DSD-Guide

24/07/2022

How many have you heard?

See the chronological breakdown.

18/05/2022

Join our newsletter for DSD-Guide. Learn more about this high fidelity format!

Simply put… an SACD is a disc and DSD is a file type that can live as an audio file anywhere.. a hard drive, a disc, a USB drive, etc. DSD64 can live on an SACD. But, if you want to hear DSD256... you need to have a DAC (soundcard equivalent) that processes the sound from Digital to Analog.. SACD ...

31/01/2022

Are you interested to hear the difference between DSD, WAV and FLAC? Join our newsletter and get helpful audio hints weekly. https://dsdguide.substack.com/p/dsd-guide-why-cant-i-hear-the-difference

Critical listening doesn't come right away to new audiophiles. Often you experience great sound played back on someone else's system then you crave to have it at your home. Not everyone cares but for some, it’s a life long adventure. Once you are bitten by the bug for better quality, it's really h...

28/12/2021

Sign up for our NEW newsletter on substack. https://dsdguide.substack.com/ 2022 is going to be re-energized focus on our favorite audio format, Direct Stream Digital!

Learn about high quality sound for pro audio and consumers alike. Click to read DSD-Guide’s Newsletter, a Substack publication with tens of thousands of readers.

13/08/2021

New article about Spatial Audio in DSD-Guide. https://dsd-guide.com/how-are-studio-engineers-turning-dolby-atmos-apple-spatial-music

Apple brought Spatial Audio into our music world like gang busters with millions of dollars being spent on ad campaigns. Is Spatial Audio the rebirth of music the way iTunes ushered in the world of digital audio with devices, music and non stop ads? Is it really better?

13/05/2021

An excellent article from Positive-Feedback on production techniques used for DSD recording by Rushton Paul. Enjoy! https://positive-feedback.com/audio-discourse/dsd256/

Pure DSD256 What We Hear

24/02/2021

What does a HiFi tier at Spotify mean to DSD listening and downloads? Read more how this development might impact the world of music and audio.

Welcome to DSD GuideYour guide to better audio quality! Test your system with 8 formats of one song and compare! How do you know if your system play...

02/02/2021

Want to play DSD audio on your iPhone? here's a way!

Welcome to DSD GuideYour guide to better audio quality! Buy Two Albums and Get One Free in all formats! Find out how here Test your system with 8 f...

09/01/2021

Samples and bits... no, it's not dog food... it's audio. Join our newsletter for weekly information.

Welcome to DSD GuideYour guide to better audio quality! Buy Two Albums and Get One Free in all formats! Find out how here Test your system with 8 f...

06/01/2021

Will DSD downloads get lost? Or will they become the darlings of the audiophile world like vinyl did? Want to get our newsletter? Join now.

Welcome to DSD GuideYour guide to better audio quality! Buy Two Albums and Get One Free in all formats! Find out how here Test your system with 8 f...

18/06/2020

Want to join the DSD-Guide mailing list?
News and information on DSD and all things sound send once a week.! http://madmimi.com/signups/7a8f34d0d7784eaa9b0a156b1c1d1355/join

12/04/2020

In this week's issue of the DSD-Guide newsletter. Sign up at the website to receive DSD and the community news.
https://dsd-guide.com/lost-art-listening-audio-quality-slowly-enters-mainstream-consciousness

We found this interesting article that describes how the world is slowly changing to a better quality audio playback. With Amazon's HD Music, Tidal, Qobuz and others, it seems the time is ripe for better sound.

19/12/2019

DSD-Guide -- end of year awards! Get a $5 coupon code for participating. See rules in the form. Loading…

It's coming to the close of 2019 and we want to know what you think about HD Music! Answer 5 questions and get a $5 coupon for use at BlueCoastMusic.com A $10 minimum purchase is required to use the $5 coupon. Offer ends Dec 31, 2019. Coupons good until March 31, 2020. If you can't get into the surv...

22/11/2019

Need ideas for gift giving? DSD-Guide suggests a few ways to include music in your season of giving. Happy Holidays!

CDs, vinyl and cassettes used to be an easy way to give someone you love a gift at the Holidays. Kind of like baking cookies, it was something we did that could express an emotional feeling from yourself or because you knew the other person so well that you could introduce them to new music or give....

14/11/2019

Are you ready for DSD256? Check out Geeta Novotny's new recording. Beautiful!

A wonderful new album by Geeta Novotny. Operatic overtones swirl around contemporary acoustic instruments. Enjoy!
https://bluecoastmusic.com/geeta-novotny/rebelle

26/10/2019

Neil Young thinks Amazon's Ultra HD high resolution subscription tier is a game changer. Read Wired Magazine's article by Jesse Jarnow who interviews Neil for the story. Also included is Blue Coast Music's founder, Cookie Marenco, discussing the future of DSD audio.

Most people know of Neil Young as the iconic rocker from days of Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young and his decades long career in music that influenced the likes of Pearl Jam and others. Audiophiles might remember him for the Pono high resolution portable music device. Wired Magazine offered a wonderfu...

18/10/2019

Sign up to receive DSD-Guide newsletter once a week. News and information on high resolution music.

Welcome to DSD-Guide.com! _________________________________________________________ Reincarnation - Gregory James Band, featuring Kai Eckhardt http...

13/09/2019

This week's DSD-Guide newsletter. Sign up at DSD-Guide.com to receive your newsletter each week that talks about high end audio from DSD to PCM to CDs, vinyl and tape... all things sound... and get updates on latest DSD256 releases. https://madmimi.com/s/98884f

Welcome to DSD-Guide.com! _________________________________________________________ Blue Coast Collection original! -- The Audiophile Edition in DSD...

