SACD players

Blacksabbath25

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hi can anyone let me no what sacd players are like as i have never heard one before and do they sound any better then cd players do if i got one i would get the marantz one that goes with the pm8005 as i see the price has dropped or is it a dead format ?
 
Blacksabbath25 said:
hi can anyone let me no what sacd players are like as i have never heard one before and do they sound any better then cd players do if i got one i would get the marantz one that goes with the pm8005 as i see the price has dropped or is it a dead format ?

Well it's certainly not dead but if you don't yet own any discs it is debatable what it's value to you would be.

There are limited releases in this format, although still strong in Japan, and discs are pricey. I happen to rate them but have been picking up one or two for years.

Like vinyl today it's a very expensive format to start to get going.
 

Blacksabbath25

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No do not own any but if I got one I would try and only buy my favourite artists to play on it if it was worth the extra money and apart from the player and amp , speakers is that all you need to run a sa CDs ? Also I see marantz has 2 SD CDs players one just for Sd CDs and a universal one which is cheaper at £499 which will play blue Ray's , DVDs , CDs , CD-ROMs but not sure on that one but heard good things about the marantz sc8005
 
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Blacksabbath25 said:
hi can anyone let me no what sacd players are like as i have never heard one before and do they sound any better then cd players do if i got one i would get the marantz one that goes with the pm8005 as i see the price has dropped or is it a dead format ?

Go on pull the trigger *smile*. You want a matching system don't ya!*dirol*

I've got one, plus some SACD's, and personally I can't hear much difference CD vs SACD. But that's probably down to my cloth ears *biggrin*
 
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Blacksabbath25 said:
apart from the player and amp , speakers is that all you need to run a sa CDs ? Also I see marantz has 2 SD CDs players one just for Sd CDs and a universal one which is cheaper at £499 which will play blue Ray's , DVDs , CDs , CD-ROMs but not sure on that one but heard good things about the marantz sc8005

Nope that's all you need, it's just a pimped CD player that plays both formats. Just had a look on the Marantz site and the SA8005 is the lowest in their current Hi-Fi range that supports SACD playback; you must be looking at the UD5007/7007 in their Home Theatre range.
 

Blacksabbath25

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DougK said:
Blacksabbath25 said:
apart from the player and amp , speakers is that all you need to run a sa CDs ? Also I see marantz has 2 SD CDs players one just for Sd CDs and a universal one which is cheaper at £499 which will play blue Ray's , DVDs , CDs , CD-ROMs but not sure on that one but heard good things about the marantz sc8005

Nope that's all you need, it's just a pimped CD player that plays both formats. Just had a look on the Marantz site and the SA8005 is the lowest in their current Hi-Fi range that supports SACD playback; you must be looking at the UD5007/7007 in their Home Theatre range.
I was looking at the Harrow hi fi site on line I was looking around there site and yes the universal was in there AV section and the normal sa cd was in the cd section
 

Leeps

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Personally I wouldn't bother with 2-channel only SACD players or discs. I've only really been able to appreciate the difference with true multi-channel mixes, in which case it strikes me as better to have SACD (& therefore multi-channel Bluray too, both conventional and audio-only discs) in your multi-channel Bluray player rather than a 2-channel equivalent.

There is a good selection of classical SACD's, and the multi-channel Bluray Audios I have are the best things I've heard. Having said that classical music as a genre is more able to show up better recordings anyway. The thing I notice most about the Bluray audios apart from their immersive surround mixes is that they offer the very best detail and 'bite', but they're never harsh either.

But if I had a 2-channel only system I don't think I'd bother with SACD.
 
I'd agree somewhat with the last two posts but it's not solely classical music that's available, this is a common misconception. I own heavy rock, blues, jazz, and prog rock SACDs. They are, I agree, not easy to come by and rare ones are expensive. The multi channel ones are OK but you might just as well find the blue-Ray disc that is often available too. Only 10 of the discs I own are multi-channel.
 

James7

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There are SACDs out there in all genres but it is only really in classical that many new discs are still being released. I actually made the decision you arr contemplating a couple of years ago or so, and bought a Marantz SACD player despite not at that time owning any SACDs. My reasoning was I needed a new CD player and as someone who listens primarily to classical music I could see that in my case the format was far from dead. As someone who has never really got into computer audio - I actually enjoy still choosing a physical dosc, placing it in the disc drawer and so on, but again, perhaps listening to classical shapes this as I listen to whole symphonies, operas and so on and so don't feel a particular draw to playlists or need to change discs regularly - the SACD player choice seemed a good one and so it is proved. I can well imagine that my case is quite an unusual one though, and if you want to see what high res can offer over CD and listen mostly to genres other than classical, the download route may well suit you better.
 

