DSD-Guide.com

Brian Moura wrote this terrific article for Positive Feedback.in 2017 when Blue Coast Records hosted the first livestream DSD concert with Alex de Grassi and Jenna Mammina. Take a trip down memory lane.

We had heard about a few drive-in theaters opening up, but the idea of going to a concert at a drive-in sparked our interest! Certainly, during a pandemic where people are asked to socially distance themselves, the idea of being in a car, correctly spaced sounds pretty good if the reward is to see a great band.

Paul McGowan tells a fascinating story of a unique discovery by Randy Crowell. What happens when you pair a French Horn with an iPhone?

We found this interesting article that describes how the world is slowly changing to a better quality audio playback. With Amazon's HD Music, Tidal, Qobuz and others, it seems the time is ripe for better sound.

The world is in lockdown mode, but you still have your music and listening system.  Suddenly, you feel the urge to test the difference between all the different formats.  You think it's an easy task?  It's even harder on your own.  If you have a family member, bring them onboard to help you with this test.  Make it a fun family event!

Download 9 formats of one song recorded in DSD here.. and it's free!

Even though we specialize in DSD audio we understand the value vinyl brings to the music industry.  As much as this fire represents a set back for many, we don't believe it spells the end of vinyl.  Read for yourself, add your comments, let us know what you think!

Andreas Koch is a pioneer of digital audio from the days of developing digital audio recording in the 1980's for Studer Dyaxis to his leading edge work with Sony working on DSD and the first recording device for DSD - the Sonoma System.  Here Andreas explains the differences between PCM and DSD audio.

The world’s coral reefs have been affected from the devastating effects of climate change which has given rise to some radical solutions. Last week, British and Australian researchers suggested another way they say could help restoration efforts: broadcasting the sounds of healthy reefs in dying ones.

 If you read the latest Universal Music email, nearly all the Christmas packages include colored vinyl, a cassette and t-shirt...  from Billy Eilish ro Mumford & Sons.  Sony and other companies are offering the new Tik Tok Karaoke performers million dollar contracts.

The proportions of the room may seem like it would only affect the visual aesthetics of the space, but the ratio between the height, width, and depth of the studio can have a profound impact on how it sounds. This applies to all rooms where acoustics are important, including the recording control room, a listening room, a classroom, a church, or a concert hall. Read how you can improve the sonic response of your room.

With Amazon, Apple, Qobuz and others beginning to offer streaming services for high resolution audio, we are about to see the "war of words" and definitions hit music lovers hard.  Brace yourself as the mainstream enters the audiophile world and subscribes to Amazon's Ultra HD Music service for high definition audio.  What does it all mean?

We've all known it was a matter of time before Amazon, Apple and all the other streaming companies would have high resolution streaming.  Qobuz, Tidal, Deezer and others had already been offering high resolution streaming.  Amazon's announcement could have a huge impact on the music industry... find out why.

July 8, 1998...  Liquid Audio's IPO.  What was Liquid Audio?  It was the first company to offer legal digital downloads delivered worldwide.  I was fortunate to be part ot the crew that helped make history.  Liquid Audio was a software program that predated Napster and iTunes for delivery of audio files.  In a sense, we were the first aggregator for digital audio even though the word "aggregator" didn't exist.

The power of community is strong!  We want to thank our ambient music fans for alerting Roon the issues of large file playback.  Credit Roon for contacting us right away to solve the issues and they have!  Read the article for how to get the updates.

AMSR stands for autonomous sensory meridian response -- that's the long version for "natural sounds".  The current trend uses the sound of whispering, opening beer bottles, birds chirping or any other sounds that occur in nature.  Crinkling paper has had millions of views on youtube.  Some say it helps one to fall asleep.  Others look for a tingling sensation.  How does the audiophile community use it?

An interesting video of how music affects your brain by WIRED magazine.  Explore how getting goosebumps or chills when you hear certain music happens.  See what improvisation and creation is a different brain reaction than performing music. Very interesting information!

