Analogue Productions SACDs

I cannot sit still, reading this without making my teeth grind. 

When I purchased my SACD, I immediately realized that, this is the most significant upgrade of SQ, I have ever experienced from any component to date.

But why do some of them still come in a flimsy jewell case, that destroys itself when opening it?

Never happy, 

IAN.

@goofyfoot 

All these complications with SACD players

The complexities are largely hidden from the user and are there for backwards compatibility.  Firstly, compatibility with CDs, then for those who only want 2-channel playback!

It is a bit like the multiple generations of USB and Ethernet, driven by the desire for more bandwidth.

Of course, the Direct Stream Digital (DSD) format employed by SACD is far simpler than the Pulse Code Modulation (PCM) used in CDs and Pure Audio Blu-Rays.

DSD is a stream of bits which just nudge the sound level up one or down one.  All you need for playback is a low-pass filter in the mega-Hertz range.

Mathematically, PCM can be derived exactly from DSD, but not the other way round.  The pioneering immersive sound label 2L.no archives its recordings in very high frequency DSD so they can be converted into multiple derived formats.

I acknowledge that DSD is difficult for editing and even more difficult for mixing which explains why very little pop / rock appears on SACDs compared with classical music.

2L.no uses floating point, not integer, master files for mixing.

@richardbrand My DAC has DSD capability up to 258 cycles but streamer maxes out at 126. Anyway, downloading DSD is easy and I have downloaded about eight titles. I can see the argument for buying an SACD player since there are more options on disc form but they’re expensive and hopefully, aside from streaming, DSD downloads are the future. Acoustic Sounds used to offer DSD downloads but they flaked out. It seems that they believe more consumers will choose to buy their hybrid discs rather than opt for downloads. Native DSD probably has the best selection of DSD downloads but even there, they’re few in number.

Issue solder SACD players is probably a LICENSING THING and less frequently a LASER thing. 

You repeat without any qualification that the Redbook layer is

very likely to sound better on a decent CD player or transport and DAC than the SACD layer will on a universal player that supports SACD

In my experience that is completely untrue.  My evidence is that I could tell that my Reavon universal player had obvious problems with its TI Burr Brown DACs - it was down converting DSD to CD quality and it was so obvious I wrote to Reavon seeking clarification.  My previous Marantz universal player sounded wonderful on SACD.

The fact that you haven't experienced this with your awesome player designed for "The best possible picture and sound technologies for an incredible home cinema experience" doesn't make it untrue. 

I have experienced it, and what I'm sharing is actual listening experience, not hypothetical ramblings.  

I have heard incredible sounding Redbook CD playback in my system and at least two others (one with Jay's Audio transport/DAC and one with a nice Ayre CD player).  That's not to say that the same disc as an SACD wouldn't sound any better, only that many people are not aware of the potential of CDs to provide excellent sound quality. 

I am primarily a vinyl guy myself, but it's been great to be able to pick up CDs for 3 or 4 bucks and have them sound fantastic.  I also have a relatively small collection of SACDs and some of them are amazing.