An SACD question

Erndog, I’ve had better than average success with Analogue Productions reissues.

hi tbg:

do you recall the "sound" of the original zanden??

if so, why do you prefer the exemplar ??

i have heard some of the earlier exemplar dacs. i would agree that they are high quality components, but as a matter of taste, i don't recall hearing a "classic" tube sound.

i think some of the early wavelength dacs are worthy competition for exemplar.

with regard to bringing up the "old" issue of tubes vs solid state, i thought that the context of the sonic superiority of sacd over pcm, could be overcome by a properly selected tubed dac with a nos tube.

I've found the reverse to be true. My Carpenters SACD sounded better on my XDS1 than on a Playback MPD3

But that might be subject to change now I've gotten an MPS5 which can use the same DAC for disc and computer..

Mrtennis, I had the original Zanden and liked it, but long ago I moved on. I don't remember why I sold it. My favorite dac right now is the Exemplar Crystal chip dac, which uses tubes.

All that I can say from my experiences is that sacd played in dsd from a hard drive is far superior to that played off the optical disc in any player, I have heard.

Thanks Mr. T. for turning this thread into a, ( tubes are always better than solid state thread ). Personally I've weaved my way away from tubes and all there sonic issues.

I have an Ayon CD5S and it's an amazing CDP and Pre and DAC all built into one and it's got an excellent tube output stage.

That said, I still find my EMM Labs XDS1 does a better job with both RBCD and SACDs partnered with an Audio Research Reference 5SE tube preamp.

I buy SACDs whenever I can.. often blind, from cdjapan.co.jp

The SHM SACDs are pricey but I am generally well pleased with the quality.

Phaelon,
What are some SACD's that you find remarkable sounding?

Mrtennis, I dont think the hoopla is so much about SACD players as much as it is about SACDs themselves. You simply cant retrieve information that isn’t there. And while you’ll find me in the front line when it comes to complaining that too many SACDs disappoint for the money being asked, the best are untouchable by redbook IMO.

I still buy SACDs but I don’t gamble; I have to be convinced it’s a good buy.

let me throw out the gauntlet.

let someone provide a good quality sacd player. i am confident i can find a tubed player or dac, which is redbook based over a most solid state sacd players.

if the sacd player is tube based, perhaps i would prefer the sacd medium.

if the sacd player is a solid state device, i think i could find tubed digital hardware using the hybrid layer.

perhaps an example would be the original zanden dac, which i find hard to beat.

Still buying and plan on continuing to do so.

Enjoy!

Well at least this thread insipred me to go SACD shopping. Picked up 5 x 2L Nordic disc releases, 2 Channel Classics, and threw in one Jazz release for good measure. Some of this stuff is rediculously cheap ($10 + $3 shipping on Amazon market for a 2L release).

Good point Mrtennis,, I use Audio Research's latest greatest DAC ( DAC8 ), the sound is not like SACD in many ways but it is very good. I hate to say it's analog like, as those terms get used far to loosely, but the sound is far beyond using the CD player ( Ayre C5exMP ) by itself.
The need to have music on SACD also lessens when I consider the higher cost and that many of the SACD's I own sound no better than there red book counterparts.

I find the SHM cds universally superior.

I specifically look for SACDs. I only have a digital front end, but I prefer them over redbook CD almost universally. What's more of a toss up is the uber expensive SHM SACDs over the normal issues. Some are better, some so much so it warrants the extra $s, some the other way.

I own about 500 sacds and now have some on my music server in dsd. Getting this is a rather cumbersome process but is wonderful. It is like hearing master tapes. It also takes lots of space. I have a two Tb raid system, so this is no real problem.

I as yet have no 192/24 pcm download to compare with the dsd, but I have Diana Krall albums in both formats. The dsd is superior, even though the master tape was probably 192/24. I also have several direct to dsd from analog master tapes that are outstanding.

You can load dsd files to Itunes using Pure Music.

I find I am buying a lot less of them since AudiogoN eliminated it's dedicated SACD section of the classifieds.

I've found quality of SACD's to be variable on much popular material. Enough so that I don't go out of my way to seek them out for anything but classical music. However, classical releases tend to have good to excellent recording engineering and clearly show the the benefits of SACD technology. Thankfully, SACD seems to be alive and well in the classical music market and I'll keep buying them as long as the medium remains viable.

I still buy them but wish the price would come down. I purchased a few from BMG music club before it closed for about $6 each. I assume BMG was not taking a huge loss on them so why do they usually cost $25 and up?

hi dvb:

you made an interesting comment about the sacd medium, when you mentioned "all things being equal".

do you therefore acknowledge that given the population of sacd players, it may be possible to achieve better sound from the hybrid layer when using a particular redbook player or dac/transport combination ?

for example, my favorite cd playing device is the original zanden dac.

it may be possible that the zanden, with a suitable transport could produce better sound than an sacd disc with an sacd player.

i realize "better" is subjective, but perhaps, some redbook digital hardware can exceed the quality obtainable from an sacd disc.

I still buy them, as there are still a lot of classical releases and the sound is still better to me than Red Book CD.

I still do although if vinyl is available I buy that.

Chuck

SACD is my preference but there is a lot of music that is not yet on SACD, so CD's to a minor amount still play apart.
For instance just heard Yuja Wang play Rachmaninoff's third piano concerto, and that was enough to pick up a couple of her CD's to listen to what else she can do. Yes there was not the strength of a man for the music, but the pace, rhythm, and sound more than made up for it. So am still on the bandwagon and hoping as others for still more titles

Still buying. It is always my first choice. Sometimes I must wait for the SACD release but it is worth it. Film music is always better rendered on SACD.

Still buying - I got in the game late.

Kal: "I am still on the bandwagon because there is really nothing better yet, especially for multichannel."

Me too. Mine are virtually all Classical, altho I just ordered Analogue Productions' new rerelease of the Dave Brubeck Quartet's 'Time Out'. I read reviews in several print mags and look at SACD.net every day.

I have maybe a thousand Classical and film-music discs, about 60-40 CDs and SACDs, and not a single CD sounds as transparent as a typical SACD. Interestingly, the better my MC system has gotten over the last few years, the getter sounding both disc types get, but the sounds from SACDs improve more than those of the CDs.

I LOVE 'em and will keep buying them as long as I can find them.
.

I'm still on the band wagon!

Sadly, supply in my musical area of interest has pretty much dried up, but I occasionally scan some sites for new releases. If a label like 2L Nordic sounds releases something of interest I jump on it....

I still seek them out because generally they sound great. Of course the music matters so you must be selective. I mainly purchase classical titles.

I am still on the bandwagon because there is really nothing better yet, especially for multichannel.

Kal

I still buy both new and used SACDs (but only the hybrid variety) and would hate to see them go away. However, I am just as likely to buy new or used CDs labeled as K2HD, XRCD, or Ultra HD. I also continue to buy both new and used redbook CDs, but in the case of new redbook CDs, I now limit my buying strictly to those that have received good reviews (or word of mouth) for sonics.

I only buy them when I ind something I like and don't have.
I just wish they would open up more titles to SACD.

If I see something I want, I'll buy it. I don't search for them like I used to though.

I will prefer an SACD, all things being equal, and will sometimes take a flyer on an SACD, just because it is an SACD.

I still buy em...about 3-5 a month....most sound excellent, especially some of the new reissues...still the best digital seems to be via a top quality transport/clock/dac vs hard drive/usb/dac/clock...this is my experience at least...