We hear a lot about comparing formats, streaming services, analog vs digital, etc.  Which is right for you is a purely personal decision. There is no right or wrong when it comes to music playback.  "Better" is a tricky word. At DSD-Guide we support music first and encourage your to support artists, record labels and manufacturers that you enjoy.

CES was never intended to be "for the consumer" but for manufacturers to meet with distributors, reviewers, etc to talk about new products and innovation coming up.  Here we examine the high resolution portable, immersive sound and why the audiophiles no longer attend.  Join Blue Coast Music's romp into the future of music

Who would think these could present a technology problem?  Well, they do. Most of the music in this genre has been produced using CD quality wave files.  Those files are about 700MB and handled easily in most audio players.  Of course, mixing and working in DSD256 has brought an interesting situation...  one track of 60 minutes and 10 gigabytes in size.  Have a read and find out more

There are many pieces of a musical puzzle that delivers music from the studio to home listening.  We've have identified 6 categories that we call "Six Parts of Production" or the "Six Degrees of Degradation' (much to the chagrin of our audio engineers and audiophiles).  It's true.. every stage is another step of audio degradation that needs to be managed so as to lose as little quality as possible to produce the best end result.

In this article we focus on Part 3 (mastering) and Part 4 (authoring) for DSD downloads and SACD production.

Certainly, we are not experts in the field and welcome your thoughts on how music makes your life better.

Recently the subject has come up as to why downloads and streaming services play back differently?  This article begins to explore why that happens and welcomes comments about your experiences.

Setting up a listening test to compare various types of files is not easy.  You need a base of equipment and a trusted set of files to start.  Set aside several hours and have a few people involved.  We rarely do a test with fewer than 3 people. Here we'll explore some of the basics steps to compare files.

Recently some prominent audiophile reviewers have voiced their opinion on what they believe an audiophile recording is.  Opinions vary greatly and seem to depend on the favorite genre or listening style of the reviewer.  Written by Cookie Marenco, Blue Coast Records

The discussion of the Loudness Wars has finally reached a few ears in the pro audio community.  We are grateful to Tape Op for presenting this article written by Aaron Mullan.

JRiver Media Center is running a poll on the importance of DSD for your listening.  Now is the time to vote!  JRiver was one of the first media programs that helped catalog, playback and convert DSD files.  It is considered one of the finest when it comes to sound.  They promise to continue their excellent service to audiophiles and TV viewers.

The Loudness Wars...  you may have heard about it ...  or maybe not.  What it means is the 'relative' volume of playback for any given song.

Relative Playback?  what does that mean?

What is mastering?  Mastering is what we call the 3rd part of the production process (recording is part one and mixing is part two) that has the potential to change with improvements or degrade the sound.   As we talked about in Part One of our series, the final stage 6 is the listening environment in the home.

Fiona Joy Hawkins -- her name resonates in the acoustic music circles as one of this generation's top contemporary solo piano artists.  Having won many awards for her two previous albums, Fiona's new album, Story of Ghosts, is destined to do the same.

Eamonn Flynn was born into a musical family in Dublin, Ireland. His soulful mastery on piano, keys, and organ landed him on the 12 million selling movie soundtrack for "The Commitments." He’s recorded & toured worldwide with many major artists including Michael Franti & Spearhead, Elvin Bishop, Coco Montoya, Michelle Shocked, Evelyn "Champagne" King and a ten year stint with New Orleans drumming legend Zigaboo Modeliste. Eamonn's solo album "The Irish Channel" reflects a unique blend of Irish & American influences, expressing music that is rich, heart-warming and rousing...a fusion that Eamonn himself calls "Irish Soul".

Jenner Fox and friends were recently recording at Blue Coast Studios for their just released album, Buffalo.

Here's a sneak peek at what it's like to be in the studio with Jenner.  A brilliant combination of mixed performances and actual performance captured of rehearsals from the video camera perspective.  In one minute, you'll hear the music transform from mixed to live to mixed all locked to video captured of the musicians, engineers and others during the session.

Commentary by Cookie Marenco on Daily Dose of DSD.  Comment on how you listen.