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Super Audio CD A Technical Overview

September 2001

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The Superiority of Direct Stream Digital Encoding

The 1980s saw the full-scale emergence of the digital format on the recording
scene. This caused quite a stir among the recording engineers who experienced
the digital recording format for the first time, free as this is from the noise and
inter-modulation distortion associated with analog recorders. For digital recording
a method known as PCM (Pulse Code Modulation) was adopted.
Since that time, with the advent of PCM digital audio and compact disks, there
has been a vast increase in the sampling frequency and bit rates used in order to
increase the resolution of recordings. It has proved elusive, however, to achieve a
faithful playback of silent passages, when the objective is to convey the feeling of
atmosphere during a performance, and this is something that sound engineers,
producers and recording artists have wished to create.
This was the situation as of the end of the 1990s, with efforts being made to
reproduce digital audio with the meticulous nuance of an analog signal. The DSD
(Direct Stream Digital) method was developed based on this idea. Now 20 years
after digital audio was developed, recording engineers have come in for yet
another surprise, with new DSD technology that makes it possible to create
“atmosphere,” in other words transferring the performer’s breathing and even the
exciting tension of the venue to a Super Audio CD.

Superiority of Multi Channels.

The highest form of sonic purity adds new dimensions.

The Super Audio CD goes multi-channel.

You can have the sound in your own room as if you are at the concert hall. You
can feel the excitement of the concert as well as innovative creativity of artists.
Welcome to the world of new impressive sound that you have never experienced.

Every concert hall in the world has its own specific sound field called “hall tone.”
Another fascination of live concerts is buzzing and cheers of a quite a number of
audiences participating in the concert. To reproduce such excitement of live
concerts as much as possible, it is indispensable to integrate various kinds of
sound factors surrounding the listeners, namely, the echoing and reverberation
from the hall walls and miscellaneous sound made by audiences, to the sound
source.

Multi-channel Super Audio CD system is a sound reproduction system with the

highest form of sonic purity. It records all those kinds of sound with multiple
channels, each of which are reproduced independently via multiple speakers.
Music instruments are three-dimensionally located in the sound field to realize
affluent and profound sound so that listeners can feel the space of the concert
hall. Surrounding sound and noise produced by audiences make the listeners feel
as if they also join the concert. Once you listen to the Super Audio CD sound, you
can experience the ambience and strong excitement that you have never had.
This innovative potential for sound reproduction may inspire artists’ creativity to
produce completely new music experience. Multi-channel Super Audio CD system
will thus open the door for new potentiality for sound reproduction.

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Enabling Technologies.

Super Audio CD accomplishes so many goals because

it embodies several powerful, key technologies. In fact, there
are five enabling technologies behind :

1 Direct Stream 2 Stereo and Multi- 3 Secure technologies 4 Various Super Audio 5 Production system.
Digital™(DSD™) : source channel on one disc for contents protection. CD disc types.
coding technology for using Digital Stream
superior high-quality Transfer (DST)
sound. technology.

Each of these technologies is new. Each opens up important

possibilities. And each deserves a more detailed description.

Direct Stream Digital™ (DSD™) Encoding.

Sony and Philips both have a well-known history of

accomplishment in Pulse Code Modulation (PCM) digital
audio. Starting in the late 1970’s with commercial 14-bit
systems, and moving up to 16-, 18-, 20- and 24-bit systems,
these two companies have made an unmatched investment
in PCM technology, generating an unequaled string of PCM
products. So it’s not casually that these two companies now
propose a fundamental move away from PCM.

Successively higher bit rates and higher sampling rates for

PCM systems have, in fact, improved sound quality. But the
improvements are getting smaller and smaller. And the
reason for these diminishing returns is becoming clear:
filtering. Every PCM system requires steep filters at the input
to absolutely block any signal at or above half the sampling
frequency. (In conventional 44.1 kHz sampling, “brick wall”
filters must pass 20 kHz audio, yet reject 22.05 kHz — a
difficult task.) In addition, re-quantization noise is added by
the multi-stage or “cascaded” decimation (downsampling)
digital filters used in recording and the multi-stage
interpolation (oversampling) digital filters used in playback.

This problem was the inspiration for Direct Stream Digital.