Blacksabbath25

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I personally like CDs better then downloaded music as I think it just sounds a lot better plus I like having the cd in my collection . I do have downloaded music on my Mac but found cd is far better
 

philpot1001

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DougK said:
Blacksabbath25 said:
apart from the player and amp , speakers is that all you need to run a sa CDs ? Also I see marantz has 2 SD CDs players one just for Sd CDs and a universal one which is cheaper at £499 which will play blue Ray's , DVDs , CDs , CD-ROMs but not sure on that one but heard good things about the marantz sc8005

Nope that's all you need, it's just a pimped CD player that plays both formats. Just had a look on the Marantz site and the SA8005 is the lowest in their current Hi-Fi range that supports SACD playback; you must be looking at the UD5007/7007 in their Home Theatre range.

Not that i use it - but im almost certain the cheaper CD6005 is also SACD compatible
 
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FunkyMonkey

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If you are only interested in stereo and analogue, the Pioneer PD-10 is a decent machine.
 

Covenanter

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philpot1001 said:
DougK said:
Blacksabbath25 said:
apart from the player and amp , speakers is that all you need to run a sa CDs ? Also I see marantz has 2 SD CDs players one just for Sd CDs and a universal one which is cheaper at £499 which will play blue Ray's , DVDs , CDs , CD-ROMs but not sure on that one but heard good things about the marantz sc8005

Nope that's all you need, it's just a pimped CD player that plays both formats. Just had a look on the Marantz site and the SA8005 is the lowest in their current Hi-Fi range that supports SACD playback; you must be looking at the UD5007/7007 in their Home Theatre range.

Not that i use it - but im almost certain the cheaper CD6005 is also SACD compatible

It will play SACDs but so will all(?) CD players because SACDs have a CD layer.

Chris
 

Sixtyten

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The Marantz CD6005 will categorically not play SACD's. It will only play the CD layer of hybrid SACD discs. Stick a single layer SACD into it and you will be greeted with silence and an error message.

I have a large collection of SACD's and it's heartbreaking that such a superb format was allowed to wither on the vine before it even had a chance. Some of the stereo discs (The Buggles "Adventures In Modern Recording", Michael Jackson's "Thriller", Vangelis "Blade Runner") are amongst the best sounding recordings you will ever hear. Even the Black Sabbath albums sound good! There are many more but I won't bore you with a list.

The surround discs available such as Telarc's Jarvi Prokofiev recordings, the recently re-released Quad The Doors "Greatest Hits" and lots more take music to an entirely different and unexpected level. If the bug bites, you will simply will not go back.

As for an actual player? You'd be better off with a Marantz Universal player like the UD5007 for several reasons. You will be able (with a suitable surround sound amp) to play multi-channel surround sound SACD's that the more expensive SA8005 can't play. And, on SACD at least, you will be scarificing a tiddly fraction of performance with much more flexibility as the UD5007 also plays Blu-ray Audio and DVD-Audio discs. Again in surround (if you want).

There is another much more er "practical" reason for suggesting the UD5007, which I won't mention. Needless to say if you have one, or a related Denon / Marantz player you will know exactly to what I refer.
 

ID.

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Covenanter said:
philpot1001 said:
DougK said:
Blacksabbath25 said:
apart from the player and amp , speakers is that all you need to run a sa CDs ? Also I see marantz has 2 SD CDs players one just for Sd CDs and a universal one which is cheaper at £499 which will play blue Ray's , DVDs , CDs , CD-ROMs but not sure on that one but heard good things about the marantz sc8005

Nope that's all you need, it's just a pimped CD player that plays both formats. Just had a look on the Marantz site and the SA8005 is the lowest in their current Hi-Fi range that supports SACD playback; you must be looking at the UD5007/7007 in their Home Theatre range.

Not that i use it - but im almost certain the cheaper CD6005 is also SACD compatible

It will play SACDs but so will all(?) CD players because SACDs have a CD layer.

Chris

not all have a cd layer, but most do. I've got some SHM SACDs that don't. Then again, I've gotten rid of my player...
 
