Super Audio CD ( SACD ) is a high-resolution, read-only optical audio disc format developed by Sony and Philips Electronics, the same companies that created the Compact Disc. SACD is designed to provide high-resolution audio in both stereo and surround sound modes. SACDs use an audio format called DSD in addition to an optional CD-compatible layer using traditional PCM.
Introduced in 1999, SACD has not been accepted by the mainstream market, but new SACD recordings and SACD players continue to be made.
Overview
SACD is a disc of identical physical dimensions to a standard compact disc; the density of the disc is the same as a DVD and it encodes audio using a process known as Direct Stream Digital. The SACD sampling rate is 2822.4 kHz and the resolution is one bit. A stereo SACD recording can stream data at an uncompressed rate of 5.6 Mbps; four times the rate for Red Book CD stereo audio. SACD recordings can have a wider frequency and dynamic range than conventional CDs.
There are three types of SACDs:
- Hybrid: The most popular of the three types, hybrid discs include a Red Book layer compatible with most ordinary Compact Disc players, dubbed the "CD layer," and a 4.7 GB SACD layer, dubbed the "HD layer."
- Single-layer: Physically a DVD-5 DVD, a single-layer SACD includes a 4.7 GB HD layer with no CD layer.
- Dual-layer: Physically a DVD-9 DVD, a dual-layer SACD includes two HD layers totaling 8.5 GB, with no CD layer. It enables nearly twice as much data to be stored, but eliminates CD player compatibility. This type is rarely used.
Almost all commercially released SACDs have included both stereo and surround (multi-channel) mixes. A multi-channel mix need not be surround, however; some of the Living Stereo reissues (such as the RCA reissue of the 1957 Chicago Symphony Orchestra recording of Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition ) use only the three front channels to reproduce the original three-track (3.0) stereo recordings. Nor is a surround mix obliged to use all six SACD channels (five full-range plus LFE). For example, the 2001 SACD release of Mike Oldfield's Tubular Bells remains in the quadraphonic 4.0 mix .
The CD layer exists primarily for backward compatibility, but is not required. If the CD layer is omitted, the SACD need not be limited to an 80-minute playing time. For stereo material, the space that would have been taken by the multi-channel program can be used to extend playing time to four hours or more. BIS has taken advantage of this to put all of Bach's organ music on five SACD-only disks.
Content
By October 2009, there were over 6000 SACD releases, slightly more than half of which were classical music. Jazz and popular music albums, mainly remastered previous releases, were the next two most numerous genres represented.
Today, most SACDs are issued as SACD hybrid discs. Such a disc can be played in high-resolution audio on a SACD player and conventional Red Book CD or DVD video players (albeit just with standard CD quality). The SACD format is thus backward compatible. SACD machines can play CDs and SACD discs; CD players can play SACD hybrid discs as audio CDs.
Artist releases
Main article: List of SACD artistsMany popular artists have released some or all of their back catalog on SACD. Pink Floyd's album The Dark Side of the Moon sold over 800,000 copies by June 2004 in its SACD Surround Sound edition. The Who's rock opera Tommy , and Roxy Music's Avalon , were released on SACD to take advantage of the format's multi-channel capability. All three albums were remixed in 5.1 surround, and released as hybrid SACDs with a stereo mix on the standard CD layer.
Some popular artists have released new recordings on SACD. Sales figures for Sting's Sacred Love album reached number one on SACD sales charts in four European countries in June 2004.
As of May 2009, over 440 labels have released one or more SACDs. Instead of depending on major label support, some orchestras and artists have released SACDs on their own. For instance, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra started the Chicago Resound label to provide full support for high-resolution SACD hybrid discs , and the London Symphony Orchestra established their own 'LSO Live' label.
Disc reading
Objective lenses in conventional CD players have a longer working distance, or focal length, than lenses designed for SACD players. This means that when a hybrid SACD is placed into a conventional CD player, the laser beam passes the high-resolution layer and is reflected by the conventional layer at the standard 1.2 mm distance, and the high-density layer is out of focus. When the disc is placed into an SACD player, the laser is reflected by the high-resolution layer (at 600 µm distance) before it can reach the conventional layer. Conversely, if a conventional CD is placed into an SACD player, the laser will read the disc as a CD since there is no high-resolution layer.
