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Sacd/dvd-a, The Hype Is Dead, For Me At Least...

SACD, DVD-A....

I purchased a 2000.00 Universal and about 10 titles mostly SACD

SACD- Nice on surround, actual 5.1 disks, Stereo SACD well if you can get a Re-mastered CD or a Hybrid then its just as good on an awesome Redbook player as thru an SACD decoder... It is interesting.

DVD-A- Most of them ended up very UNDERWHELMING.... as stated earlier, and just a PAIN IN THE A$$...

Vinyl- I am only mentioning this as it seems viable for the discussion, as much garbage as it takes to turn on a DVD-A disc half the time I can put a LP on my VPI record cleaner, and Que it up just as well and it BLOWS away the DVD-A, and Most SACD's... I am not an Analog protector, as a matter of fact I bought My Analog RIG after ATTEMPTING SACD/DVD-A universal world.

CD- Bottom line Re-mastered Cd's and SACD Hybrids sound superior on a good old 16x BIT WADIA 4000.00 player than the SACD on the top of the line Marantz SACD player(this was borrowed)... This will catch much Heat I am sure, but drop the drama, invest Redbook, You can't buy anything on SACD or DVD-a in comparison to well recorded Redbook on a Very good redbook machine unless you are looking for the true benefit of surround SACD's. 2 channel I do not see the point.

Now let me back up, I am irritated only because, I am young, never had vinyl, and I started my High-end(audiophile) Life right in the Middle of SACD/DVD-A War about 2 years ago, so of course I had to have it... I will never go back to the headach of it now that someone was kind enough to show me the true sound of a Wadia player and a Vinyl rig in comparison to it.

I sold all Hi-Def Audio Software and Hardware and took all that money to the used market and Purchased the Wadia and Vinyl rig with YES an old fashoned Record cleaner to get the most out of it, and could not be Happier! Plus 90% of everything you could want is on Vinyl and CD, including New bands, many re-issues, etc...

Don't get me wrong, If you are into the titles that are in abundance on the SACD format GO FOR IT! It sounds VERY VERY good, but if you like maybe 10 CD's that exist on it, take the extra Money and purchase at least a Theta, Wadia, Maybe even Krell Machine(but I do not like the sound as much)... Okay don't take this as bashing, this is Truly my opinion on what I have heard and spent much time testing, And these were all done in home comparisons with Equal cost equipment for the most part for many months. And done in a very good room, good cables, speaker placement, power supply, and acoustic treated room that sounds excellent and does not lie....

I have nothing against the Hi-res music, hell I wanted it, I tried it as a newbee, and there is some definate impressive stuff, the MAIN thing I love about using Hi-res is When you can get your favorite guys in concert with DTS up on the HDTV in front of you, that so far is the only worthy format I have found worth the money and the cause, So I have a Seperate MOVIE / Slash / Concert DVD system that is a lot of fun and phoenominal results... But 2 Channel, get the best CD's or Hybrids, because the Hybrids do for some reason sound better than the originals probably due to they are Re-mastered very well, and a rewarding CD player will show this as much as the SACD counterpart if in a correctly setup system. And Vinyl, Ha well lets just say coming out of college recently my friends laugh until they here it cranked and can't believe it, especially if you have some good stuff to back it, but there is "DOG" recordings on ALL formats so don't think any sytem will Turn coal into a diamond in front of you.

But this all costs money No doubt, I only threw this little thread in here to maybe help some people save some cash... We can't have it all, but you can have it better if you know the direction to go in, I did not, but I found it, and it was full circle all the way back to the begining.. Don't let Hype rule your ears.
matrix

Showing 12 responses by tbg

tbg
5,263 posts
 
An average sacd sounds better than an average cd. I have about 500 sacds and in many instances I have the same recording in both. Apart from XRCD24s and HDCDs, redbook lacks the completeness of sacd. You have less of the feeling of being present at the recording venue. Also the transient attack on cd is slower than on sacd. I will continue to buy sacds when I can, and there is no question that those recorded in dsd are superior.

It will be a sad day in several years, when sacds are no longer being released.