By simply eliminating decimation and interpolation in existing Direct Stream Digital
processes — we developed a whole new way of capturing eliminates the filters
audio signal digitally. As in conventional PCM systems, the and records the original
analog signal is first 1-bit signal directly.
converted to digital by

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64x oversampling

3
Direct Stream Digital has eliminated filters records
DSD the original 1bit signal.
delta-sigma modulation.
The result is a 1-bit

2
64fs 64fs
digital audio signal. 1bit
DSD
Recorder 1bit
Where conventional 1
04
systems immediately 1bit ADC Analog Low
Front End Pass Filter
decimate the 1-bit
signal into a PCM code,
BK
fs fs 64fs
Decimation PCM Interpolation Delta-Sigma
Direct Stream Digital Digital Filter
20bit
Recorder
20bit
Digital Filter
24bit
Modulator

records the 1-bit

pulses directly. Usual PCM requires a decimation filter while recording
PCM and an interpolation filter during playback. fs:44.1kHz
DIC F38

Conventional PCM
requires decimation
filters on the record
side plus interpolation
filters on the playback
side.

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The delta-sigma The delta-sigma analog-to-digital converter basically consists of

analog-to-digital
converter.
Integrator Quantizer integrator, 1bit quantizer and negative feedback loop path.
1bit digital
Analog input Output The amplitude of the input analog signal is represented by the density
of pulses output. The density of output pulses increases with increasing
input signal amplitude.
Negative Feedback Loop

A simplified relationship
between analog input (above)
and 1bit digital output pulse
train (below) of the delta-sigma
analog-to-digital converter (The
pulse train has been shaded for
clarity.)

Meanwhile digital-to-analog conversion can be as simple as

Audio running the pulse train through an analog low-pass filter!
Band moves above
audio band
Amplitude

Noise power Ultra-high signal-to-noise ratios as required for DSD in the audio band
are typically achieved through 5th-order delta-sigma modulator. These
Noise power effectively shift the noise up in frequency, out of the audio band: noise
shaping.

20kHz Frequency Sony and Philips designed DSD to capture the complete information
of today’s best analog systems. The best 30ips half-inch analog
A simplified illustration of the effect of noise shaping. The recorders can capture frequencies past 50 kHz. DSD can represent
maximum audio frequency, fm, is nominally 20,000 Hz. Noise this with a frequency response from DC to 100 kHz. To cover the
shaping moves most of the noise power far above the audio dynamic range of a good analog mixing console, the residual noise
band (20kHz-), where it will be inaudible. power was held at -120 dB through the audio band.

A notorious torture-test for recording systems,

the 10 kHz square wave (left figure : top trace)
includes component frequencies well above the
audio band. The PCM system approximates this 10 kHz square 10 kHz square
wave input wave input
with a 10 kHz sine wave (left figure : bottom trace).
In comparison, the 1-bit Direct Stream Digital
44.1 kHz/20bit
captures the wave’s true shape (right figure : Direct Stream Digital
output
bottom trace). output

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Multi-channel disc.

• Stereo and Multi-channel on one disc. Direct Stream

Transfer (DST) loss-less coding makes it possible to store
70-80 minutes of both stereo and multi-channel DSD content
on a disc. Separate data areas are provided for stereo and 2-Channel Stereo area

multi-channel content, giving artists the flexibility to provide

Multi-Channel area
two discrete mixes of the same content on a disc.
Moreover, an “extra data” area has been reserved for
expansions of the format that will make it possible to include
information such as lyrics, credits, and still images in the Extra data area
future.

In general, there are two types of bit rate reduction technologies. One is
DST: loss-less coding, and another is “Lossy”. Data reduction actually
chooses parts of the signal that can be ignored, for example, based on
psychoacoustic models. Examples include MPEG-1 and MPEG-2 for video,
ATRAC, Dolby ® Digital (AC-3 ® ) and DTS® for audio.
All Super Audio CDs containing multi-channel
DSD content will carry the "Multi-ch" logo to
• Super Audio CD Multi-channel audio software indicate that they are capable of providing
multi-channel sound when played on a
applications. Faithful rendition of concert hall ambience is multi-channel compliant Super Audio CD player.
just one of the many possibilities of Super Audio CD
multi-channel sound. The discrete surround channels, which
are totally separate from the main front channels, can
theoretically be used to record any content the artist or
producer desires, whether it be sound effects, choruses
located in the rear, or other innovative recording techniques.
Moreover, archived 3-channel and 4-channel recordings can
be faithfully re-released in the Super Audio CD format, while
the future may bring a variety of new multi-channel recording
methods yet to be invented.

