Super Audio CD (SACD) is an optical disc format for audio storage introduced in 1999. It was developed jointly by Sony and Philips Electronics and intended to be the successor to the compact disc (CD) format.

The SACD format allows multiple audio channels (i.e., surround sound or multichannel sound). It also provides a higher bit rate and longer playing time than a conventional CD.

An SACD is designed to be played on an SACD player. A hybrid SACD contains a Compact Disc Digital Audio (CDDA) layer and can also be played on a standard CD player.

History

The Super Audio CD format was introduced in 1999, and certain Blu-ray players can use specialized software to extract a DSD copy of the HD stream.

Sound quality

Sound quality parameters achievable by the Red Book CD-DA and SACD formats compared with the limits of human hearing are as follows:

; CD: Dynamic range: 90 dB; or more commonly, HDMI.

SACD players are not permitted to offer an output carrying an unencrypted stream of DSD. macOS music software Audirvana also supports playback of SACD disc images.

See also

  • DSD-CD
  • DualDisc
  • Extended Resolution Compact Disc (XRCD)
  • High Definition Compatible Digital (HDCD)
  • Timeline of audio formats

References

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Bibliography

  • Janssen, E.; Reefman, D. "Super-audio CD: an introduction". Signal Processing Magazine, IEEE Volume 20, Issue 4, July 2003, pp.&nbsp;83–90.
  • Super Audio Compact Disc: A Technical Proposal, Sony (archived PDF)
  • SA-CD.net Reviews of SACD releases and a discussion forum.