Can anyone recomend any good stores/web sites that have a good selection of sacd for sale.I have got a Sony DVPNS900S and would be interested in your recomendations for discs to test out this format.

Sorry, i'm new to home cinema,. whats sacd?

cheers
Homy

[dave48]

I'm also interested in finding a good source for SACD. So far all I've really seen is Amazon, which has a good range, but they are horribly expensive.

I think they should sell the discs at £10 each or something for a while to help establish the format. At £10 I'd be prepared to take a punt and would probably buy an absolute pile of discs. At £20something I will think very long and hard before buying anything - think about it, a ns900v equals just 15 discs at that price [15 pieces of plastic that probably cost 20p each to make].

Dave48

P.S. I am well aware of the "value" of IPR - but selling 20 discs *£10 is going to make them a bundle more profit than selling me 1 disc * £20.

[MarkB]

Try http://www.vivante.co.uk/

I think I've cracked it regarding the purchase of SACD's.

Vivante and most others are charging around the 25 pounds mark. What a nightmare.

Take a look at www.towerrecords.co.uk and you will see that most SACD titles are nearly half this price at around 13 pounds.
I'm just about to order a few. Will let you know what their service is like.

Eric

[MarkB]

That's good Eric. Please do.

[dave48]

Tower does look a lot cheaper - but a lot of the stuff they are flogging is quite old recordings (e.g. even 1961!). Are these actually likely to benefit from SACD? I suppose it depends on what state the master tapes are in and what the quality of these original tapes was. Assuming they actually go back to the master tapes when producing the SACD.

I'd be very interested if anyone has a few recommendations for absolute killer SACDs - something to show what the format can really do.

Dave48

[RMCF]

Dave48

Apparently Miles Davis' 'Kind of Blue' album is meant to show off SACD perfectly. It is a classic jazz album and the fact that it is not a heavily overproduced type of music wth emphasis on the talent of the assembled musicians should make it a good listen. Thats if you are into jazz?

I have noticed that a lot of the SACDs are only two channel not multi.Are these of better quality than normal CDs?

[dave48]

Might give the Miles Davis a go - I'm not a jazz freak by any standards, but I like it in small doses. Shame the SACD is 4 times more expensive than the CD ....

Dave48

Have a look at this site, I've ordered from them, not the chepest but good choice and service.

I think it's a Sony site.

Lots of multichannel as well.

http://www.superaudio-cd.com/

Regards

Eddie

Originally posted by burkey
Can anyone recomend any good stores/web sites that have a good selection of sacd for sale.I have got a Sony DVPNS900S and would be interested in your recomendations for discs to test out this format.

Try http://www.dvdboxoffice.com ... THEY ARE BASED IN CANADA.
I live in Dublin and order from them on a regular basis without any problems. Unfortunately I am waiting more than three months for my Sony SACD player and it will not be delivered before the end of this month.

why are you lot bothering with sacd, you wanna try a cd recorded in DTS ..... man its the bomb !! live the dream

thats just my ten pence worth (which I owe to seany boy anyway!!!)

Knowledge is power .......

[Rachael Bitchlist]

Originally posted by dave48


I'd be very interested if anyone has a few recommendations for absolute killer SACDs - something to show what the format can really do.

Dave48

My collection of SACD's is over 60 at this point. Sound quality varies greatly. The source material is certainly a big factor but how much is hard to quess. On the whole, Sony's titles are the weakest. They do have some thriumphs but then they have the most releases. I think the very best sound quality is coming from DMP, Heads Up, and Telarc. Rounder, AudioQuest, and Chesky are a small notch back.

Chesky could be up with the frontrunners except their multi-channel mixes are miserable. They aren't using a centre channel! Their centreless philosophy might be OK if you optimized your equipment for their discs? I'm not gonnna! On my 6.1 system their multi-channel mixes sound echoey and muffled. On the good side of the equation, their stereo mixes are outstanding.

The single best sounding SACD that I've heard is: Oscar Peterson & Ray Brown & Milt Jackson's THE VERY TALL BAND LIVE AT THE BLUE NOTE, Telarc ( CD-83443-SA ). It's pure DSD from the studio to the disc. I would not describe the performance here by these old codgers as earth shaking but the sound quality is obvious.

The Vivino Brothers' BLUES BAND is recorded live to DSD and sounds great. It sounds good played in stereo or multi-channel. It's a nice mix of jazz, R & B, and some blues. It's on the DMP label, ( SACD-11 ).



Manfredo Fest's JUST JOBIM on DMP ( SACD-05 ) is outstanding. If you like Brazillian jazz buy this disc! I hope Fest's JUNGLE CAT CD gets SACD treatment. It might not sound quite as good as JJ but it's a great album, and DMP has the rights to it.