• Speaker placement in a Super Audio CD Multi-channel

playback system. A typical multi-channel Super Audio CD
playback system includes a multi-channel capable player, a
multi-channel power amplifier, and a corresponding number
of speakers.
As shown in the chart, five speakers typically surround the
listener in circular fashion in accordance with ITU
recommendations and the sixth channel is used for low
frequency enhancement (sub-woofer).

LFE center
left(front) right(front)

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3
30

2
approx.
110 1
04

Reference
BK

listening
position
left(rear) right(rear)
DIC F38

Speaker placement in accordance with the ITU-R BS.775

recommendation: the sixth channel can be optionally used
for low-frequency enhancement.

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Super Audio CD content protection is built with five lines of

defense. Each line provides different obstacles against piracy.
The independency of these lines of defense means that, even if
one of the lines is broken, the others still protect the content
against piracy.

• First line of defense: Existing PC disc drives cannot read data from
Super Audio CD disc.
• Second line of defense: If Super Audio CD data has been copied, it

cannot be used
• Third line of defense: Hacking the scrambling of a title is expensive

and must be done for each new title again.

• Fourth line of defense: Details of the scrambling system are never

exposed
• Fifth line of defense: Sophisticated protection against commercial

piracy and counterfeiting

Super Audio CD content protection technologies:

• The invisible watermark. The invisible watermark is also called

the PSP-PDM (Pit Signal Processing-Physical Disc Mark).
The PSP-PDM is very difficult to write on a recordable disc. It can
only be mastered with Super Audio CD licensed equipment
The PSP-PDM is used for playback control (its presence is necessary
to initiate the playback of an Super Audio CD disc). The PSP-PDM is
also used for content access control (part of the descrambling key is
hidden in PSP-PDM).

• Content Access Control. The DSD content is scrambled using the

Super Audio CD cipher. The Super Audio CD crypto algorithm is a
synchronous stream cipher. The key-stream generator used in this
stream cipher is based on clock-controlled shift registers. The crypto
algorithm is optimised to achieve high performance in hardware.
The Super Audio CD crypto algorithm needs two keys for descrambling:
1. The PSP-PDM key that is hidden in the disc; and
2. The “Initial Values”, a key that is hidden in the IC. The value of
these keys is not available outside a single IC and is not transmitted
between IC’s.

• Super Audio CD mark: Disc Access Control. The Super Audio

CD mark hides certain disc parameters. Drives need this information
before they can start reading the disc. A non compliant drive will,
therefore, not be able to get data from any Super Audio CD disc.

• Playback Control. DSD playback is allowed only when the PSP

physical disc mark is found.
The PSP-PDM is very difficult to write on recordable disc.
It is an excellent mark to signal that a disc is an original disc.

Super Audio CD Descramble

Disc Parameters
(algorithm-1)

Descramble
Scrambled Content (algorithm-2) Content

key

PSP-PDM Playback control

PSP-PDM
detector

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The Three Types of Super Audio CD Discs.

• Backward compatibility with the conventional CD :

Super Audio CD disc variations. The Super Audio CD offers
three different disc variations including the Single Layer Disc
(which contains one High Density Layer) the Dual Layer Disc
(which contains two High Density Layers for extra recording
time) and the Hybrid Disc (which contains one High Density
Layer and one standard CD Layer, allowing for playback on any
conventional CD player).

Single Layer Disc Dual Layer Disc Hybrid Disc

HD Layer CD Layer

HD Layer

HD Layer HD Layer

Disc Features.

