Highly Biased Output: The Battle is Over, The War Has Been One — Or, A Little Bit on SACD
Jennifer WhiteWolf Crock

"One? Don’t you mean ‘won’?" you ask.

Nope, I really do mean "one," as in one-bit digital. Delta-sigma modulation is the technical name for it. Translated into everyday speak, all that audio Greek just means "change in amount."

The regular old digital that we have been living with for so long, and that most of us have been forever complaining about, worked by taking a measurement of the analog audio signal voltage every so often, and recording the whole precise number of that measurement, at least as precise as the steps of the voltmeter could measure. That measurement of voltage magnitude was limited until recently to a binary number 20 bits in length. Yes Virginia, even a standard CD could hold 20 bits of data per channel, per sample period, even though we were delivered only 16 bits most of the time. This measurement was made a little over 44 thousand times a second. In recent times, DVD format allowed us to up the precision of the voltage measurement by a small amount, up to a theoretical 24 bits of binary word length. We could take the measurements a little more often too, double, or a little over double as often, at 96 thousand times per second. All of these systems employ what is known as Pulse Code Modulation, or PCM, for short. The so called 96/24 standard did improve the sonic quality a little bit over that of a standard CD, but the difference was small, not enough to drive a total change in the culture of mass audio recording and equipment production. What was needed if we were to successfully get away from the crappy sound of CD was something totally revolutionary, something stunningly better.

Over a decade ago some DBX engineers down in California refined a new method of digitizing and recording audio signals. They figured that if you looked at a signal often enough, it would have changed in magnitude very little when compared to the measurement taken just before it. They were right. Rather than ‘record’ a very large number representing the total magnitude of the signal during that measurement period, all one really needed to do was greatly increase the sampling rate, then record if the signal went up, or if it went down. This is about as small a number to keep track of as there is: a "1" for going up, or and "-1" for going down. A state of no change at all ("0") is easy to record. A string of alternating 1s and 0s would average out to a net zero change. Free from having to hold large numbers, the overall recording system could hold measurements taken much more often. Make that MUCH more often. Instead of thousands of times per second, the new system could take a measurement MILLIONS of time per second, and still store the results comfortably.

Sonically, the result was a recording of incredible resolution, with spectacular tonality, harmonic structure and dimensionality of stereo image. It put the very best of analog tape recorders to shame; it made PCM digital sound like a crappy phone connection.

All was not well with the new idea, though, as it was very difficult to edit recordings made in the new way. Clumsy video tape was the only medium that could then hold the unique digital signal. More powerful and much faster computers would have to be available at affordable prices to make editing recordings made in the new method a practical endeavor. Better recording media would also be needed. The project was shelved and time passed. Over the next decade and more, computers evolved, and got much cheaper — the stage was being set.

Who would have guessed that SONY, never before a leader in anything really high performance, would have picked up the ball, but they did. They hired the best minds in the industry from around the world and set to work to make Delta-Sigma Digital recording technology a commercial reality. SACD, for Super Audio Compact Disc is the result.

I have heard the future, and the future is SACD. No question, the format war is over. SACD is the winner. The sonic performance of this system is far beyond even the very best analog recording systems; I don’t think that any other enhanced format will prevail.

Unlike DVD-based PCM music storage systems, very little hype predated the arrival of the new audio King. In the 3 years that DVD-based music systems have been around, all the forces in that game have yet to bring even as many as 100 titles to publication — and what titles they are! Come on guys, how many times can you listen to the sound track of Glory, or get off on Sex Without Bodies? SORRY! Gimme Miles Davis. Gimme a Beethoven symphony. Gimme some knock down screamin’ blues! Oh gosh, the SACD crowd already has! Major artists from the past are being re-mastered in such fidelity, that what you get on the silver disc is virtually indistinguishable from the master tape. Original recordings done in the DSD/SACD format are just as the engineer hears with the live mic feed. Believe me, I know what this sounds like. I actually do live recording with Sennheiser MKH Series R-F capsule mics and a pair of Studer A-80 Mk II-VU high speed mastering decks. I know what live mics sound like, and know what losses I hear on even the very best analog and PCM digital recording gear. These loses DO NOT EXIST in the DSD/SACD system.

The results are, in a word, incredible.

I was very familiar with the theory, the math, and the overall technology behind the SACD format, and was anxiously awaiting its release. I knew that, in theory, it had to be better. Everything about the system was correct, and better sound had to result. It just had to. In spite of all this expectation for musical excellence, I have to admit that when I finally got the chance to sit down and listen to the new format, I was stunned.

Disc after disc revealed an inner beauty and naturalness of sound that had eluded mass-produced recordings. I had seen high-end audio rise, and go into decay; I had lost my deep interest in music recording and the audio business in general. But just a few short moments with the new format changed my attitude. Suddenly my mind was filled with imaginations of what could be possible, and I was filled to the brim with an enthusiasm for music and audio that had been gone for years.

I was mesmerized by the EASE of presentation, the way music effortlessly floats in space the way it does when real live musicians play real un-amplified instruments. I was knocked over with the IMPACT of unimpeded transients cresting and dying away without artifacts of compression or ringing-on after the fact. I was LULLED by the deep quiet and stillness of the space between the musicians and the ability to really hear the recording environment. I was even SHOCKED to hear tape hiss on the analog sourced re-masters that actually sounded like REAL tape hiss.

You might think you know what I am talking about, but unless you have lived with really good analog tape recording and done live recording, you haven’t a clue. You see, the hiss has a tonal character and a spatial character. On a master tape, it ‘floats’ like a translucent veil, and is separate from the music, never attached to the notes or voices. One easily listens ‘around’ or ‘through’ the veil of quiet hiss, and easily tosses it into non-perception. Duplication of a master tape destroys this separateness of the hiss, and attaches it to the sounds and sonic images, making itself heard and hard to ignore. Worse yet, make a PCM digital copy and the tonal character of the hiss changes and becomes outright irritating. With SACD, the hiss from the analog masters retained its proper tonal character and it did the heretofore impossible: it stayed in its veil, unattached to the music, floating as a separate element in space.

If you read of, or hear people that say, "SACD is no big deal," you MUST immediately ask yourself if they are deaf, if they have a mediocre audio system, or if they have hidden agendas. Only these reasons could explain why anyone wouldn’t be absolutely shocked by the beauty of SACD music.

In a few short weeks companies will be either introducing SACD format players at the Winter Consumer Electronic Show or announcing their intention to do so. Record companies and recording studios have flooded Sonic Solutions with orders for DSD/SACD editing workstations. Sony and brilliant digital specialists like Ed Meitner can’t keep up with demand for recorders and converters. Already major retail record chains like Tower are carrying some SACD recordings, often for less than $20! The specialty audio music catalogs are beginning to feature both new recordings and re-releases of great titles, in stock, for immediate shipment! The hardware is barely on the shelves, but the music already proliferating. This spells success in my book. It WILL be the future, and that future is now only a short wait away. I just gotta borrow a phrase from Martha Stewart, cause no other phrase can say it better: "It’s a good thing!"