01/09/2019

Now available in DSD256 from Blue Coast Records... Alex de Grassi, Shenandoah. Solo guitar performed live in the studio by this incredible guitar player! https://bluecoastmusic.com/alex-de-grassi/shenandoah-blue-coast-live

One of the founding artists for Windham Hill Records was Alex DeGrassi with ground breaking acoustic guitar performances. More than 20 years ago Cookie Marenco and Alex recorded a solo guitar album for Windham Hill and it was time to do it again! Cookie recorded using Blue Coast Record's Extended So...

10/08/2019

Audio contest -- Do you know the difference between compressed audio and audio compression? Now, in the latest issue of DSD-Guide.com https://madmimi.com/s/db130f

03/07/2019

If you're a subscriber, look for the new edition of DSD-Guide.com in your mailbox on Wednesday. Or - Sign up now! https://madmimi.com/p/f105ce?pact=11701867-152490389-9360474766-16d35f493708c5a71bb1ce2950ce276040f56f9b

15% Discount coupon on all purchases at Blue Coast Music - Use Indie15 at checkout See all DSD albums available at Blue Coast Music Love music with ...

11/05/2019

Excited to announce that Roon has updated its player to play one track that is 10 gigabytes in size. When do you think you'll need that kind of ability? If you're listening to classical or ambient music in formats like DSD256 and is one track of 60 minutes in length... https://dsd-guide.com/roon-updates-its-player-support-large-size-files

The power of community is strong!  We want to thank our ambient music fans for alerting Roon the issues of large file playback.  Credit Roon for contacting us right away to solve the issues and they have!

20/03/2019

Want to test your listening system for high resolution formats including DSD256? WAV and FLAC? https://dsd-guide.com/free-downloads-several-formats-can-you-hear-difference-between-them-does-it-matter

Many people don't hear the difference or care if there is a difference in sound.  We at DSD-Guide support those people who just want to listen to music regardless of the format.  Maybe we spend too much time arguing over which format is better and why or having lively discussions on why it's impos...

22/12/2018

You may have noticed Blue Coast Music releasing two ambient albums recently. There is an exciting trend to calm, restful and non intrusive background music that can aid a number of situations.

Who would think these could present a technology problem? Well, they do. Most of the music in this genre has been produced using CD quality wave files. Those files are about 700MB and handled easily in most audio players. Of course, mixing and working in DSD256 has brought an interesting situation... one track of 60 minutes and 10 gigabytes in size.

Now you say, my other albums play and that are that size. The difference is you are playing much smaller tracks... maybe 200MB in size. One track of one program of 10 gigabytes has created issues for some consumer players. So far, we are finding we have no issues with JRiver, but other popular players stutter, stop and crash working to play back these large files.

Brain and I are talking about 4 and 8 hour programs in DSD. Potentially, these will be 100 gigs in size. Completely crazy... but we like to push the boundaries. As well, what about working in surround or immersive technologies that are bound for DSD size files.

We're documenting our plays and plan to contact the software companies with our findings. If you are interested to test, try one of our pieces like Continuum One.

We have another solution which is to subdivide the program in to 8-15 tracks of 8 minutes each. Using gapless playback, it may be a seamless experiment.... though you'll want to avoid shuffle mode. ;)

Who knew this would be such an adventure!

https://bluecoastmusic.com/qua-continuum/continuum-one

Ambient calming sounds created by exceptional musicians. Sleep, relax, enjoy, dream as the music takes you on an hour long adventure. Inspired by Brian Eno's work and the many that followed. Qua Continuum is a band consisting of Brain (Bryan) Mantia and Cookie Marenco. The word Qua means "as being"....

18/12/2018

Are you an audiophile? Musician? Recording engineer? Take our survey and tell us more! Find out about our other readers.

https://dsd-guide.com/are-you-listener-musician-recording-engineer-take-our-survey

So many of our readers enjoy sound, music and audio engineering that we decided to find out where your interests lie.  If you're an audiophile, we want to know what formats you listen to.  If you're a musician, what instrument do you play.  If you've recorded something, what gear are you using. ...

29/11/2018

Ambient music in DSD ? Why yes! If you're a fan of Brian Eno, you may want to check out Qua Continuum's first release featuring Brain (Bryan Mantia) and Cookie Marenco as sonic sensationalists.
https://bluecoastmusic.com/qua-continuum/continuum-one
Number One this week at Blue Coast Music

High Resolution Audio Download Store - Experience Exceptional Sound

16/11/2018

Do you know what a "period instrument" is? find out below and why high resolution audio helps hear the difference.
https://dsd-guide.com/what-difference-between-period-instrument-and-regular-instrument

11/11/2018

You love the sound of high resolution audio, but why isn't there more music around? Here's an article offering suggestions why more recording engineers record at lower resolutions https://dsd-guide.com/why-dont-more-professional-audio-engineers-record-above-cd-quality

04/10/2018

Recorded in DSD256, this is one of the most amazing acoustic recordings you'll hear... Meghan Andrews performing "I'm on Fire".... Hypnotic. Enjoy
https://bluecoastmusic.com/meghan-andrews/fire-single

A very special recording of one of our all-time favourite songs by one of our favourite artists...

21/09/2018

Ever wonder how the pros do comparative listening tests? Read here and contribute https://dsd-guide.com/how-do-comparative-listening-test #.W6Q_IXtKjbg

Setting up a listening test to compare various types of files is not easy.  You need a base of equipment and a trusted set of files to start.  Set aside several hours and have a few people involved.  We rarely do a test with fewer than 3 people. Here we'll explore some of the basics steps to comp...