2 Dumb SACD Questions

A couple of dumb questions. Do CD's generally sound better on SACD players than on CD players? Also, for SACD's that are both Stereo and Multi-Channel is there a separate mix for each, or is the Stereo some sort of fold down of the multi-channel mix?

I am pretty sure that I am going to get an SACD player, given all the rave reviews that the format has generated here. Most of my questions have been answered, just these two somewhat obvious ones are left.

Thanks in advance for any responses.

Jeff

 

Your normal CD's MIGHT sound better in the SACD player. My Toshiba DVD player has great sound for CD playback. Better than the cheap Sony carousel in my bedroom. I'm thinking the converters in the SACD would be better in general as well.

 

Any multi-channel SACD also contains a 2 channel Stereo mix, but not all SACD's contain Multi-Channel mixes. Do regular CD's sound better? The SACD converter has nothing to do with regular CD's during playback. None of the SACD players that I've heard beat the High End CD players. Yes the SCD-1 and 777 are very good but even they are outperformed by good outboard DAC's.

 

Jefhart,
Dollar for dollar, you are likely to find CD playback on an SACD machine to be superior.
A lot of comparisons have been made with a Sony on one side and a multi-thousand dollar unit on the other. But in the real world, with money a factor, you're going to get exceptional value out of any given price range from the Sonys.

 

Without having ever compared, I would have tended to guess the exact opposite. I would wager that $500 on a decent CD player (ie Heart, AH, etc...) would provide a better performance than a $500 (near the bottom of the line) SACD player.
Maybe I'm wrong?

 

I actually don't think that it's one or the other. I don't think you can make a blanket statement like all SACD machines are better Redbook players than "Redbook only" players, nor do I think you can make the opposite assumption.

The high-end Sony SACD players (the ES series) are superb Redbook players as well. The model I have -- the XA777ES -- has been compared favorably to just about every player at or around the $5000 mark. The 555ES and the 222ES have gotten great marks as well at their respective price levels.

I think that once you get above $500 or so, it probably makes sense to get an SACD player rather than just a dedicated CD player if you are interested in both formats.

 

I am shopping for a new cd or sacd player, and at lunch today I
tried out the budget Sony SCD CE-775 carousel on my fave headphones
and was knocked out at how nice my late 80's vintage Warner Bros.
Pete Townshend discs sounded. Prety musical for a mass market machine.

Of course, all my cd's are inked around the edge, so I may get
better mileage out of the cheap players.

 

I have the SCD CE-775 and Im very pleased with its performance.The only downside it has that I see, it looks very cheap and that I dont like! That clear plastic on it . yuck

 

Originally posted by TommyTunes
>> None of the SACD players that I've heard beat the High End CD players. Yes the SCD-1 and 777 are very good but even they are outperformed by good outboard DAC's. <<

The SCD-1 and SCD-777 are "high end CD players". Yes, some have stated a preference for the Linn and the dCS Elgar/Purcel, but these are out of most people's price range.

Regarding the DAC issue, some people were tempted to try separate DACs before the Sony's burned in. Months later, many described removing the DACs (in some cases high end models like the Dodson) and actually preferring the internal Sony DAC.

Many others, myself included, swapped in specialty capacitors and resistors for the Sony stock parts, and others have had their units mod'ed with a super clock. The audible improvements are readily apparent and place the Sony's further into the elite class of CD players.

SACD on these machines is better than CD on the dCS or Linn gear, by far.

 

I have two SACD players, the Sony 333ES, and the Marantz SA-14. The Marantz just arrived and is not yet broken in completely. I also have a Rotel RCD-971 CD player with HDCD capabilities. All of the bases I am interested in are covered (I have no interest in DVD-A). I chose the SA-14 because it is the cheapest stereo-only, single well SACD player available today ($2899 retail, discounted to $2K on the internet), as I have no interest in Multichannel sound either.

All three of these machines offer subtle differences in redbook playback. The Marantz is the most analytical sounding of them, the Sony the least. The Rotel has the widest sound stage, the Sony, again, the least, but the Sony and the Marantz trounce the Rotel in terms of depth and image specificity.

Older CDs (those from the 80's) sound the best on the Rotel, as it is neither too analytical nor too laid back, but shrill, bright remasters from the 90's up to now sound best on the Sony as it delivers all of the resolution I'm looking for with just enough softening on the top to mask their glare. Overall, if I did not have the playback opitions I do and was limited to just one player for redbook, it would be my 333ES.

As for SACD, the Marantz is a step ahead of the Sony. I anticipated this, based upon comments from other owners. It compares favorably with the SCD-1 and stereo version of the 777ES (haven't heard the newer multichannel version of the 777), and offers some small advantages over them - such as time to load a TOC: about 10 seconds on the Marantz, much more on the Sonys.