Soundstream digital recording

[lucifer-chops]

Hi Gang

I am a newcomer to the world of SACD and have been busily ordering goodies from the rest of the world (you guys have no idea how expensive CDs and SACDs are in the UK!)

Anyhow, I ordered a disc from Telarc (Night on a Bare Mountain/Pictures at an Exhibition) expecting it to be a DSD re-master of an analog original. It was recorded in 1978. To my surprise the original recording was made digitally using "Soundstream" technology at a sample rate of 50kHz. The sleeve notes went on to say that the CD format could not do justice to Soundstream recordings but now with the advent of SACD they can be presented for the first time as they were intended to sound blah blah blah

I haven't had a chance to listen to the disc properly yet but I've never heard of Soundstream before. Anyone know anything about this format?

[luke j. chung]

Soundstream Digital recorders were probably the best-sounding of their day! Telarc and Delos made all of their early digital recordings with this machine and had its original designer, Dr. Tom Stockham, as a technical consultant in those days of the late 70s. When the Sony/Philips CD Redbook standards were finalized in the early 80s, Soundstream, with its 50k sampling frequency, became the odd-man-out. As a result, Telarc and other Soundstream users had to use a digital sampling rate converter to transfer their tapes into CD format, thus compromising the sound quality by downconversion. Thanks to SACD, you can actually hear the full resolution of the original master tapes, which allowed frequency bandwidth to extend all the way out to 25k. Late 70s audiophiles have waited over 2 decades to be able to hear these recording in their full original bandwidth resolution!:D

[lucifer-chops]

Thanks Luke.

I'm not a 70's audiophile myself, but I'm still looking forward to hearing Soundstream in all its glory this evening!

[Holy Zoo]

I don't have this particular title, but I've read several reviews saying that it is quite spectacular on SACD.

Here's one:

http://www.audaud.com/audaud/MAY01/SACD/SACD1MAY01.html

[David R. Modny]

Fleetwood Mac's "Tusk" was an album that used the Soundstream system at some point during the recording/mixing process, off the top of my head. Oh, and "Brothers In Arms", of course.

Paul Simon's "Hearts and Bones" used 3M's digital system, which also utilized a 50k sampling rate as I recall.

[Ronald]

I think Tom Jung used an early 3-M system to record Billy Joel "Songs in the Attic" from the road.