Junior Wells' COME ON IN THIS HOUSE has been upsampled to DSD from a 1996 recording session. It's sound quality isn't quite the titles I've mentioned so far but it ain't chopped liver! It sounds excellent in M-C or stereo. There's a flock of quest slide quitarists too. Telarc ( SACD-63395 )

Monty Alexander's MONTY MEETS SLY AND ROBBIE is a nice collection of poppy sounding jazz. It's upsampled from PCM to DSD but sounds way better than average. Sounds great in stereo or M-C. Telarc ( SACD-63494 )

Spyro Gyra's IN MODERN TIMES es muy excellente. I think it's upsampled from PCM. It's a nice variety of jazz, man the horns are smooth, that sounds great in M-C or stereo. Heads Up ( HUSA 9061 ) < The cover says that it's available in CD, hybrid SACD, and DVD-A. It could make great shootout fodder?

Ana Caram's BLUE BOSSA is wonderful in stereo. If you like the 1960's bossa nova sound you'll love this album. The down side is that the M-C mix sucks. Chesky ( SACD226 )

Laura Nyro's ANGEL IN THE DARK is a great collection by the late queen of pop-swing. It features 3 more cut's than Rounder's previously issued CD of same title. This and a Alison Krauss title are their first foray into SACD. It's a good start. It's in stereo. Rounder ( SACD 11661-3176-6 )

The new Mobile Fidelity's first releases are 3 albums by Patricia Barber. I got MODERN COOL
( UDSACD 2003 ) & CAFE BLUE ( UDSACD 2002 ). Nice hybrid stereo discs. I can't find fault with them.

Sony discs that sound well above average:

Al Dimeoa & John McLaughlin & Paco DeLucia's FRIDAY NIGHT IN SAN FRANCISCO

Tower Of Power's SOUL VACCINATION: TOWER OF POWER LIVE <the horns sizzle!

Keb' Mo's THE DOOR

Joe Satriani's ENGINES OF CREATION

I hope this gives you a starting point to test drive the format. Best wishes!

[Rachael Bitchlist]

My two favourite SACD suppliers are:

www.elusivedisc.com

www.acousticsounds.com

Tower has had some favourable prices on SACD's but they don't keep good stock. They special order stuff and you don't always get it in a timely manner.

[dave48]

Some of that stuff sounds really tempting to try out.

The problem is still where to buy them over this side of the big pond.

Here in Germany, buying stuff from the States is a real pain - the amount of import duties you get charged is outrageous. Together with the shipping costs, this usually defeats any saving you may make.

The problem though is finding somewhere with a half decent selection at half decent prices - all the Telarc SACDs for example are 32 Euros (£20) from Amazon - too much.

Dave48

[teddstarr]

Hi all
just a small question????

In various reveiws of multi-channel players there is reference to a Frankie Goes To Hollywood SACD.After much looking i can not find a shred of evidence this actually exists.Whilst not beeing a fan of theirs i see this as being a good test for my system,plus a few of their songs do bring back a few drunken memories!!!

Would appreciate any help either way.

cheers,

teddstarr

[Rachael Bitchlist]

Dave, nearly all pre-recorded media costs too much. You do get quality for your $ from Telarc. Also, so far, all non-Sony SACD's are hybrids so you're getting the CD too. The Telarc discs are $20 here too. I've heard the lament of duties from others in Europe. I figured somebody would have a reply along the lines of your's. Best wishes!

[Rachael Bitchlist]

Originally posted by teddstarr
Hi all
just a small question????

In various reveiws of multi-channel players there is reference to a Frankie Goes To Hollywood SACD.After much looking i can not find a shred of evidence this actually exists.Whilst not beeing a fan of theirs i see this as being a good test for my system,plus a few of their songs do bring back a few drunken memories!!!

Would appreciate any help either way.

cheers,

teddstarr

It's distributed by ZTT Records.

www.ztt.com

Acoustic Sounds has it in stock. On the ZTT site it only showed a 2 CD set. The SACD has only one side. So, it does exist but who is ZZT? They apparently don't have much in the way of distribution channels. Best wishes!

[teddstarr]

thanks for all your help.I have ordered the SACD,just hope its worth the wait!!!!!

cheers
teddstarr

Teddstarr,

It's worth the wait.

See: http://www.highfidelityreview.com/re...wnumber=620351


Stuart M. Robinson
SMR Group - http://www.smr-group.co.uk/

[Rachael Bitchlist]

Originally posted by teddstarr
thanks for all your help.I have ordered the SACD,just hope its worth the wait!!!!!

cheers
teddstarr

You're welcome! !!!!