Here is another "new" CD format = 24bit to 16bit

[FastEddy]

... ...

" The 24 bit word is then converted to 16 bits using K2 Super Coding ,which insures true 16 bit dynamic range.The 16 bit signal is then EFM encoded ..." From http://www.xrcd.com/tech/xrcd24d_e.html

None of these folks quite get the message. "All CDs suck ..." - Bob Dylan.

If JVC (or any other producer) is going to enough trouble to obtain 24 bit master recordings, why don't they just produce DVD-A or SACD optical 24 bit discs directly from these master and skip the compression process to 16 bits altogether?

This is just garbage out as far as I can tell.

[rabbitz]

Lots out there with CD players and a huge market but very few with SACD and DVD-A. Are those formats still a go or are they almost dead?

I take it you like the AD825 by your avatar. Just tried it in a CD player this week and a really nice opamp.

[Netlist]

AD825 thread split off to Trading Post.

/Hugo

[FastEddy]

" ... Plant at least two trees for each one you chop. ..."

Good thinkin' ... Here in the states we have a problem with disappearing bees = population about decimated (no kidding, less than 10% lbee pop. left in the west).

So I say: "Plant at least twenty flowers for each one you mow down."

(BTW: you are right to stick that blatent commercial punt for Analog in the Trading Post.)

[Netlist]

I could tell you some about the bees but that requires another topic and preferably another forum.

/Hugo

[Pano]

Thanks for the link. I read thru the JVC doc. Interesting reading. I don't know too much about the production flow in CD mastering, but it at least sounds like someone is trying to get it right.

Even in "perfect" digital there is so much that can go wrong. I work with digital images and can certainly swear to that.

Did you notice that the mastering console is analog? Wonder why? And what are they doing with the console? Track leveling? EQ? Compression? Then it goes back to 24 bit, then on to the pressing plant. Doesn't really adddress the over compressed, over EQed CD problem, just the signal flow/bit flow problem.

Might be worth some more digging for some real technical details on the process.

[Graham Maynard]

Is 24>16bit not what Sheffield Labs were doing as far back as the '80s ?

[FastEddy]

" ... Is 24>16bit not what Sheffield Labs were doing as far back as the '80s ? ..." ... and what almost all modern recording studios do now ?

[trunkmonkey]

Doubt if SACD is dead - OPPO DVD players are the new rage with buget minded HT people.

[DSP_Geek]

Originally posted by panomaniac
[...]
Even in "perfect" digital there is so much that can go wrong. I work with digital images and can certainly swear to that.

Did you notice that the mastering console is analog? Wonder why? And what are they doing with the console? Track leveling? EQ? Compression? Then it goes back to 24 bit, then on to the pressing plant. Doesn't really adddress the over compressed, over EQed CD problem, just the signal flow/bit flow problem.

Might be worth some more digging for some real technical details on the process.

Yup, things can go wrong in digital - if the signal isn't dealt with correctly. I work with an outfit which takes great pains in working with digital audio (can't mention the name, sorry) and it's not quite as obvious as slapping together a pile of filters and hoping everything works. Analog has pretty darn good dynamic range, and its noise floor is non-quantised, whereas you do want to be careful about dithering when you get to the bottom of digital's dynamic range. It's not impossible, of course, but engineers hadn't learned the proper reflexes when the first digital products came out. Things are better now, but you can still tell the rookies.