new to SACD

evhudsons

I'm completely new to SACD's. I only first read about it in the "what are you listening to" sticky thread. I looked it up and am intrigued by this. Does anyone have good recommendations on the ones you like? I listen to just about anything as long as it sounds good. And are there other formats that I might not know about? And where do I find them?

thanks for any tips and leads.

Drenis

I too, am new to SACD's but have done a little reading to understand that they are a 5.1 encoded music source over the standard 2.0 for a CD. I also see that you need an appropriate CD player to hear these. As far as a digital format... not sure what the digital format of a SACD is but with only 2 speakers... I don't see any advantage for me to try one.

mhardy6647

...just a semi-cogent fyi
http://www.positive-feedback.com/Issue56/sacd.htm

BlueFox

SACDs are recorded using DSD digital technology. This allows more information (detail) to be digitized than does the original CD format of 16 bit at 44KHz sampling. Newer high-res digital sampling rates are equaling/exceeding SACD sonic advantages.

Yes, you need a player capable of playing SACD discs. Like everything else in this hobby you can buy a mediocre SACD player, or a great SACD player.

Generally, an SACD disc will have a two-channel version, and a 5.1 version. Some also contain the regular CD version. I play the 5.1 in my HT, and I have a two-channel SACD for critical listening; i.e. pure pleasure listening.

Some SACDS are not any better sounding than the CD. Others sound much better. The sound you get will depend on the rest of your gear, including the cables.

brgman

Think-
CD=doing it by yourself
SACD=doing it with a partner :rolleyes:

byfthalone

brgman wrote: »

Think-
CD=doing it by yourself
SACD=doing it with a partner :rolleyes:

well if that doesn't explain it perfectly I am not sure what else will!!! :biggrin:

evhudsons

Great analogy there!

I looked up the different players, and man do they run on prices. It still will go on my wish list though. For now stereo is just fine. Is there a way to run it through a computer if I have a special sound card?

If it is a higher quality sound, then it would be worth the player regardless of 5.1


I would hate to get a player and have it all go the way of betamax.

HHStuart

Sony has Blu Ray Players that can play SACD's. I got one for $100 at B.J.'s. It sounds pretty good to me. I only started buying SACD's about a year and a half ago. I've got about 300 now. A lot of them I got at Newbury Comix, many of which were inexpensive.
If you like classical there are quite a few of them, a lot of jazz also. Other genres are not as well covered. As was said, some CD's can sound better than some SACD's - it depends on the sound engineering. I like the 5.1 surround sound. It can be amazing.

evhudsons

super nice lead there, and I certainly love classical and jazz, and everything else. Some of my best SDA moments are in both those genres.

I'll check that out, for $100 gotta do it!

Danny Tse

The Sony Blu-ray players, like the current S380 model, does play SACD. However, if you are using its analog outputs, the player can only output 2 channel stereo. In other words, the player lack the 5.1 analog outputs. On the other hand, the player can, and does, output SACD's native DSD bitstream 5.1 when its HDMI output is used. I have the S380's predecessor, the S370, which has been raved about by the European hi-fi press. I don't believe the S380 has changed much.

All SACDs, as "mandated" by the formats developers Sony and Philips, must contain a 2 channel stereo mix (unless the recording was mono). Of course, there're exceptions but those are very few in numbers. SACDs come in 2 "favors"....single-layer and hybrids (2 layers). Hybrid SACDs are the ones with the CD layer, which makes the disc compatible with all CD players. Most SACDs released nowadays are hybrid SACDs. On the SACD layer, there's a 2 channel stereo mix (as mentioned before), and as an option, the multi-channel mix, which can range from 3.1 to 5.1.

One website I'd suggest visiting is sa-cd.net. It's very informative and list just about all SACDs released worldwide.

evhudsons

great site, thanks!

I had a fireplace DVD that I bought a few years back, and it had classical, jazz, and easy listening music in 5.1 surround. I had always wondered why there weren't more music being put out the same way. It sounded pretty good, not the best, but it was a really great long list of music. I never played the music when using it as a fireplace DVD, I wanted the natural sound, but times when I wanted that playlist, it was good for the mood.