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SACD Source recording

Some recently acquired SACD are sounding better...maybe they are learning how to make them.

I can recommend DG 474 639-2 Bach Violin Concertos, Hilary Hahn. As I listened to it, and appreciated the excellent sonics, I perused the liner notes, and there in black and white is something that I had heard mentioned before. The source recording for this DSD disc is identified as 24-bit PCM. Of course this is just like a DVD-A, except that with the DVD-A one extra conversion to DSD is avoided. I bet that most SACD have been mastered on 24-bit PCM equipment, but not every disc manufacturer is up front about it.

I have no complaints about the sound, but I think that Sony and the SACD crowd should tone down the hype about DSD, and recognize DVD-A as equal.
eldartford

Showing 3 responses by eldartford

eldartford OP
4,262 posts
 
"SACD croud"...I really didn't want to get another SACD vs DVD-A contest going. If you think SACD sounds better that's your opinion. In my opinion the differences are mainly due to how the particular discs were made, and your discs may very well favor SACD. Mine have favored DVD-A, but there are enough good SACD in my collection to indicate that this is a disc-by-disc thing.

My point is that if SACD sounds better, it can't be because 24-bit 96KHz PCM code is deficient, because many SACD have been through that format on their way to your player.
eldartford OP
4,262 posts
 
Guss2...Boy! It doesn't take much to set the SACDS crowd off! All I said is that a SACD which is made from a 24-Bit 96KHz master cannot be superior to a DVD-A except with respect to differences in the way a particular disk is mastered and the quality of the player used.

"Pure" DSD recordings are not common, and there is a lot of 24-bit mastering equipment out there which record companies are not going to scrap any time soon.
eldartford OP
4,262 posts
 
Guss2...The DVD-A which have particularly impressed me are Tacet discs of classical chamber music. These are from a german audiophile outfit, and will set you back almost $30 a copy, but are well worth it IMHO. I think that these exploit the full potential of multichannel, which I gather is not your bag, but the audio quality ought to be good for a stereo downmix, although I have not actually tried that.

There are few 24-Bit 192 KHz Stereo DVD-A released, but there surely is a lot of potential in that format.
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