Does anyone still use a SACD .Can you tell the difference from a standard cd player and is a used one still worth a try ?
Can you still buy newly released discs? When the format was building strength they were not available over the counter at my local HMV store and had to be ordered.Does anyone still use a SACD .Can you tell the difference from a standard cd player and is a used one still worth a try ?
Yes, as others have stated. A good match with your Leema (assuming you still have it) is the Arcam FMJ CD37Does anyone still use a SACD .Can you tell the difference from a standard cd player and is a used one still worth a try ?
Following criticism that the original published results of the study were not sufficiently detailed, the AES published a list of the audio equipment and recordings used during the tests.[35] Since the Meyer-Moran study in 2007,[36] approximately 80 studies have been published on high-resolution audio, about half of which included blind tests. Joshua Reiss performed a meta-analysis on 20 of the published tests that included sufficient experimental detail and data. In a paper published in the July 2016 issue of the AES Journal,[37] Reiss says that, although the individual tests had mixed results, and that the effect was "small and difficult to detect," the overall result was that trained listeners could distinguish between hi-resolution recordings and their CD equivalents under blind conditions: "Overall, there was a small but statistically significant ability to discriminate between standard quality audio (44.1 or 48 kHz, 16 bit) and high-resolution audio (beyond standard quality). When subjects were trained, the ability to discriminate was far more significant." Hiroshi Nittono pointed out that the results in Reiss's paper showed that the ability to distinguish high-resolution audio from CD-quality audio was "only slightly better than chance."[38]Now, it is very difficult to use negative results to prove the inaudibility of any given phenomenon or process. There is always the remote possibility that a different system or more finely attuned pair of ears would reveal a difference. But we have gathered enough data, using sufficiently varied and capable systems and listeners, to state that the burden of proof has now shifted. Further claims that careful 16/44.1 encoding audibly degrades high resolution signals must be supported by properly controlled double-blind tests.
I could hear a difference between a Cambridge Audio CXUHD 4K Blu-ray player and a Reavon X110 4K Blu-ray player hooked up to my amp and speakers when listening to a SACD in 5.1 surround sound. There was various theories though why I could hear this difference. I am not too sure.Does anyone still use a SACD .Can you tell the difference from a standard cd player and is a used one still worth a try ?
I’ve enjoyed my Marantz (in my signature) very much, and they still make SACD players. The big BUT for me is the discs, in that I’m a classical music lover, and several labels, like BIS, regularly release their output on SACD, so it’s easily acquired. These are dual layer, so work fine as a CD too. I can’t speak for other genres though it seems to be more prevalent in MoFi type remasters of stuff you already bought three times.The problem I have is I change my boxes all the time but I'm totally happy with the ones I have (and yes I still have the Leema) .
But I've never had a SACD player I would be looking at used .but all the reasons to not get one are probably all the reasons I've never had one .
Seems that's a trick with some hi-res stream tracks too - to ensure a difference is heard.Similarly, SACD of older material are often remixed or remastered, so you can’t be sure you’re comparing identical masters
I saw it as a similar entry price for the player, and the SACDs themselves I buy are regular price, £10-12 each. One snag is they’re slow to read and begin playing compared to a regular CD. It’s just a shame there’s not much choice any more, though disc players are not getting replaced in many ranges. LUxman just discontinued three models, for example.Probably an expensive journey with little real benefit seems to be the advice
Check the manual to see what the DAC can handle.Can you send a digital SACD signal to a standard DAC ? Or would you not want to ?
See the previous post - I couldn't, there's no digital output signal even though a SPDIF is available. I'm guessing that's for CD only as it doesn't work with SACD - at least on my Oppo. Like I say, I suspect that's to stop people making hi res copies of what were expensive items. In this instance the DAC has to be done inside the box, and I wonder if that's not either very common or even universal.Can you send a digital SACD signal to a standard DAC ? Or would you not want to ?
Always been my understanding that it's universal, as you say, for copyright reasons.I wonder if that's not either very common or even universal.
No. As mentioned above, I think it was a fundamental part of the spec, to prevent copying. It’s been done by some sort of workaround, but I guess with it being the nearest thing to a master tape at the time, no copyright holder would have wanted copying to be possible.Can you send a digital SACD signal to a standard DAC ? Or would you not want to ?
Yes, material is still being released on SACD. Still very big in Japan.Can you still buy newly released discs? When the format was building strength they were not available over the counter at my local HMV store and had to be ordered.
this is normal for most SACD playersWorth pointing out that an SACD digital output may not be available, presumably for copyright purposes. I can't send a digital SACD output from the Oppo to the MF, for example.
some expensive players, like PS Audio, have an I2S connection that will allow a digital signal to a similarly equipped DAC, however they are few and far betweenSee the previous post - I couldn't, there's no digital output signal even though a SPDIF is available. I'm guessing that's for CD only as it doesn't work with SACD - at least on my Oppo. Like I say, I suspect that's to stop people making hi res copies of what were expensive items. In this instance the DAC has to be done inside the box, and I wonder if that's not either very common or even universal.
Not universal, see above postAlways been my understanding that it's universal, as you say, for copyright reasons.
(If the difference is the same as I've heard between CD Q and Hi- Res downloads, they needn't have gone to the trouble of preventing copying).
See my post on I2S connectionsNo. As mentioned above, I think it was a fundamental part of the spec, to prevent copying. It’s been done by some sort of workaround, but I guess with it being the nearest thing to a master tape at the time, no copyright holder would have wanted copying to be possible.