CDäänenlaatu

CDäänenlaatu refers to the audio quality of Compact Discs. The Compact Disc Digital Audio system, standardized in the Red Book, utilizes pulse-code modulation (PCM) to represent audio signals. This standard specifies a sampling rate of 44.1 kHz, meaning the audio waveform is sampled 44,100 times per second. It also employs a bit depth of 16 bits, allowing for 65,536 discrete amplitude levels for each sample. These specifications, in theory, provide a frequency response up to 22.05 kHz, which is beyond the upper limit of human hearing, and a dynamic range of approximately 96 dB. The digital nature of CD audio ensures that playback is free from the surface noise, wow, and flutter characteristic of analog formats like vinyl records, provided the disc and player are in good condition. However, the perceived "warmth" or "detail" of CD audio can be subjective and influenced by factors such as the mastering process, the quality of the digital-to-analog converter (DAC) in the playback device, and the listener's audio equipment. While considered a significant improvement in audio fidelity upon its introduction, advances in digital audio formats and technologies have since offered higher sampling rates and bit depths, leading to discussions about whether these offer perceptibly superior sound quality.