On Tue, 27 Jan 2004 19:38:12 GMT, Michel Hafner wrote:

Why do you prefer DSD as a consumer delivery medium?

Because it sounds really nice (and so does hi-rez LPCM), is user friendly
(have you ever tried to listen to a DVD-A without having a monitor
connected.), has no audible spoilers built-in (a big non no in my book: why
bother why high quality media if you trash the signal?), plays in all
consumer gear if dual layered (most are), and so on.

I have no use for it because
- if the master is high res PCM I don't get master quality but a filtered
version.

If the master is DSD Wide, as more and more are, you get a nicely decimated
LPCM version for CD or hi-rez LPCM as well as a high-rez DSD version for
SA-CD. Best of all worlds.

Same goes for any source with information that is smeared by the
noise shaping.

Smeared? Nope. Not at the master level : DSD Wide doesn't use aggressive
noise shaping.

- Can't do digital room correction unless I convert back to PCM again.

That's correct. Just as you can't use a PCM based full digital amplification
system, and that's where DSD shines : basically, a DSD NA converter is a low
pass filter...

Where's the beef? Cheaper DA converters?

Less manipulations from DSD Wide masters to DSD or LPCM. More simple - some
would say more elegant designs. Less problems - and none of the PCM-related
ones.