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DVD Technical Notes
Audio
The DVP-S9000ES is more than just a cutting edge Sony
DVD-Video player. It’s a Sony high fidelity component of
the first order. This is the very first DVD player to be
part of Sony’s acclaimed ES Series, the Elevated Standard in
audio/video. It incorporates circuits, topology and
features carefully designed to maximize DVD-Video sound
tracks, Compact Discs and Super Audio Compact Discs.
Because there’s So Much More to Hear
TM
The Compact Disc was an important accomplishment in music
reproduction. But over the years, discerning listeners have
demanded even more. That’s why Sony and Philips, the
inventors of CD, have created the new Super Audio Compact
Disc (SACD). Thanks to a revolutionary technology called
Direct Stream Digital(tm) (DSD(r)) encoding, this is the highest
quality stereo sound source available today.
• Fidelity. With DSD encoding, SACD can capture more of the
original sound source. The SACD format offers frequency
response to 100 kHz and a theoretical dynamic range of 120 dB.
But specifications alone cannot express the DSD advantage.
DSD one-bit encoding strips away entire classes of distortion
that have always characterized PCM. The DSD system
provides nothing less than a quantum leap in music resolution.
• Simplicity. To audiophiles, purity has always meant simplicity.
So with SACD, there’s no option for music to be recorded at
anything less than the highest possible resolution. There’s also
no option for lossy compression of any kind. And you’ll never
experience stereo derived from a computerized fold-down.
SACD is about music, pure and simple.
• Capacity. As a stereo music carrier, the Super Audio Compact
Disc can hold over six times the data of Compact Disc. Some
SACDs have enough room for both a two-channel mix and a
multi-channel version of the same music, not to mention text
and graphics.
CD
SACD (single layer)
Disc diameter
12 cm
12 cm
Disc thickness
1.2 mm
1.2 mm
Playback side
Single
Single
Coding System
16-bit linear
1-bit DSD encoding
PCM encoding
Sampling Frequency
44,100 Hz
2,822,400 Hz
Disc data capacity
680 MB
4.7 GB
Disc minimum pit length 0.83 micrometers 0.40 micrometers
Disc track pitch
1.60 micrometers 0.74 micrometers
Laser wavelength
780nm
650nm
Lens numerical
0.45
0.60
aperture (NA)
Playback frequency
DC — 20,000 Hz DC — >100,000 Hz
range (theoretical)
Dynamic range
96 dB (audible
More than 120 dB
(theoretical)
range)
(audible range)
Maximum playback
Approx. 74 min. Approx. 110 min.
time
(stereo)
(stereo)
Approx. 74 min.
(multi-channel and
stereo)
Additional functions
Text, graphics
Text, graphics,
video
• Security. Pirated copies of discs threaten music companies,
producers and musicians alike. In addition, consumers need
protection from fraudulent, unauthorized copies. That’s why
authorized SACDs are identified by both visible and invisible
watermarks. The visible watermark is a faint image on the
signal side of the disc, made possible by Pit Signal Processing
(PSP) technology. Missing or corrupted watermarks warn
consumers of unauthorized discs. Invisible watermarks
authenticate the discs prior to playback. If the SACD player
cannot read the watermark, the SACD will not play.
• Compatibility. Music enthusiasts have already made a
substantial commitment to their CD collections. To protect this
investment, every SACD player performs superbly with the
more than 13 billion audio Compact Discs currently in
existence. And the SACD format also includes a hybrid disc
option that will play back beautifully in any home, car and
portable CD player made since 1982.
• Three types of discs. With the SACD format, music
companies can offer three different types of discs. The single-
layer disc can store a full album of high-resolution music. A
dual-layer disc provides nearly twice the playing time. There’s
even a hybrid disc that contains both a high density music layer
and a standard density CD layer for compatibility with over
700 million CD players, worldwide.
• The Music. SACD has triggered an outpouring of music, both
reissued and new, from the world’s preeminent artists. Jazz
greats like Dave Brubeck, Miles Davis, Herbie Hancock, Milt
Jackson, Wynton Marsalis and Oscar Peterson. Classical
virtuosos like Emanuel Ax, Glenn Gould, Yo-Yo Ma and Isaac
Stern. With the world’s finest orchestras under the batons of
Leonard Bernstein, Eugene Ormandy, Wolfgang Sawallisch
and Bruno Walter. These performances were singular events.
Now captured on SACD, these titles gloriously demonstrate
music the way it should be.
A Listening Experience Beyond All Expectations
Super Audio Compact Disc:
Fig. 16: 3 Types of Disc
