It was my understanding that Super Bit Mapping was supposed to be a mirror image of the master tapes and I noticed that SONY even incorporated it when they started producing Blu Ray discs where the SBM logo was likewise displayed!
From what I remember, SBM on Blu-rays applies to video, not audio. It's a different process with the same name.
Out of interest how does the XRCD mastering process differ to converting from a hi res source to straight to 44.1/16?IMO, a greatly under appreciated American Gramophone MLP DVD~A 5.1 [96/24] disc!
And I disagree that 16 bit/44.1 kHz is adequate in this day and age! Unless they're ALL mastered by JVC's superb XRCD technology ......
I recently purchased a few Blue Note XRCD24 AUDIO WAVE CDs mastered by Alan Yoshida and IMO, they give Analogue Productions Stereo SACDs a run for their money and definitely blow out of the water all those Rudy Van Gelder Blue Note CD remasters of only a scant few years ago, Actually, the BEST I've heard in a digital format from the Blue Note master tapes!
The thing with HDCD tho is that I heard from sources that the sound is much worse compared to a normal cd when it isn't being decoded.
This ABSOLUTE SOUND article from 2010 may help explain the JVC technology better than I can. And since 2010, JVC has improved the technology even further:
SBM processing is at the digitisation stage not on playback, it is like a multi-bit DSD process, an improvement on the old (but simple) dithering methods that were used to get a better 'representation' of the analogue signal. When you digitise a signal you will always get quantisation noise (think of it as the difference between the sample and what it is sampling), Noise shaping effectively moves that error out of hearing range to where it is filtered out.
The extra resolution is encoded in the digital signal of a normal (red book) CD. IIRC it utilizes the 2 less significant bits of the 16 bit encoding for the extra resolution. When played on a normal CD player, you effectively get 14 bits of resolution from the HDCD, plus 2 bits of noise at an extremely low level (-84dB).
I haven't forgotten DTS, IMHO that was the second missed opportunity. Sadly the DTS (CD) format died along with Brad Miller. I remember rushing out to buy the Millenium DTS decoder shortly after learning about it. I still have it and it still sounds fantastic. DTS seems a bit less impressive now through the Oppo but that is likely because the newer lossless formats sound better still.
Doesn't blu ray audio have a mode where it can operate like a cd?
In short, no!
No, as SACD is too niche a format nowadays.
And MOST importantly, SACD does NOT DO ATMOS!
Indeed
Yeah that's true I should of mentioned that as a consideration for why they wouldn't do that lol (and the pcm to dsd conversion as well)
Could have sworn I once saw one before online but I expect that wasn't an official standard (or i mis read it lol).
It is possible to create Blu-ray audio disc's with a 'black' video stream and chapters along with any audio stream (or streams) supported by the Blu-ray disc specification, such as LPCM (encoded at a min of 48.0kHz at 16-bits). These discs will play immediately after being inserted within the player and do not require a display.
Wait hang on a sec. BD audio doesn't surport 44.1k!?
No and neither does the DVD-Video specification...
I remember reading an article about the ability to put 4 channels, at 16/44.1, on a CD, and it did say doing so would cut playing time to about half. I would have liked to have heard one demonstrated,, but I don't think a player was ever built that could play that type of quad CD. I imagine they assumed the idea of four channel music was basically dead.