Super Audio CD discs are very flexible, allowing the creative

community to have many options of what they can provide on
a disc. Rather than go through the full range of options we
will describe what we call a fully loaded disc, all other disc
are subsets of this. A fully loaded disc is a Hybrid Disc and it
can contain the following:

Hybrid Disc Construction

Protective Layer
~10.00µm
~0.05µm CD Layer
~0.6mm

~0.05µm
Substrate
~0.6mm

HD(High Density)
Layer

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Substrate

3
2
Laser Pick Up

1
04

Hybrid Disc Signal Reading

BK

CD layer(entirely reflective)
0.6mm

HD layer
Layer reflects 650nm
DIC F38

0.6mm
wavelength is penetrated with
780nm laser rays.

HD (High Density) Pick up CD Pick up

Wavelength:650 nm Wavelength:780 nm
Aperture:0.6 Aperture:0.45
Focused only on the Focused only on the
HD layer CD layer

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DSD in Recording.

Recording in DSD may seem a daunting task. However simple

calculation show differently. DSD samples music at 64 times the
sample rate of Compact Disc (64 x 44,100 Hz = 2,822,400 Hz) and
uses just one bit per sample. Comparing this with regular PCM
recording (16 bits/sample at 44,100 Hz), the resulting DSD sample bit
rate is only 4x higher, which is well within current available recording
system capabilities both tape as well as hard disk.

DSD in Production.

From the beginning of the Super Audio CD development, Sony and

Philips have been working together to develop key devices and
technologies necessary for production equipment. They therefore
achieved the functions such as mixing, cross-fading, equalizing, and
obtaining relevant dynamics of DSD 1-bit signals. A variety of field
verifications were conducted on these functions with prototype
equipment. Engineers from Sony and Philips are working together to
help several professional audio equipment manufacturers market
recording machines and audio workstations.
Thus, DSD in production is incrementally being actualized.

Of course, while DSD establishes new standards in the recording

studio, the consumer marketplace remains enthusiastically wedded to
the Compact Disc. Clever technology is required to downconvert 1-bit
DSD into 16-bit PCM for distribution on Compact Disc. That technology
is called Super Bit Mapping Direct™ processing.

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Super Bit Mapping Direct.

Downconverting Direct Stream Digital from 1-bit/64fs to

16-bit/1fs is not theoretically difficult. Every DAT recorder and
A/D converter has a circuit that does much the same thing.
But we needed to downconvert DSD in such a way as to
retain the maximum possible signal quality in the 16-bit world.
The answer was to completely filter and noise shape the
DSD signal in a single stage.Thus, interstage requantizing
errors would be eliminated. Aliasing would be minimized. And
ripple would be suppressed. Sony designed a super-power
one-stage FIR digital filter/noise shaper with an amazing
32,639 taps. This is Sony’s real-time Super Bit Mapping
Direct™ processor.

Just as Sony’s existing Super Bit Mapping™ circuit helps

approach 20-to-24-bit precision in 16-bit digital audio, the
new Super Bit Mapping Direct™ processor enables DSD to
be released on industry-standard Compact Discs with audibly
superior performance. Subjective comparisons conclude that
much of the original DSD benefit is preserved in 16-bit
Compact Disc release.

SBM Direct™ processors have already been built. And

they’ve already been used in the creation of commercial
Compact Disc titles.

The arithmetic of DSD conversion.

Downconversion to 16-bit/44.1 kHz digital audio is just one

option for the DSD bit stream. The system’s 2.8224 MHz
sampling rate is specifically designed for high precision
downconversion to all current PCM sampling rates. In all
cases, the conversions in sync are performed with simple
integer multiplies and divides.

As a result, music companies can use DSD for both archiving

and mastering. And DSD masters can be easily
downconverted for release at any sampling rate or wordlength.
This makes DSD a digital “Rosetta Stone,” able to speak all
languages with equal facility. It also means that DSD can
support a “hierarchy of quality” for distribution that allows the
music company to precisely position different products for
different applications.
Direct 2.8224 MHz 44.1 kHz
Stream
Digital
1/64
1bit

The sampling rate of

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Direct Stream Digital

3
88.2 kHz
lends itself to simple 1/32

2
downconversion to all
the standard PCM
distribution formats. 1
X5 04

A single DSD server

DSD 14.112 MHz
BK
Down Conversion can perform multiple 1bit
32.0 kHz 32 kHz
44.1 kHz 16-bit
tasks to support a 1/441
Music
DSD A/D Archive 48.0 kHz 20-bit music company’s
88.2 kHz 24-bit
96.0 kHz
production and mar-
DIC F38

Analog keting environments.