Sixtyten said:
The Marantz CD6005 will categorically not play SACD's. It will only play the CD layer of hybrid SACD discs. Stick a single layer SACD into it and you will be greeted with silence and an error message.

I have a large collection of SACD's and it's heartbreaking that such a superb format was allowed to wither on the vine before it even had a chance. Some of the stereo discs (The Buggles "Adventures In Modern Recording", Michael Jackson's "Thriller", Vangelis "Blade Runner") are amongst the best sounding recordings you will ever hear. Even the Black Sabbath albums sound good! There are many more but I won't bore you with a list.

The surround discs available such as Telarc's Jarvi Prokofiev recordings, the recently re-released Quad The Doors "Greatest Hits" and lots more take music to an entirely different and unexpected level. If the bug bites, you will simply will not go back.

As for an actual player? You'd be better off with a Marantz Universal player like the UD5007 for several reasons. You will be able (with a suitable surround sound amp) to play multi-channel surround sound SACD's that the more expensive SA8005 can't play. And, on SACD at least, you will be scarificing a tiddly fraction of performance with much more flexibility as the UD5007 also plays Blu-ray Audio and DVD-Audio discs. Again in surround (if you want).

There is another much more er "practical" reason for suggesting the UD5007, which I won't mention. Needless to say if you have one, or a related Denon / Marantz player you will know exactly to what I refer.

+1

Which is exactly why I went for an Oppo 105eu as it will also play blu ray audio discs, of which I have a few.
 

philpot1001

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i stand corrected then, the only reason i thought this, was its stated within the CD-6005 specs......from Marantz website

"cd6005 CD Compatability: CD/CD-R/RW/SA-CD/WMA/MP3/AAC"
 

Singslinger

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I play my SACDs through a Marantz SA-11S3 SACD player in one system and an Esoteric SA-50 player in another.

I find the sound of most - though not all - SACDs to be preferable to my ears when compared to the same title on a normal CD. There is a warmth, richness and fullness which suits my taste. If you already own many SACDs or think you will eventually own several, I'd say it's a worthwhile investment to get a dedicated player.
 

MajorFubar

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Anyone found a way of ripping the SACD (DSD?) layer, and if so, does it honestly sound any different/worse if you convert it to 16:44 PCM?
 
MajorFubar said:
Anyone found a way of ripping the SACD (DSD?) layer, and if so, does it honestly sound any different/worse if you convert it to 16:44 PCM?

Apparently it is possible but only if employing an old Sony Xbox. Much too faffy if you ask me. I very much doubt you'll hear any difference, although just why you'd want to perform any more digital mish-mashing I wouldn't know. :)
 

Sixtyten

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Although Sony / Philips made it difficult to rip the SACD's it is possible using an old PS3 on a specific firmware and some software. A google search will furnish the details. These can be then be outputed as SACD.ISOs which most players can't play. If you know where to look though, there are machines which will quite happily play these ISO's once they are copied on to a blank DVD. Some machines will even let you play these ISO's without you having to burn the discs!

There is also software which can split SACD ISOs into the individual tracks - you'll have to dig around the internet for it, but it does exist.

Software like JRIVER will play SACD.ISOs, but it converts the DSD to PCM so although, there is an improvement in the sound, unless you attach a DSD capable DAC (say the DENON 300) then you hear just hear the DSD transcoded to something else. I've recently bought one of these (for a song) and through my A19 they sound damned impressive. Hell I can't tell the difference from them and playing said said discs through my Denon 2012.

As an experiment though I converted the Thriller SACD.ISO to a WAV file using DBpoweramp (they have DSD decoder) just to see. It still sounded superb, rather suggesting that the main benefit of SACD is that they are produced from better masters.
 

MajorFubar

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Al ears said:
MajorFubar said:
Anyone found a way of ripping the SACD (DSD?) layer, and if so, does it honestly sound any different/worse if you convert it to 16:44 PCM?

Apparently it is possible but only if employing an old Sony Xbox. Much too faffy if you ask me. I very much doubt you'll hear any difference, although just why you'd want to perform any more digital mish-mashing I wouldn't know. :)

So it could be played by any old CD player or streamer. I don't have enough knowledge about DSD and SACDs to know whether the technology they use is always going to sound superior to PCM where there are no other variables (such as different masters) or whether it's basically a load of old baloney. I know the basics of the theory behind DSD, but I don't know how that manifests itself as real unquestionable audible improvements.
 

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