Quote:
Originally Posted by Shadowman82
As I'm sure most of you are aware there are several players on the market today that can pass SA-CD via HDMI which of coarse is much more convenient than all the analog cables . From what I've seen however most players that can do this convert the signal to PCM .
Does that in anyway negatively affect the sound of the SA-CD ? Are there any players that can leave the DSD intact and still pass the signal over HDMI ?
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HDMI 1.2 spec includes support for DSD bitstream. However I don't know of any player that actually uses it.
If you are an "SACD Purist," converting DSD to PCM essentially defeats the purpose of SACD's philosophy (lack of "brickwall" PCM filter), and you are in essence converting DSD to what DVD-Audio was. You will be banished from the kingdom of SACD for even considering such a thing. And, both SACD Purists and DVD-Audio purists would probably argue based on audiophilic (is that a word?) theory that you'd end up with a lower quality output in the end by converting DSD to PCM as opposed to just mastering to PCM from the start. It would be a big no-no in the audiophile "what is cool, what is blasphemy" book.
However, in reality, there no audible difference between the two anyway, so it doesn't really matter. Sony's most popular SACD player (PS3) converts DSD to PCM. If you do hear a difference, it is probably more placebo/mental block than actual audible difference. Its also worth mentioning that DACs have advanced and it is likely a modern DAC decoding PCM will do a better job than an older one decoding DSD in general... When you use those analog outputs you are tieing yourself to the aging DACs in your SACD player.
In conclusion, I say go with the more convenient HDMI that likely is also using superior DACs if you have a decent modern receiver and probably offering superior sound because of the evolution of DACs over time (nothing to do with the format or way it is delivered).
You must realize that I really had to restrain myself in this post to not bring up you know what and how it makes my entire post irrelevant
