Sony PCM-F1 – Sony has long been celebrated for its innovation and engineering excellence, so it’s no wonder the company is at the forefront of the digital audio revolution. Digital audio, which captures and reproduces music using computerised binary codes instead of traditional analogue waveforms, is the future of high-fidelity sound in both disc and tape formats. Sony has consistently led the way in this field, establishing itself as the undisputed authority.
In 1977, even before the Electronic Industry Association of Japan (EIAJ) set a standard, Sony introduced the Sony PCM-1, the world’s first digital audio processor. By 1980, Sony followed up with the Sony PCM-10, the first digital processor to comply with the EIAJ standard.
Sony’s success in digital products goes beyond technological prowess. Any professional recording engineer—or anyone well-versed in the latest digital equipment—will confirm Sony’s extensive range of digital products, including processors, editors, reverberators, and cutting-edge 24-track recorders and mastering systems. When it comes to digital audio, only Sony offers such a comprehensive selection.
Fast forward to today, and it’s clear that Sony is uniquely equipped to create the most advanced, intelligently designed, and versatile digital processor on the market. With great excitement, we introduce the Sony PCM-F1, a digital audio processor that promises to usher in the digital age for home recording. This product surpasses all traditional analogue recorders, even the most sophisticated open-reel units.
The Sony PCM-F1 has already proven why it’s the digital processor of choice. With such advanced design, no other unit is better suited to harness the immense benefits of digital recording. But let’s return to what really matters—sound quality. After all, digital recording’s primary advantage is its ability to reproduce sound with unprecedented accuracy and realism.
The Basics of Digital Recording
To truly appreciate digital recording, one must first understand the limitations of conventional analogue recording. Analog systems attempt to capture a perfect replica of the musical signal on tape. However, every analogue system has inherent physical limitations, whether in the tape transport design or the magnetic tape itself, which prevent perfect waveform reproduction. As a result, analogue recording systems suffer from four significant flaws: limited dynamic range, imperfect frequency response, high harmonic distortion, and noticeable wow and flutter. Even the best analogue hardware and software can’t eliminate these issues. However, digital recording not only renders these problems inaudible but, in some cases, completely unmeasurable.
Various methods exist for digital recording, but they all share a common principle: instead of representing an audio signal as a continuous waveform, digital processors convert sound waves into precise, computerised binary codes. This is crucial because the main issue with analogue machines is the magnetic tape’s inability to store all the information presented by the recorder. Digital processes prepare the signal for recording in a way that’s much easier for the tape to handle—in essence, the digital code fits the tape better.
At Sony, we believe Pulse Code Modulation (PCM) is the best method for digital recording. PCM requires the tape to manage only pulses (“ones”) and silences (“zeros”), and the process is surprisingly straightforward. The analogue signal is sampled at an incredible 44,056 times per second. Then, the signal is quantised into a precise 16-bit binary digital code. Music, in this form, consists of 1.4 million bits of information per second, which is stored on the tape. During playback, this digital signal is re-converted into analogue musical form.
Since magnetic tape has limited capacity, digital recording uses only pulses and silences, simplifying the process. No complex magnetic messages are recorded—the processor handles the heavy lifting. Consequently, many limitations that affect magnetic tape are irrelevant to the Sony PCM-F1, including wow and flutter, frequency response issues, harmonic distortion, and low dynamic range. However, one challenge remains: tape dropouts.
The Sony PCM-F1’s Advanced Error Correction
Tape dropouts are brief interruptions—lasting about 1/50000th of a second—and research shows that every tape has thousands of these flaws. In analogue systems, they’re too short to be a problem. But in digital recording, any disruption in the binary code can impact the sound by introducing errors in the decoded signal. To address this, Sony’s engineers developed an ingenious error-correction system before making digital processors a reality.
The first of these systems, the Cyclic Redundancy Check Code (CRCC), is extraordinarily accurate, detecting 99.9985% of all dropout errors. During recording, the CRCC system records an error-correcting word and a check word for every six words of musical signal. During playback, the Sony PCM-F1 compares these check words with the music. If it detects any discrepancy, it identifies it as a code error caused by a dropout. The error-correcting words are then used to reconstruct the correct word. This system, derived from the world’s most advanced computer error-correction technology, is fast, precise, and nearly foolproof.
In the rare event that CRCC can’t correct a dropout, a system of word interleaving and linear interpolation takes over. This innovative system shuffles digital words before recording them. Upon playback, de-interleaving restores the proper order, ensuring that even if a large tape section is affected by a dropout, adjacent words remain intact. Then, linear interpolation averages the values of the surrounding words, allowing the Sony PCM-F1 to recreate the missing information so accurately that the correction is undetectable.
Size and Portability
To make the Sony PCM-F1 more versatile and compact, we decided to design it as a separate processor, without a built-in video tape transport (all current digital processors store digital information on video tape). This allows you to use it with a video recorder to capture both digital audio and video. Unlike other bulky, cumbersome digital recorders with built-in transports, our design ensures that the Sony PCM-F1 is the smallest and lightest digital processor in the world.
You can pair the Sony PCM-F1 with any VCR, whether Beta, VHS, U-matic, or 1/4-inch types, by simply connecting it to your video recorder. If you don’t own a VCR, we recommend the Sony SL-2000 – one of the world’s smallest and lightest 1/2” VCRs. Together, the Sony PCM-F1 and SL-2000 weigh less than 18 pounds, making digital studio, remote, and mobile recording a breeze.
Our design offers the flexibility to use the video recorder for both audio and video recording, without needing both functions at all times.
What gives the Sony PCM-F1 an edge over the competition? It’s equipped with five LSIs (large-scale integrated circuits), including Sony’s latest digital/analogue and analogue/digital ICs. These compact circuits replace hundreds of ICs, drastically reducing the Sony PCM-F1’s size, weight, and cost. This exemplifies Sony’s approach: if the current technology doesn’t meet our needs, we reinvent it.
16- vs. 14-Bit Quantisation
The EIAJ has set a 14-bit quantisation standard for digital processing, which they believe provides ample dynamic range. While we at Sony appreciate that an EIAJ standard is in place – since a lack of compatibility has plagued the high-fidelity industry for years – we believe consumers deserve the best possible performance. That’s why the Sony PCM-F1 is the first digital processor to offer both 14- and 16-bit quantisation.
The 14-bit processing mode is ideal for playing pre-recorded tapes, recording tapes for playback on other processors, and playing tapes from non-Sony digital machines. But for most of your recordings, the 16-bit setting will offer even better dynamic range and lower harmonic distortion. Plus, 16-bit recordings can be played on 14-bit machines for added flexibility and convenience.
In summary, we’ve included the 14-bit setting for compatibility with other digital processors. But Sony customers are leaders, not followers, and they demand the best performance available. If that’s what you seek, you’ll find it in the Sony PCM-F1 and its 16-bit quantisation mode.
The Sony PCM-F1’s 3-Way Power Supply
To make the Sony PCM-F1 truly portable, Sony offers three different power supply options, ensuring you have the perfect solution for any situation:
AC Operation: The Sony PCM-F1 comes with an AC power adaptor. Just connect it to the Sony PCM-F1 and plug it into a wall outlet.
Rechargeable DC Battery Packs: For remote, outdoor, or any recording scenario where AC power isn’t available, choose between two rechargeable battery packs – the NP-1 for one hour of continuous operation and the BCP-220 for up to four hours. Despite the added power, the system remains lightweight (both battery packs are also compatible with the SL-2000).
