Sony to launch portable PCM linear recorder with Flash memory, PCM-D100, in 2014

The PCM-D100 supports 1-bit 2.8 MHz DSD, a format that allows sound sources to be recorded using digital signals, but closely resembles analog waves.

At the beginning of next year, Sony will launch the new PCM-D100, a portable PCM linear recorder with integrated 32GB flash memory.

The recorder reproduces high quality sound, live and outdoor shows with a fidelity close to organic sound. The PCM-D100 is ideal for live music shows, theater performances and electronic news production.

The PCM-D100 supports 1-bit 2.8 MHz DSD, a format that allows sound sources to be recorded using digital signals, but closely resembles analog waves.

It also supports high-resolution 192 kHz/24-bit linear PCM audio recording and playback. The unit can reproduce delicate and ultra-high range musical components, with excellent audio quality from low range to high range. This is achieved by equipping the device with a wide playback frequency band that easily exceeds the 20 Hz to 25 kHz band gap.

The recorder features a highly sensitive directional microphone incorporating a new 15mm unidirectional microphone unit. This allows the user to adjust the audio pickup range. The highly sensitive wideband recording function displays frequency properties of up to 40 kHz, to take full advantage of the benefits of DSD recording.

Compared with conventional 24-bit DA converters, the PCM-D100 has adopted a higher-class 32-bit converter to achieve more accurate sound reproduction. The headphone amplifier incorporates high-capacity, ultra-low-impedance 0.33 F (330,000 μF) electrochemical double-layer capacitors (EDLC), equivalent to 750 times the capacity of conventional capacitors. This stable power greatly improves the power supply of the headphones and allows high-quality audio to be reproduced with even higher fidelity.

The recorder's 100 dB S/N mode minimizes sound distortion and internal noise during recording, and also reduces internal noise when converting from analog to digital by applying a unique digital limiting mechanism that uses two A/D converters for a single channel. This feature reduces noise with a signal-to-noise ratio of up to 100 dB (for input recording). Sony has also incorporated a conventional digital limiter to consistently ensure normal audio as well as 12 dB low signals. Even if the input exceeds the maximum levels, the device prevents sound distortion by automatically adjusting the optimal level.

This device is capable of continuously recording truly perfected sounds and textures, exactly as they are heard in reality and for long periods of time. The recorder runs for approximately 6 hours and 35 minutes when recording in linear PCM (192 kHz/24 bit), or for approximately 10 hours and 50 minutes in DSD (2.8 MHz/1 bit). The device's memory can also be expanded with the addition of external memory; Audio recordings can be stored directly in this external memory.