If your player can play HDCDs and there are thousands of these including many recent popular releases, it is far superior to ordinary cd. Similarly, while XRCD and XRCD2 were very good, XRCD24 is much superior. Unfortunately, JVC has not released many.

And then there is vinyl. As yet I have heard no digital source that equals vinyl, but what a pain it is, unless you have the laser tt.
tbg
5,263 posts
 
Ben, I don't know why anyone needs to post that sacd has not taken off as some had hoped. If it is to discourage some from taking the plunge, it is unwarranted. I buy too many of the sacds that are released each month and would not be without a unit that will play sacds. To suggest that others avoid buying because supposedly the format is dead is to deny them the delight at sacd's superiority, if they are so foolish to heed the notion that it is dead.

If at some point new sacds are not released, existing ones are no longer available, and players also are unavailable, I will be unhappy and concede that sacd is dead. I see no evidence of any of these now.
tbg
5,263 posts
 
Ben, I think there is a major difference between many being disappointed and, as you say, sacd being dead. Many, myself included, were greatly disappointed by redbook. This format has greatly improved in the last four years.

Audio-girl, I think what kills the vast majority of dvd-as is copy protection. I have two dvdas that I listen to. I have many with both dad and dvda encoding. I also have many Classic dads. These are better IMHO.

I entirely agree about vinyl being superior, but it is still a pain in the ass.
tbg
5,263 posts
 
Ben, I certainly concede that you never said sacd was dead, but you did say, "The main point of many of these posts is that SACD is not a clear improvement for many. People who own SOTA equipment really required the levels below to support the format." This concedes the point in my opinion. But even if not the thrust of the thread is that sacd is dead.

Again my point is that I see little that concerns me yet, and I see no reason to post such claims.
tbg
5,263 posts
 
Ben, I must admit that I am at a loss in understanding your comments. How do you know if this thread was posted for audio fans for audio fans? And how is this relevant? Why would I know why you have a "dead format" section, and does this contradict your statement that you never said sacd was a dead format? Again why is this relevant?

I can think of multiple hypotheses as to why some don't hear benefits from sacd, and I doubt whether your four explain why sacds have not flourished.

Again your posting as well as those of others to the effect that sacd is dead, don't make it so. They may, however, discourage some from trying sacds out of concern that their investment might be lost. I probably should not be too concerned about this as many of your ilk said this about LPs, yet quality has willed out. The sky isn't falling, Chicken Little.
tbg
5,263 posts
 
Guidocorona, why is this directed to me? I am the one suggesting that the demise of sacd is greatly exaggerated?
tbg
5,263 posts
 
Ben, if you look at my first two posts on this thread, they have nothing to do with what you said. The first is just my two bits, and the second is merely to wonder why anyone feels the need to post about this.
tbg
5,263 posts
 
Matrix, in this post I entirely agree. It is just that I am not certain that sacd is dead nor that it was hype, such as you say in your initial post.

Redbook has advanced greatly in the last five years. How much further it could go, I certainly would not guess.

PCM was first and has been adopted by the computer industry. DSD had an uphill battle as a result, unfortunately. I suspect that the computer industry will abandon PCM at some point, perhaps at that point if dsd is still around it will revive, or perhaps MP3 and the loss of the public's hearing will kill everything including redbook.
tbg
5,263 posts
 
I have never owned a dedicated sacd player. I don't think they exist. Every sacd player I have owned also plays cd and the newer universal players, such as the Denon2900, 3910, and 5910, play all format including HDCD. I will again soon have a redbook dac and will use my 3910 as a transport.

There is no question that there are inexpensive universal players, which while not rivaling cheap cd only players, nevertheless give you the ability to play all formats.
tbg
5,263 posts
 
Tvad, I would agree about the debate, but words, such as hype and dead, hardly suggest it. That is the whole purpose of my initial post on this thread. I don't think the claims of sacd are hype, and I have yet to see evidence that it is dead.
tbg
5,263 posts
 
Tomryan, and run on sentences with parenthetical comments?
tbg
5,263 posts
 
piece.

Try $3500.
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