What is DSEE HX and how it works
Sony pays a lot of attention to audio systems, rightly considered one of the best manufacturers in this field. In parallel with the development of headphones, music players and speakers, the company does not forget to develop technologies that allow you to squeeze the most out of compressed audio formats. Now you rarely meet a person who listens to music in uncompressed formats, the vast majority of people upload songs to the player or smartphone in MP3. The quality of such compositions, albeit very good, but still can not be compared with the "serious" recordings without compression. However, Sony managed to create a technology that can significantly improve the sound quality. You do not need to switch to another format or free up space on the device for more weighty audio files.
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What gives DSEE HX?
It is very difficult for digital audio file formats to reproduce the smallest nuances of the composition. All music - the sound of musical instruments, up to subtle tones, vocals - should be recorded as an ordinary sequence of ones and zeros. If the quality is still high on a standard CD, then with the more popular MP3 format, the sound is noticeably worse due to the strong file compression. At first it may seem that the song sounds great, but it is worth including the same composition on a CD or an uncompressed format, as all the shortcomings of a compressed format will make themselves felt.
The worst is the situation with high frequencies, which are usually the first to suffer when the file size decreases. They sound blurry, and sometimes they can not be heard in principle. Sony was puzzled by the improved quality of songs in compressed formats. The problem may seem strained - you can just go to high resolution recordings, that is, created using High-Resolution Audio technology. The quality of the format is even better than a CD, but the songs take up much more space. On a smartphone, as a rule, they store both a collection of photos, and games, and various applications — there may not be enough space for music, especially when you want to record your entire home library “just in case.” With Hi-Res Audio, in addition to file size, there is another problem. The music should initially be recorded in the appropriate resolution, but there are not very many such records.
Therefore, Sony decided to work on improving the sound in the available formats - CD and MP3 - without changing the files themselves. At the time of creating the new technology, the company already had a DSEE (Digital Sound Enhancement Engine) digital sound enhancement system, which, when processing a signal, translates the compressed composition into a higher quality format. In this way, the recordings received the high frequencies missing from the transition to MP3. The result was that the MP3 recordings sounded like a CD. Sony took DSEE as the basis and managed to refine the technology so that it now surpasses the quality of the CD. Novelty called DSEE HX. A few eloquent digits: for CD tracks, the frequency is 44.1 kHz / 16 bits, for DSEE HX - 96 kHz / 24 bits. The main advantage is that the file size does not increase at all. The technology processes not the recording as such, but information that is broadcast in the RAM of the device while playing music, that is, right on the fly.
And at least we will hear the difference?
Of course. Sony offers to test any song with and without DSEE HX. It is recommended to listen not even entirely, but a small fragment in order to better feel the differences. We listened to a fragment of the song, rewound to the beginning of the segment, activated the miracle option and restarted the song - it would be difficult to miss the changes.
The DSEE HX effect is especially pronounced on live recordings - it seems that you are right on the floor. Applause, the roar of the crowd, and individual musical instruments are heard more clearly - the guitars do not merge, but sound more fragmented. In short, a complete sense of presence at the performance of a group or musician. Also at concerts, you can sometimes hear an echo from the vocals, and the technology allows you to transfer changes in the volume of these sounds, up to a gradual attenuation. On studio recordings, the work of DSEE HX will also be noticed, just on live performances it will be more explicit.
What devices does it work on?
Of course, only made by Sony. DSEE HX works on Xperia Z smartphones starting with Z3 and all subsequent versions, Walkman players that support high-resolution (Hi-Res Audio) audio, wireless speakers, AV receivers for home theaters, BRAVIA 4K TVs and some other devices .
There is one caveat: although the technology on the entire list of devices is the same, but it works a little differently. For example, in Walkman and Xperia there will be another frequency. For players, this is 192 kHz, and for smartphones - 96 kHz. Otherwise there is no difference.
')
What gives DSEE HX?
It is very difficult for digital audio file formats to reproduce the smallest nuances of the composition. All music - the sound of musical instruments, up to subtle tones, vocals - should be recorded as an ordinary sequence of ones and zeros. If the quality is still high on a standard CD, then with the more popular MP3 format, the sound is noticeably worse due to the strong file compression. At first it may seem that the song sounds great, but it is worth including the same composition on a CD or an uncompressed format, as all the shortcomings of a compressed format will make themselves felt.
The worst is the situation with high frequencies, which are usually the first to suffer when the file size decreases. They sound blurry, and sometimes they can not be heard in principle. Sony was puzzled by the improved quality of songs in compressed formats. The problem may seem strained - you can just go to high resolution recordings, that is, created using High-Resolution Audio technology. The quality of the format is even better than a CD, but the songs take up much more space. On a smartphone, as a rule, they store both a collection of photos, and games, and various applications — there may not be enough space for music, especially when you want to record your entire home library “just in case.” With Hi-Res Audio, in addition to file size, there is another problem. The music should initially be recorded in the appropriate resolution, but there are not very many such records.
Therefore, Sony decided to work on improving the sound in the available formats - CD and MP3 - without changing the files themselves. At the time of creating the new technology, the company already had a DSEE (Digital Sound Enhancement Engine) digital sound enhancement system, which, when processing a signal, translates the compressed composition into a higher quality format. In this way, the recordings received the high frequencies missing from the transition to MP3. The result was that the MP3 recordings sounded like a CD. Sony took DSEE as the basis and managed to refine the technology so that it now surpasses the quality of the CD. Novelty called DSEE HX. A few eloquent digits: for CD tracks, the frequency is 44.1 kHz / 16 bits, for DSEE HX - 96 kHz / 24 bits. The main advantage is that the file size does not increase at all. The technology processes not the recording as such, but information that is broadcast in the RAM of the device while playing music, that is, right on the fly.
And at least we will hear the difference?
Of course. Sony offers to test any song with and without DSEE HX. It is recommended to listen not even entirely, but a small fragment in order to better feel the differences. We listened to a fragment of the song, rewound to the beginning of the segment, activated the miracle option and restarted the song - it would be difficult to miss the changes.
The DSEE HX effect is especially pronounced on live recordings - it seems that you are right on the floor. Applause, the roar of the crowd, and individual musical instruments are heard more clearly - the guitars do not merge, but sound more fragmented. In short, a complete sense of presence at the performance of a group or musician. Also at concerts, you can sometimes hear an echo from the vocals, and the technology allows you to transfer changes in the volume of these sounds, up to a gradual attenuation. On studio recordings, the work of DSEE HX will also be noticed, just on live performances it will be more explicit.
What devices does it work on?
Of course, only made by Sony. DSEE HX works on Xperia Z smartphones starting with Z3 and all subsequent versions, Walkman players that support high-resolution (Hi-Res Audio) audio, wireless speakers, AV receivers for home theaters, BRAVIA 4K TVs and some other devices .
There is one caveat: although the technology on the entire list of devices is the same, but it works a little differently. For example, in Walkman and Xperia there will be another frequency. For players, this is 192 kHz, and for smartphones - 96 kHz. Otherwise there is no difference.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/368619/
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