Super Audio CD Decoder

Because of the flop on the market, Super Audio CDs (SACDs) are little known among the average users. Audiophiles, on the other hand, know exactly the benefits of SACDs, which are mainly much extended playtime and support for more channels than the regular Audio CDs.

Super Audio CD Decoder is a simple plug-in designed for foobar2000 audio player specifically to run SACDs.

Adding the extension is nothing complicated and fans of the audio player should know that this is achieved by going to the Components section in foobar2000’s configuration panel and installing the component.

The plug-in does not have an interface and integrates in foobar2000 seamlessly, offering some configuration options in the Tools section in the settings panel of the player.

Among the choices available there is the possibility to select the ASIO driver mode, which can be PCM or DSD if the soundcard supports DSD playback. The package also includes ASIO proxy driver installer.

Additional options include setting the PCM volume and sample rate as well as the DSD to PCM mode. The freshly added component features the possibility to turn on editable tags.

Using the component is not rocket science. Either insert a Super Audio CD and start listening to its content or use an image file containing the necessary data.

Adding Super Audio CD support to foobar2000 is not something the average user would do, but audio aficionados would definitely want to try it, especially in combination with this audio player, which is versatile and very flexible as far as options and support is concerned because of the community behind it.