CD v. SACD: Question for Steve

I have now spent a week with my CE 775 SACD player and 6 SACDs. I am very taken with the 2-channel DSD SACD format. I have a very "neutral" system and it seems that even the finest recorded CDs can not sonically match DSD SACD. While I have not done a direct A/B comparison, SACDs have better presence and dynamics, and more warmth and detail. It has been some time since I've had this much enjoyment listening to music, and I really have to wonder whether I'll be purchasing many more CDs.

My question for Steve is this: Do you think that if you were to produce both a 2-channel DSD SACD and a CD from the same source material, the SACD is going be sonically superior than the CD every time, in every respect, and by a large margin (sorry for the leading nature of the question)?

Forgive me if this ground has been covered previously. I'm a newbie and haven't quite got the hang of how to search the forum, especially for material pre-2002. I sure enjoy this place though . . .

 

I believe that if you purchase a hybrid SACD (which has both standard CD and DSD stereo version) you'll have your answer for yourself. I think that the SACD layer will beat the pants off of it!

I wish all SACDs were hybrid. Soon!

 

Doesn't bother me one iota. I've more than 200 SACDs and 140 are hybrids, but I'm yet to play a single CD layer. If I had the choice of a single-layer SACD at $12 or a multi at $18, I'd take the cheaper one. I hardly buy CDs any more - sad, eh?

Regards,
Metralla

 

Well, that's all well and good IF you currently have an SACD player AND IF you only do listening on your main stereo. Personally, I play music all over - on my stereo, in the cars, on boom boxes, etc. I don't forsee SACD overtaking CD as such a universal format in the near future.

 

No doubt it's going to be a good, long while before that happens. Not another "overnight sensation" a la DVD.

 

Yup. Some systems can reveal the average redbook for the crap that they are.

 

Bit of an overstatement; don't you think. Some of my CD's sound great. Better mastering + SACD may yield even a better result, but the difference between the two is subtle. The difference between SACD and hi-rez PCM is likely even smaller.

 

Well, just a bit. A lot of stuff does sound terrible.

It might be me. I voiced my system using only my best classical, jazz and vocals cds. I get what I get I suppose.

There's always the car stereo I guess (windows rolled down).

 

Well, even with DVD - do you have a portable player that you carry around? How about a cheap boom box? Or a player in your car?

Sure, a lot of homes have DVD players, but most only have 1, and that's hooked up to their TV (maybe a second one on their computer). I've probably got a dozen CD players total, between cars, stereos, computers, portables, etc...

 

I guess it will depend on how succesful Sony and allies are in convincing the labels to convert to dual layer for all new releases at a reasonable price a la The Stones. Cd users could just keep playing the hybrids in their present 16 bit players while those with SACD players could take advantage of the hi-rez layer AND play the discs on any 16 bit players they may still have. That would be sweet...and would speed up the quantity and frequency of new titles.

 

Ah, Luke's post brings back fond memories of blasting my VHS tapes on my portable video boombox as I walked down the street. Sure, I almost got run over by a few cars as I was entranced by my favorite scenes from The Godfather, but hey, that's the price you pay for portability, right?

There are portable DVD players, but I hardly think that's an issue when considering a video format. As for having an in-dash DVD player, I think the potential for driving disaster would negate such a purchase. For myself, anyway...