For now most people are satisfied with the quality of the current audio CD, but there are already follow up technologies available that should enhance your audio experience. With higher sampling rates, and multi channel support they should bring more life to your audio.
Currently two formats are fighting to become the standard on the market, the SuperAudio Compact Disc (SACD) and the DVD-Audio format. While the masses haven't really discovered the new technologies it seems that more and more people are starting to disover it.
It's really getting rolling. The number of titles is increasing rapidly," says John Trickett, chairman of the 5.1 Entertainment Group, which has produced almost 100 DVD-Audio titles. SACDs and DVD-Audios, when coupled with the right speakers, sound superior to regular CDs. Parts of a recording that were buried in layers of music are now revealed, crystal clear. |
Yet the new formats require an investment from consumers. While the new discs cost about the same as a CD, or a tad pricier - about $19 - you'd likely need to upgrade your entertainment system to hear their advantage.
Both DVD-Audio and SACDs can hold several times the data contained on regular CDs. They are also multichannel (surround sound), instead of the two-channel (stereo) CDs. (Some SACDs are two-channel, made to enhance stereo sound.)
The sound of DVD-Audio is comparable to that of SACDs, and the format offers bonus features similar to DVD videos. Listeners might watch videos, for example, or sing along to lyrics that flash on the TV screen.
DVD-Audio discs play in any DVD player. But to experience the 5.1 surround sound, an entertainment system consisting of five speakers and a subwoofer is needed. Costs have come down, but a bare-bones, no-name brand will cost at least $200.
For now SACD is the most populair format, Philips, Sony and Pioneer already have players on the market that are affordable, also DVD-Audio players are widely available, it could even be that you have the capabilities to play these new discs, without knowing it. Read more here.
Source: MyInky.com
