SACD set up question

[admin_exported]

Hi all,

I've recently decided to try and take advantage of the SACD capabilites of my 1st generation Playstation 3 and ordered a few SACDs of Amazon.

Having given them all a few listens over last week I'm really impressed with how they sound, and having compared the SACD layer with the CD layer I really feel there is a real difference between the two that I can hear on my system.

However I'm not quite sure if I'm really am or just fooling myself! Unfortunatly I've got a rather limited set up - the PS3 is going into my DacMagic2 via SPDIF which then goes into my old NAD 3020e which powers some Diamond 9s.

So based on that I think there can't actually be any difference, because whatever is coming out of the PS3 is just being downsampled by the DAC so what's going to the amp should be identical?

So would you say that it is possible I am hearing the difference SACDs can give you, or is it very much a placebo effect of me wanting to hear a difference? And would conecting the PS3 direct to the amp make any real difference? Any other suggestions or recommendations would be much appreciated!

 

[Trefor Patten]

Of course there is a difference. Your system, modest as it is, is being fed a far, far higher quality signal. Trust your ears and enjoy it.

 

[Overdose]

SACD is not decoded by a standard DAC, but by proprietory hardware/software inside the PS3. So the digital out that you are listening to is actually the RBCD layer and not SACD. The SACD encoding system is DSD, RBCD is PCM.

SACD data will only be from the analogue ouputs of the PS3 straight into an amp.

I have been looking at this myself and found out that adding a DAC will do nothing for the SACD performance. It would be interesting though to know the difference in sound quality between the SACD over analogue outputs vs the digital out (PCM), through your DAC.

 

[the record spot]

Yup, there isn't an offboard DAC from the usual suppliers that'll decode the SACD layer. You're hearing standard CD replay. To hear the SACD version, put it through your amp.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the replys everyone.

I'll have a play tonight using the analog AV output direct into the amp have see how that sounds.

 

[Overdose]

How did you get on last night?

I think that if you want to improve the SACD quality, then you'll need a better SACD/universal player.

 

[Anonymous]

Having had a play and switching between the DAC and straight into the amp the only difference was that it was slightly louder when played through the DAC. Which was disappointing!

The new thing I don't understand though is this;

On the PS3 Music Settings you have the option of selecting the output frequency. You have the choice of either "44.1/88.2/176.4" or just "48". I've just had it on the first settings, and when playing an SACD I've had the 44.1 LED on the DacMagic light up. I've just switched now to the "48" option, and when I'm doing around the menus etc I have the 48 LED lit up, but when I then start a SACD play back it goes back to 44.1. But if i just play the CD layer I still have the 48 lit up.

So it seems like the PS3 will upsample a CD to 48hz, but can't downsample the SACD to 48hz, only all the way down to 44.1.

It's looking like my SACD experiment is going to have be postponed to until I can afford to upgrade my system!

 

[Anonymous]

There's a dedicated site about SACD on PS3 with a PS3 SACD FAQ

.

 

[FunkyMonkey]

Having had a play and switching between the DAC and straight into the amp the only difference was that it was slightly louder when played through the DAC. Which was disappointing!

The new thing I don't understand though is this;

On the PS3 Music Settings you have the option of selecting the output frequency. You have the choice of either "44.1/88.2/176.4" or just "48". I've just had it on the first settings, and when playing an SACD I've had the 44.1 LED on the DacMagic light up. I've just switched now to the "48" option, and when I'm doing around the menus etc I have the 48 LED lit up, but when I then start a SACD play back it goes back to 44.1. But if i just play the CD layer I still have the 48 lit up.

So it seems like the PS3 will upsample a CD to 48hz, but can't downsample the SACD to 48hz, only all the way down to 44.1.

It's looking like my SACD experiment is going to have be postponed to until I can afford to upgrade my system!

Cannot remember the theory now, but the 44.1 kHz signal from SACD may have a higher bit resolution, i.e. 24 bit, as opposed to 16 bit from CD, which may explain why it sounds better. A tip when listening to any music from PS3 - set bitmap type to 3.