Jamie, Thanks for the news that cdnow is selling "Both Sides Now" as a DVD of some kind. I went to cdnow and tried to duplicate your experience but couldn't. I suspect that BSN may be available (or may soon be available) on a brand new audio format called DVD-Audio. A DVD-Audio disc looks exactly like a CD but it's not. I haven't covered this format in the "Audiophile's Corner" series yet because it's still very much a *collection* of emerging formats. There's a lot yet to be settled about this idea. For example, DVD-Audio discs from some record companies will NOT play on regular CD players. (They are missing a second layer in the Red book format.) Can you imagine spending $24 on a disc that you can't play on your computer, boombox, or in the car?? On the other hand, some companies have decided to manufacture discs with BOTH layers on them so they are compatible with CD players. Some (all?) DVD-Audio discs will play on DVD movie players because they carry music as if it was a movie soundtrack without any video in the 5.1 format. Some audiophiles dislike the "sound" of 5.1 because the processing scheme changes the sound relative to LP sound or straight CD sound. Since there are no specifications on how to develop the 5.1 tracks, you get what ever the re-issue folks feel like doing to it. It's possible that BSN may be formatted with nice ambiance enhancing back channels while C&S may be issued in the 4 channel mix (Quadra-disc?) in which it was released in the 70s. Most of the 4 channel work done in the 70s was ridiculed by the high-end because it's not "musical" to sit in the middle of the orchestra, surrounded by instruments. To the high-end, the best experience is roughly 10 rows back, in the center of the audience where you experience the "hall sound". Anyway, the real drawing card of DVD-Audio is not the fact that it carries a 5.1 soundtrack. The real reason why a few people will spend $25 list (!!) for these discs is because they carry "Enhanced Resolution" tracks. Think of this as a better version of CD. Instead of holding digital sound encoded at 44,100 samples per second, the highest spec is 192,000 samples per second, at two tracks (stereo). In effect, it's four times more data. The theory is that it more accurately describes the best recordings like the Cowboy Junkies' "The Trinity Session", most jazz recordings, and most classical recordings. Those who've heard it (in who's ears I trust) say that it's more realistic. More like the experience of listening to a vinyl LP on a $5,000 turntable with a $2,000 phono cartridge. (This territory is way over my financial head.) But there's more complexity. A record company also has the *option* of using the 'brain space' of the disc to encode 6 channels specified at 96,000 times per second. John Atkinson, the Editor of Stereophile Magazine, recently responded to a question I posed via email with this answer: "DVD is restricted to a maximum data rate of 10Mb/s, hence it can't do 6 channels of 24.96 without using MLP lossless compression...." So, while Stereophile appears to "like" 192 x 2 channels, they haven't really formed an opinion on 6 channels at 96. In the past, any kind of analog compression carries with it audible side effects. Will this *first generation* digital compression (MLP lossless compression) be "transparent"? Most record companies are talking about using this 6 channel 'brain space' as a super version of 5.1. (5.1 is five full-range speakers while the .1 means one subwoofer channel.) At least one has stated that they'll put out 6 full-range channels instead of 5.1. Confused? Join the club! ~~~ To make it worse, Sony has a completely incompatible super digital format called SACD. So far Sony has only sold 2 channel (stereo) players and discs and Stereophile says it's great. They say it's certianly an improvement over CD sound. (Then of course, there are those on the rec.audio.high-end news group who say it sounds the same.) However, the SACD format includes a 6 channel option as well. I think it's unlikely that Sony has created the 6 channel specification without having the ability to manufacture a 6 channel player. In other words, for every 2 channel SACD player they sell, they may be able to sell a 6 channel SACD player in a few years, when they decide it's time to sell another box! There may be combination players which will let you play both DVD-Audio and SACD at some point. ~~~ CD is now sounding better than ever though because the technology of separate and very expensive Digital to Analog converters can often be enhanced with a new technology called "Upsampling". I haven't heard this but apparently you get *some* of the benefits of the high-res formats with every CD already in your library. ~~~ As someone recently pointed out (Jerry Notaro, I think), you can decode HDCD discs (like most of Joni's catalog) with a few DVD (movie) player. See the HDCD site for details. ~~~ Stereophile magazine and its website are excellent resources about the high-end. Consider that most multitrack recordings are already hamstrung in the quality department anyway. If you can hear the higher sound purity of the piano on "For The Roses" as compared to "Court and Spark", then you may be interested in audiophile equipment. If not, don't worry about it. Which brings me back to the reason why I haven't written about DVD-Audio and SACD in the "Audiophile's Corner" series- it's a big damn mess. Ultimately, hardware is just a way to bring us the music. All the best, Lama