48 kHz
Masters
1/294

96 kHz
A&R Studio Replication Distribution
1/147

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Super Audio CD CD

Diameter (mm) 120 120

Thickness (mm) 1.2 1.2

Track pitch (µm) 0.74 1.6

Data Capacity (Mbytes) 4700 780

Wavelength (nm) 650 780

Numerical Aperture (NA) 0.6 0.45

Audio Coding: Direct Stream Digital Linear PCM

Sampling Rate (kHz) 2822.4 44.1

Sampling Bit Length 1 16

Channels 2, 3, 3.1, 4, 4.1, 5, 5.1 2

Tracks 255 (max) 99 (max)

Indexes 255 (max) 99 (max)

Playback time (min.) Stereo 109 74

Multi + Stereo 70-80 *1 -

Supplementary Data (kbps) 73-900 43.2

Frequency Range (Hz) DC-100,000 (DSD) 5-20,000

Dynamic Range (dB) over 120 (~20kHz) 96

*1 : 12cm Single Layer Disc, 2ch and Multi channel with DST

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Conclusion-

With the Super Audio CD format Sony and Philips have come with a new music

carrier that covers the full range of needs. No other format satisfies so completely

the desires of recording artists, producers, sound engineers, record companies,

retailers, audiphiles and music lovers in general. The format guarantees that the

discs are compatible with the installed base of nearly 600 million CD players and

that the players can play the 10 billion existing CDs.

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3
2
1
04
BK
DIC F38

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Further Reading

Angus, J.A.S. and Casey, N.M., “Filtering ∆-∑ Audio Signals Directly,” 102nd
AES Convention, March 1997, München

Bruekers, F. et. al., “Improved Lossless Coding of 1-bit Audio Signals,” 103rd
AES Convention, September 1997, New York

Eastty, P.C., et. al., “Research on Cascadable Filtering, Equalisation, Gain

Control and Mixing of 1-bit Signals for Professional Audio Applications,” 102nd
AES Convention, March 1997, München

Horikawa, N. and Eastty, P.C., “One Bit’ Audio Recording,” AES UK Audio for
New Media Conference, April, 1996, London

Moorer, James A., “Breaking the Sound Barrier : Mastering at 96kHz and
Beyond,” 101st AES Convention, November, 1996, Los Angeles

Nishio, A., et. al., “Direct Stream Digital Audio System,” 100th AES Convention,
May, 1996, Copenhagen

Nishio, A., et. al., “A New CD Mastering Processing Using Direct Stream Digital,”
101st AES Convention, November 1996, Los Angeles

Noguchi, M., et. al., “Digital Signal Processing in Direct Stream Digital Editing
System,” 102nd AES Convention, March, 1997, München

Ten Kate, R., “Disc-technology for Super Quality audio applications,” 103rd AES
Convention, September, 1997, New York

Ogura, Y. et. al., “One-Bit Two-Channel Recorder System” 103rd AES

Convention, September, 1997, New York

Moorer, J. A., et. al., “A Native Stereo Editing System for Direct Stream Digital”
104th AES Convention, May, 1998, Amsterdam

Takahashi, H. and Nishio, A., “Investigation of Practical 1-Bit Delta-Sigma

Conversion for Professional Audio Applications” 110th AES Convention, May,
2001, Amsterdam

Eastty, P.C., et. al., “DSD-Wide, A Practical Implementation for Professional

Audio” 110th AES Convention, May, 2001, Amsterdam

Angus, J.A.S., “Achieving Effective Dither in Sigma-Delta Modulation Systems”

110th AES Convention, May, 2001, Amsterdam

Reefman, D., et. al., “Why Direct Stream Digital is the best choice as a digital
format” 110th AES Convention, May, 2001, Amsterdam

Reefman, D. and Nuijten, P., “Editing and switching in 1-bit audio stream” 110th
AES Convention, May, 2001, Amsterdam

©2001 Sony Corporation and Royal Philips Electronics. All rights reserved. All trademarks are property of
their respective owners. Features and specifications are preliminary and subject to change without prior
notice. 2001.9