Is it worth buying SACD?

[Drd]

I suspect that like many people on here I am new to SACD.When I was buying kit for my home cinema recently I thought long and hard about whether or not to buy a player capable of playing SACD,after all,it sounded like it was just a gimmick.I came to the conclusion that as I don't change my hardware very often I may as well make sure I had the option of playing surround SACD.Boy am I glad I did!

I started with DSOTM.It's brilliant.Up was just as good.Tubular Bells was stunning.Now Brothers in arms has arrived.Absolutely stupendous! OK it may not suit the purists,but who is to say what a rock album should really sound like?To me these 4 albums alone are worth every penny I recently spent,never mind the pleasure the plasma is giving too.Bring on WYWH.

So those of you still thinking,BUY IT,crank up the volume and enjoy,you won't hear the bank manager screaming

[Ovation]

Hi-res MCH music is here to stay in my collection. I've yet to be disappointed (and you're right, the "purists" are NOT amused). Oh well. If you want some excellent MCH SACDs, the Elton John re-releases are great. Also, if you're a classical fan, you have lots to choose from. Enjoy the tunes.

[Chewbacca]

listen to the Police greatest hits sacd.Every breath you take is out of this world I don't give a dam what the purists think

I cannot wait for war of the worlds sacd now that will be awesome

[shane515]

Originally Posted by Ovation

Hi-res MCH music is here to stay in my collection. I've yet to be disappointed (and you're right, the "purists" are NOT amused). Oh well. If you want some excellent MCH SACDs, the Elton John re-releases are great. Also, if you're a classical fan, you have lots to choose from. Enjoy the tunes.

Could not agree more.....just glad I'm not a purist Brothers In Arms is without doubt 'awesome' I also cant wait for the SACD of War Of The Worlds.

Shane

[manny]

just to keep this thread nice and cosy, i agree too! i love multi channel music, on both SACD and DVD-A, and i hope BOTH formats are here to stay. there's no reason, given universal players, why they can't co-exist.

[Drd]

I've no experience of DVDA's so far,but I've ordered Porcupine Tree's Deadwing and I'm looking forward to it's arrival.It should be every bit as good as the SACD's by all accounts.

[deanym]

Brothers in Arms SACD in a 2910 blew away the equivalent cd in a MF X-Ray. I toggled between the two after starting the discs simultaneously, and the scad was much smoother, and less harsh.

Can't get the sub channel to work though, so any ideas would be great!!!

Shame Brothers in Arms is the only SACD I have to date and it arrived today. The music I listen to isn't covered at all by SACD or DVD-A, so I'm pleased I have a half decent cd set up for those old discs!!

As for purists - read luddite. If a purist's goal is for the best quality sound then surely SACD in Stereo counts in a fair fight with CD and vinyl?

[Drd]

My sub wasn't working for the first 30 seconds,then I realised I hadn't switched it on
Worked fine then,shaking the house!.Sorry deanym,don't know why yours isn't working.

[pwood]

Nice to have but not worth spending money on if you aint a retro fan. Just an excuse to sell back catalogue stuff for the most part. Listened to Jamie Cullum on CD and SACD via ARCAM CD73 and Denon 2200 and the detail is better on plain CD. Reckon dedicated players or expensive ones will be impressive as I've heard a Krell SACD player however the problem with most setups is the speakers are not all exactly the same size so its a compromise most of the time. Peter Gabriels growing up SACD does the format justice

[Mandel]

Bought an SACD player about a year ago and never looked back. DVD-A is also a good format, they each have their advantages and disadvantages but I prefer SACD. As long as one good multichannel hi-res format takes off i'll be happy, I just hope it is SACD.

In my view, it's the quality of vinyl, the convenience of CD and the advantages of multichannel all rolled into one

I'll take the oppurtunity to pimp SA-CD.net for everything SACD related

[Mandel]

Originally Posted by deanym

Can't get the sub channel to work though, so any ideas would be great!!!

This is probably because SACDs LFE level is 10db down from normal. This is so if you set all your speakers to small on the player the resulting combination of 5 redirected bass signals + LFE signal doesn't clip the sub output. To compensate either turn the sub up 10db on your SACD player or turn it up 10db on your amp.

On my Yamaha amp the levels for the multichannel input can be set differently to the levels for everything else. If this is the case on your amp that's probably the way forwards. Hope this solves your problem

[deanym]

Mandel,

I hadn't read your post until now, but since posting, I've practically done what you said (after much socket testing to determine if everything was in fact sending/receiving signals!!) and it seems to be sorted, albeit the sub levels are still a lot less than usual.

I reset all the levels on both amp (for dvd use) and the dvd player and have something I can work with!!!

cheers for all the suggestions.

[Bristol Pete]

Aside from the information super highway, does anyone know of those old fashioned walk in things called 'shops' that may sell both DVD-A and SACD....?

Alternatively, what URLs can one look out for

Lovely job,

Oh and finally, can I get any Faith No More on either format

Pete.

[eviljohn2]

Most larger shops have a small section hidden away for this (I think the only one in Bath is the MVC import section) although SACD's are becoming more common amongst the regular CDs since they're backwards compatible with regular CD players. And yes, I know that DVD-A is backwards compatible with DVD players.

Online it's the usual suspects really, Amazon, 101cd.com have a few plus any others that you can think of.

I've never really gotten on with multi-channel music though as you really have to sit still in the "sweet spot" for it to be of much value.

[manny]

Originally Posted by eviljohn2

I've never really gotten on with multi-channel music though as you really have to sit still in the "sweet spot" for it to be of much value.

i know what you mean, but i've found this to be a blessing myself. for the last few years i'd only really put music on in the background or in the car. now listening to an album on SACD or DVD-A is an experience again, i have to find an hour or so and immerse myself in the music, the way i did with all the albums i eagerly rushed home with in my earlier days. there's no rushing home now, instead there's a thud on the doormat but i've gotten back that involvement with the music.

that won't apply to you all, but it's something i've found myself.