Consumer DSD Recorders: why Korg but not Sony?

Yuri · Joined: 28 Aug 2007 Posts: 162

As reported in the DSD Disc Guide and other places, Korg offers these 'prosumer' DSD recorders like the transportable MR-1000 and the portable MR-1.

Surely Sony sells professional DSD recorders as studio equipment but being the long-time king of portable audio and the inventor of DSD, why no portable DSD recorder from Sony?

The company has just announced a range of nice-looking new portable stereo audio recorders with up to 2GB of memory, solid-state apparently: the ICD-UX91, ~81 and ~71. They support MP3 and WMA encoding, but no mention of DSD.

See Sony Japan or AV Watch.

The Seventh Taylor · Joined: 17 Aug 2007 Posts: 401

Exactly! Or why not as part of the Walkman range?

This microphone add-on solution from Logitec (apparently this another company than the Western Logitech who are called Logicool in Japan so as to prevent brand confusion...) looks rather cheap but it shows how a digital Walkman could act as a recording device.

Is it that DSD (and losslessly compressed DST) takes enormous processing power? The fact that PS3 needs several SPEs to decompress it alone (which surely isn't more complex than the reverse, possible even significantly less complex) is an indication yet Korg manages it with this diminutive battery-powered device.

The Seventh Taylor · Joined: 17 Aug 2007 Posts: 401

Just to add: the latest iPods now also supports audio recording. Not DSD of course (possibly not even stereo), but perhaps the clearest sign of a trend?

Yuri · Joined: 28 Aug 2007 Posts: 162

I just discovered Sony's got a product that much louder screams to get DSD functionality: the PCM-D50 (and its even more professional sister product, the PCM-D1).

See http://pro.sony.com/bbsc/ssr/cat-audio/resource.latest.bbsccms-assets-cat-audio-latest-pcmd50.shtml

The typenumber suggests however it's pretty squarely aimed at recording of PCM type audio...

PS3SACD · Site Admin Joined: 17 Aug 2007 Posts: 316

It's probably telling enough that Sony promotes Tascam and Korg DSD recorders on their own site:

http://www.vaio.sony.co.jp/Products/Solution/DSDdirect/feat3.html

PS3SACD · Site Admin Joined: 17 Aug 2007 Posts: 316

Despite a flurry of (high-res) PCM-based portable audio recorders, at least in Japan, Korg continues with a product that records in DSD as well as PCM. Today they mailed us about their latest model, the MR-2 (not to be confused with a Japanese two-seat sports car :)

Besides DSD, red book and MP3 it records in a resolution that will be familiar to PS3 enthusiasts: 24-bit 176.4 kHz.

http://www.ps3sacd.com/news.html#_20100324

Yuri · Joined: 28 Aug 2007 Posts: 162

There's a thorough review (in Japanese) of the Korg MR-2 here in AV Watch, including a DFF sample file.

PS3SACD · Site Admin Joined: 17 Aug 2007 Posts: 316

Just noticed that a search for 'DSD recorders' will typically lead to this forum page rather than the following one so here's a link:

DSD recorder overview

Yuri · Joined: 28 Aug 2007 Posts: 162

There's an interview with the developers of the Korg MR-2 today in AV Watch:

http://av.watch.impress.co.jp/docs/series/dal/20100510_366130.html

I also found back this earlier article that compares different DSD recording solutions and concluded Sony does deliver such product to consumers, just not portable ones like Korg, only heavy VAIO PCs. It still baffles me.

http://av.watch.impress.co.jp/docs/20070226/dal271.htm

Also from the archives: an overview of (hi-res) PCM recorders and one DSD recorders. It's from 2008 and I've never seen an update even though lots of such products have been announced last and this year. I don't understand it because AV Watch continues to cover all these products.

http://av.watch.impress.co.jp/docs/20080228/pcmrec.htm

(All links to Japanese articles)

Yuri · Joined: 28 Aug 2007 Posts: 162

I had not actually expected to ever see any change in this situation anymore but apparently the perhaps unexpected somewhat late success of DSD separate from SACD has swayed Sony Pro.

Six years after the PCM-D50 they've announced a successor model, the PCM-D100, which adds DSD support!

http://pro.sony.com/bbsc/ssr/cat-audio/cat-recorders/product-PCMD100/

http://blog.sony.com/2013/10/sony-unveils-pcm-d100-high-resolution-audio-portable-recorder/

http://www.soundonsound.com/news?NewsID=16605

http://av.watch.impress.co.jp/docs/series/dal/20131028_621211.html (Japanese)

More pictures here: http://taperssection.com/index.php?topic=164484.0