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One area where DVD-Audio so far has an advantage over SACD is on the computer. To date there are no SACD-compatible personal computers on the consumer market, allowing the playback of a single-layer stereo or multichannel DSD format disc. One can, however, play a DVD-Audio disc on a PC using, for example, a Sound Blaster Audigy 2 sound card.

But what about ripping a multichannel DVD-A disc to a PC? Creative Technology announced last week that it has solved that problem for music fans—sort of. The company says that it is now selling "the only THX-certified consumer sound card capable of six-channel DVD-Audio quality 24-bit/96kHz recording."

According to Creative, the new Sound Blaster Audigy 2 Platinum eX system retails for $249 and includes an "Audigy 2 External I/O Module" (analog-to-digital converter) for recording at 24/96 through three analog stereo connections, plus optical and coaxial digital I/O, full-sized MIDI I/O, and two SB1394 (FireWire) ports. Also included in the box is a variety of music creation software for aspiring musicians who wish to use their PCs as high-rez multichannel recording studios.

Ripping the high resolution DVD-A audio tracks directly to the PC from its drive remains elusive. What is unclear at this time is whether or not a DVD-A disc's optional watermark is detected by the Plantinum eX A/D converter. If so, it would prevent conversion of the analog output from a DVD-A machine to 24/96 digital when playing those discs that watermark their tracks.

Regarding DVD-A playback, the company says that, by keeping the audio processing off the computer's motherboard, the Audigy 2's digital-to-analog converters deliver 106dB SNR. In addition, music fans with a DVD-ROM drive sporting 6x or greater playback speeds can utilize the Sound Blaster Audigy 2 to decode 24-bit/192kHz stereo DVD-A tracks.