Reviews of SACD players and discs say that the sound is warmer and closer to analog than CD — but aren CDs themselves supposed to be superior to analog recordings?
Yes, in many senses. The Pulse Code Modulation (PCM) technology used for CDs does offer a number of advantages over traditional forms of analog recording and reproduction — including increased clarity and expanded frequency response. But sound waves themselves are analog, no matter how they are recorded. And PCM does a great, but not a perfect, job of capturing and reproducing analog sound. Direct Stream Digital (DSD) is the advanced recording technology that makes SACD possible. Standard CDs use 44.1kHz/16-bit PCM (44,100 samples-per-second Pulse Code Modulation, encoded at 16-bit resolution) to represent audio in digital form. DSD, on the other hand, is a 1-bit technology that samples music 2.82 million times per second, capturing 4 times more information. DSD also eliminates several layers of filtration and modulation inherent in PCM technology. The combination of these factors allows SACD recordings to capture more faithfully the “warmth” and smoothness of the original performance.
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