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In Reply to: RE: Loudness - SACD versus CD posted by genungo on July 10, 2015 at 14:01:22
If the loudness levels affects conclusions, it's because the people reaching these conclusions are incompetent.
It is impossible to compare sound quality of two formats or presentations without precisely matched levels. This can be very difficult to accomplish with systems that have a single volume control. If the volume control is stepped, there may be no pair of settings that provides equal levels. If the volume control is continues it will have to be adjusted on each switching and repeatability will be an issue. (There may ways to work around this problem and reach reasonably accurate conclusions, but these are tedious and error prone.)
Keep in mind that needed level adjustments depend on the particular mastering involved. Because the technical limitations of PCM and DSD differ the mastering engineer(s) involved may make different decisions on gain used. In some cases gain differences may simply be a function of their workflow and equipment.
Tony Lauck
"Diversity is the law of nature; no two entities in this universe are uniform." - P.R. Sarkar
Follow Ups:
... most of my SACDs were hybrids. I never really noticed a difference in levels when comparing the CD and SACD layers. I had always assumed that the layers were level matched with some degree of precision because it always sounded that way to me.That said, I have always considered one of my only single-layer SACDs, John Coltrane's "A Love Supreme", to be the best sounding version of this recording I own. Now I'm wondering if I should go back and re-listen to this recording and all of my other SACDs once again, this time using an SPL meter. Too bad that I no longer own an SACD player.
Edits: 07/11/15
It's hard to level match music with an SPL meter. This would work OK with test tones, down to the resolution provided by the readout. For fair comparison, levels need to be matched to 0.05 dB or better. If you have a digital voltmeter you can connect it in parallel to speakers to measure the voltage of a test tone.
If you want to compare levels with music, then the best way is to take the output of the player(s) and loop them back into a sound card. Record both analog signals this way with identical settings. Then use an audio editor such as Audacity or Soundforge to examining the waveforms, calculate peak signal values and RMS average signal values, etc.. Anyone with a computer and some extra interconnect cables has all the necessary hardware lying around and the software is either free or free on introductory trial. This is a quick and easy test if you have the equipment already around and more or less setup and if you are familiar with the use of the necessary software. If not, it will be an interesting learning experience.
I have never had an SACD player nor purchased an SACD. Nor will I ever do so because of the DRM. I have dozens of DSD downloads that I play on a DAC that plays both PCM and DSD from my computer. On my system there are big differences between levels when playing DSD and PCM. The relative gain depends on my software settings as well.
Tony Lauck
"Diversity is the law of nature; no two entities in this universe are uniform." - P.R. Sarkar
Borrowed a universal player, and I am now listening to some of my old Hybrid SACDs again. Using my ears alone (so far) I cannot discern much if any difference in sound level between layers. Still listening though...
Edits: 07/11/15
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