Playback hardware
Hybrid Super Audio CDs (which include both CD and Super Audio CD layers) can be played on CD players. The SACD layer can be played only on a player that supports the SACD format. Not all SACD players support multi-channel playback—some are simply stereo.
The Sony SCD-1 was a player which was introduced concurrently with the SACD format in 1999, at a price of approximately US$5,000. It weighed over 26 kg (57 lb). The SCD-1, no longer produced, was introduced before multi-channel SACDs existed and played two channel SACDs and Red Book CDs only.
Many electronics manufacturers, including Denon, Marantz , Pioneer and Yamaha offer SACD players. None, however, has offered a portable SACD player capable of playing the high-definition layer of an SACD. Most portable CD players will play the conventional CD layer of a Hybrid SACD.
Sony has made in-car Super Audio CD players.
Several brands have introduced (mostly high-end) Blu-ray Disc players that are SACD-compatible.
SACD players are not permitted to offer an output carrying an unencrypted stream of Direct Stream Digital (DSD) . Players initially supported only analog output; later some proprietary digital interfaces such as Denon Link permitted encrypted transmission of DSD. There are now two standard digital connection methods capable of carrying DSD in encrypted form: i.Link and HDMI (version 1.2 or later, standardised in August 2005).
The older i.Link interface is generally found on older mid- to high-end equipment and some current top-of-the-line units from Japanese manufacturers. HDMI is more common, being the standard digital connection method for high-definition video with audio. Most new mid-level and higher 2007 model year and later A/V processors support the HDMI 1.2 specifications DSD over HDMI feature. Most boutique manufacturers still do not support DSD. Some HDMI 1.1 spec DVD players convert DSD to LPCM and then pass it to an HDMI 1.1 spec or later processor. Lower end processors usually convert the DSD to LPCM, higher end ones usually convert it to LPCM for bass management or DSP but can also process it natively at the expense of DSP and bass management. Some new DVD players from Oppo Digital, Pioneer, Onkyo, etc. now support HDMI 1.2 or 1.3 and will pass DSD over HDMI as well as LPCM. Be aware that some players, for instance, Onkyo DV-SP504, will not support DSD or LPCM over HDMI without resampling it to 48 kHz. SACD or DVD-A will be played through analog outputs instead. The older i.Link interface has been dropped from all but high-end A/V processors and DVD players.
PlayStation 3 and SACD playback
The first two generations of Sony's PlayStation 3 (PS3) game console were capable of reading SACD discs. Starting with the third generation (introduced October 2007), SACD playback was removed altogether.
For models that are capable of reading SACD, three output options exists.
- Using the AV output will give an analog stereo sound for SACDs that include a stereo track.
- Using HDMI will give access to multi-channel high-resolution PCM audio (converted from DSD).
- Using S/PDIF will give digital stereo sound (of either the stereo track, or a subset of the multi-channel mix)
PS3 was capable of converting surround DSD to lossy 1.5 Mbps DTS for playback over S/PDIF using the 2.00 system software. The subsequent revision removed the feature.
DSD
Technical background
Main article: Direct Stream Digital
SACD audio is stored in a format called Direct Stream Digital (DSD), which differs from the conventional Pulse-code modulation (PCM) used by the compact disc or conventional computer audio systems.
DSD is 1-bit, has a sampling rate of 2.8224 MHz, and makes use of noise shaping quantization techniques in order to push 1-bit quantization noise up to inaudible ultrasonic frequencies. This gives the format a greater dynamic range and wider frequency response than the CD. The SACD format is capable of delivering a dynamic range of 120 dB from 20 Hz to 20 kHz and an extended frequency response up to 100 kHz, although most currently available players list an upper limit of 70–90 kHz, and practical limits reduce this to 50 k
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