Browse Pure DSD
Pure DSD albums are recorded, mixed and mastered without ever passing through PCM. From the microphone to the final edit master, the music stays in DSD or in the analog domain, with no round trip through DXD or any other PCM format for editing, mixing or sweetening.
We follow the definition developed by NativeDSD mastering engineer Tom Caulfield, which recognizes three ways of working:
Direct Mixed. The microphone tracks are recorded in DSD and mixed, and optionally sweetened, entirely in the DSD domain. This also includes single-microphone live sessions captured straight to DSD.
Analog Mixed. The DSD tracks are converted back to analog, mixed on an analog desk, and converted to DSD again for the edit master. Sessions mixed live on an analog desk and recorded directly to DSD fall into this category too.
Unmixed Transfers. Analog master tapes transferred directly to DSD, with no editing or mixing. These flat transfers preserve the original tape as transparently as possible.
Pure DSD is the most demanding way to make a recording, and only a small group of labels and engineers work this way. The result is music that reaches you exactly as it was captured, in its purest form. Read more about what we mean by Pure DSD.