CD vs. SACD
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As with CD's quality varies, but in my opinion the difference is quite substancial assuming you have the kit to get the best from SACD. Having said that my Proac speakers don't have the full frequency range to get the full SACD experience, but SACD's still sound substancially better. It's not just the higher frequencies, I've always found that most SACD's have superb deep tight bass. Multichannel SACD's cause divided opinion, I like some but not others, either way you'll always have a stereo mix.
Alternately, if your kit is good enough you won't need SACD?!
Is the format (which never really seeded itself) now in danger from the future threat of 'SA' quality downloads and increasingly capable DACS?
Is the format (which never really seeded itself) now in danger from the future threat of 'SA' quality downloads and increasingly capable DACS?
It's definitely in danger and from BluRay if not from eventual high-resolution downloads. If that is, you ever consider it to have taken off at all. I guess it has for classical music.
If you have a good enough system, then your CDs will sing anyway. I think it depends on your kit and on what you listen to and how.
Personally, I adore multichannel music, so the few SACDs I have I just love. The difference from CDs was huge for me, but most of that was down to the soundstaging and production of the material rather than hearing the extra resolution.
I have an SACD of Train - Drops of Jupiter and it's only 2ch. I have to say I can't see the advantage over the CD. They were both good, but I had been hoping for multichannel on the SACD. Will check more carefully next time!
My favourite disc of the moment is Keane on BluRay, live in London's O2 arena. What a fanastic disc. DTS Master Audio I think and just amazing. Thank goodness for multichannel music videos. That's what I love.
If you have a good enough system, then your CDs will sing anyway. I think it depends on your kit and on what you listen to and how.
Personally, I adore multichannel music, so the few SACDs I have I just love. The difference from CDs was huge for me, but most of that was down to the soundstaging and production of the material rather than hearing the extra resolution.
I have an SACD of Train - Drops of Jupiter and it's only 2ch. I have to say I can't see the advantage over the CD. They were both good, but I had been hoping for multichannel on the SACD. Will check more carefully next time!
My favourite disc of the moment is Keane on BluRay, live in London's O2 arena. What a fanastic disc. DTS Master Audio I think and just amazing. Thank goodness for multichannel music videos. That's what I love.
crimsondonkey:
Alternately, if your kit is good enough you won't need SACD?!
Is the format (which never really seeded itself) now in danger from the future threat of 'SA' quality downloads and increasingly capable DACS?
I suspect no matter how good your kit, if you had an equally capable SACD player and played the CD vs the SACD, I'm confident you'd notice a big difference. Having said that, CD's are usually limited by poor production, if you compared an XRCD played on a CD player to an SACD, then I suspect the difference wouldn't be so noticeable.
SACD never took off because the majority of music buyers were compressing CD's to 128kbps mp3's when it first came out, high fidelity being the least of their concerns. Unfortunately, unlike the contributors to this forum, most of the public aren't so fussy about sound quality.
Alternately, if your kit is good enough you won't need SACD?!
Is the format (which never really seeded itself) now in danger from the future threat of 'SA' quality downloads and increasingly capable DACS?
I suspect no matter how good your kit, if you had an equally capable SACD player and played the CD vs the SACD, I'm confident you'd notice a big difference. Having said that, CD's are usually limited by poor production, if you compared an XRCD played on a CD player to an SACD, then I suspect the difference wouldn't be so noticeable.
SACD never took off because the majority of music buyers were compressing CD's to 128kbps mp3's when it first came out, high fidelity being the least of their concerns. Unfortunately, unlike the contributors to this forum, most of the public aren't so fussy about sound quality.
I agree with Pete about consumers that care about fidelity being a bit too low in number to lead a revolution. I guess we're just lucky that BluRay came along at all with that in mind.
I've never heard an XRCD, Pete, where do you get these / how do you know if you have one?
I've never heard an XRCD, Pete, where do you get these / how do you know if you have one?
I don't expect you'd have one unless you'd specifically bought one. They were developed by JVC using the original master recording, but to better effect than the likes of Mobile Fidelity Sound Labs for example. No special equipment is necessary, they'll play on any CD player. Unfortunately, like SACD, most releases are jazz or classical. I've got Brothers In Arms - Dire Straits and Private Dancer - Tina Turner, both hard to get hold of now. Private Dancer is amazing. Unlike SACD, you can rip XRCD's to lossless audio on your PC keeping the same sonic brilliance.
Here's a description of the mastering process on Wikipedia. Most are available from the US or Japan, if you search XRCD on ebay for items available to the UK you'll get quite a few titles appearing.
Here's a description of the mastering process on Wikipedia. Most are available from the US or Japan, if you search XRCD on ebay for items available to the UK you'll get quite a few titles appearing.
Thanks for that Pete.
I've had a look at Wikipedia and it's interesting. SUggests that through carefully retaining all of the bandwidth of the original master recording, throughout the production process and then very precisely making the glass master disc to press cds from, the XRCD is effectively a perfect, error free cd. As good as a cd possibly can be. Sounds like a great way to master CDs. Expensive to produce but with error and jitter free data on the disc and due to the precision of the disc pressing, likely to lead to very accurate playback. Worth a look!
I've had a look at Wikipedia and it's interesting. SUggests that through carefully retaining all of the bandwidth of the original master recording, throughout the production process and then very precisely making the glass master disc to press cds from, the XRCD is effectively a perfect, error free cd. As good as a cd possibly can be. Sounds like a great way to master CDs. Expensive to produce but with error and jitter free data on the disc and due to the precision of the disc pressing, likely to lead to very accurate playback. Worth a look!
hi Will / Pete,
thanks a lot for the inputs. i now believe that it all mainly depends on my unit. sacd is of course better than cd, with significan difference if you will, but would not be really significant if your kit isn't good enough. since im listening to a wide range of music, and since not all of them are perfectly duplicated in sacd, and since my current set-up is stereo, i now prefer CD over sacd (avoiding the inconvenience of spending too much on upgrade, and in finding sacd's).
regards.
thanks a lot for the inputs. i now believe that it all mainly depends on my unit. sacd is of course better than cd, with significan difference if you will, but would not be really significant if your kit isn't good enough. since im listening to a wide range of music, and since not all of them are perfectly duplicated in sacd, and since my current set-up is stereo, i now prefer CD over sacd (avoiding the inconvenience of spending too much on upgrade, and in finding sacd's).
regards.
So I go search for XRCD on amazon (USA) and here's the first one I look at. Read the only customer review. LOL. Not much of an edorsement for spending 3 times what the disc usually costs...
http://www.amazon.com/Joker-XRCD-Steve-Miller-Band/dp/B00004STOP/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1254822713&sr=8-10
http://www.amazon.com/Joker-XRCD-Steve-Miller-Band/dp/B00004STOP/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1254822713&sr=8-10
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