommend Hires downloads. However, it's up to you to decide. It might be better to stick with 16/44 downloads as the majority are straight CD rips as opposed to Hires, which has become a case of rushing as many albums out as they can with dismal quality control and 99 times out of a 100 no information as to who mastered the download and what is was taken from.

It is though, your money, and up to your ears to decide.

The link is:- Music & Music Streaming Services Forum | AVForums

Look for the threads on DVD-A/SACD and blu ray.

There are no threads on Hires downloads, as, quite frankly, peoples experience has not been good, the choice outside the USA is limited, and the downloads are expensive for what they are. There are though, links to download sites.
 
I have a few downloads from opus3 Eric Bibb which are fantastic both are dsd.. Which is why I was originally asking about the difference DSD64 and DSD128 is it worth the cash difference....!!

I dont want to fill it up with junk tracks if you know what I mean Sorry think got caught up in the Hires tag.. Im just looking for good dsd sites.

Thanks for the link.
 
I have a few downloads from opus3 Eric Bibb which are fantastic both are dsd.. Which is why I was originally asking about the difference DSD64 and DSD128 is it worth the cash difference....!!

I dont want to fill it up with junk tracks if you know what I mean Sorry think got caught up in the Hires tag.. Im just looking for good dsd sites.

Thanks for the link.
Simple answer, no. You 'might' hear a difference with an expensive, high end DSD capable DAC, but not otherwise.

DSD is hires. DSD encoding is not used for anything under 24bit.

Very few sites do DSD, and none do DSD only. So far.
 

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