SACD - what gives?

Detlof, your comments above are VERY interesting, indeed I had wanted to ask you about this upper end /hi-rez point.
I've had a similar misgiving about the upper end reproduction. This I attributed to my less-than-stellar tweets (even though my electronics are wide-bandwidth). Although the analogue sounded subjectively better --through the same speakers, of course-- I assumed this was due to loss of detail on the sacd format... (even though, SUPPOSEDLY, my tweets lose their proverbial 3db at 36kHz.)

It's good to know that a mega system like yours (with upper tweets worth their salt!) gives the same experience. Elsewhere, I read a post by Mikelavigne (also the owner of a world class system) comparing his top Rockport, to a new digital set-up. He found the analogue still overall superior to the digital set-up (he didn't go into details).

On a side note, and strangely, I've found that the redbook layer on certain (dual layer) sacd's sounds better than the older single-layer redbook ??!!?

Maybe many of us had our hopes up too high, looking for immediate gratification thru sacd... No-one however condemns this format outright. Rather methinks the discussion puts forth a number of issues directly related to our enjoyment of MUSIC thru sacd.

-- for older recordings yet again, we are at the mercy of the remastering process; (i.e., it's a vulnerable process and thereby NOT a completely foolproof, repeatable thing) Call me deaf but, frankly, my S Yorke TT (no SiriusIII, no Goldmund reference, etc) smoked two excellent sacd players on B Walter.

-- for older recordings we ALREADY have LP and redbook -- i.e. the music is already in our library, or available in the market. If we're digital only and we wish to improve on our redbook player, we need to INVEST in NEW hi-performance h/ware...

-- Hi performance h/ware doesn't come cheap (yet; will it EVER?). Presently, it's the MOST expensive rig (but that gives us hope for the future)

-- the MANUFACTURING process is, again, a "process"; so, we hope the latest disc we buy belongs to the "good" batch. OK, we had that with all previous media.

-- the dsd originals DO sound better... Amen!
BUT i have to join Detlof in questioning the artistic value of these releases. I agree with Rcprince that the Mahler is interesting, not only for the music but for the ray of hope it transmits for the future. BUT having some (past) links with the music industry, I'm worried about its difficult financial state and wonder if the present day W Legge's will have the means to record great music. I hope they will.

The terrible thing is, I can't afford the Meitner and I believe that Mes (et aliae) has done the right thing in getting soemthing that gets out of the way of his music.

Worse, what to I do with a few thousand lp's and a few cd's? Ooof, buy the cd's in better format I suppose. I feel too poor, too old, too deaf. Think I'll spin a vinyl (BTW, I used to be VERY frustrated with analogue 25 yrs ago).

So, for the time being, I am condemned to wondering why the Insider refuses today to give me the esoteric info I know is on/in that black spinning plastic. (You know, overhang, VTA, azimuth, the arm bearings, the temperature, the psychology,
whatever).
Over & out

Unclejeff: redbook is the conventional audio cd, so named because of the colour of the Philips booklet containing them.
Cheers, Detlof!