High Definition Recording

DSD (Direct Stream Digital) is a high resolution recording platform designed to act like analog. It is a true one bit sigma delta recorder. It has more clarity than the typical digital (PCM) format and, in the opinion of many, does a superior job of conveying the emotional impact of a performance. People who have heard it are astonished by how convincing the platform is and tend to be strongly affected by the music recorded to it. The feel of DSD playback is very analog and because of the high sample rate (in the millions, not the thousands), you believe what you hear which creates a stronger emotional connection to the music.

When John Hiatt was asked why he recorded “Master of Disaster” to multi track DSD his answer was, “What the ear hears, the heart must believe.” This perfectly describes the DSD experience. DSD is a favorite of classical and jazz musicians as well as musicians like Stevie Wonder who has been using DSD for years. While it has taken a back seat to already established formats, it is making a resurgence thanks to recent innovations such as a $50 converter that can be plugged into an Iphone, allowing DSD streaming and files to be easily accessed.

Gus Skinas, who developed the Sonoma DSD recorder/editor with a team at Sony, has installed a 32 channel DSD system at Animal Lane. It is one of the few systems in the country available to the public for recording. To keep the signal pure, Animal Lane uses its Trident board and outboard gear so that no conversion to PCM is necessary. DSD is used the old school way. Since the Sonoma is the only recorder/editor being used in an all analog environment it’s harder to “fix it in the mix.” But the end result is worth its limitations.

Animal Lane is proud to be using and educating people about this extraordinary format. Here’s an article explaining some more about DSD, https://www.whathifi.com/us/advice/what-dsd-audio-how-it-works-where-to-download-files-and-more