5.6.8 Issues with Super Audio CD (SACD)

5.6.8.1 The SACD format is based on Direct Stream Digital (DSD), a 1 bit sampling technique at 2.8 MHz sampling frequency which is not directly compatible with linear PCM. At the time of writing there are limited options for ingesting this type of signal into a digital audio storage system, as most SACD players do not provide either an SACD bitstream output or a high quality PCM signal derived from the bitstream.Sony has its proprietary I-Link interface using firewire,and some third party manufacturers have marketed proprietary interfaces that can handle SACD in its native format, but there is no widely accepted digital interface standard for this format. Indications are that a suitable open standard protocol for transmission of SACD over IEEE 1394 firewire though promised, may never eventuate.

5.6.8.2 Workstations developed for SACD mastering have capabilities for input, output and processing of DSD signals (http://www.merging.com/). It should be noted that even basic processing such as gain adjustment of DSD or SACD streams requires a completely different computational approach, and therefore very different algorithms to that of PCM, consequently, the restoration and re-use of audio encoded into such formats will be limited unless converted to PCM.