If I may be so presumtuous as to start a new thread...... My first hybrid Sacd was one I borrowed. I was immediately disappointed with the sound. Just sounded horrible, even on the Jupiter. It was Mighty Sam McLain on a Telarc dual layer. Question is, are all the hybrids of inferior quality on the cd layer and is there no choice but to purchase one of these machines or was this an ecception? I hate to think that some great discs could be made that are not available in enjoyable for the abnormal listener. Djose
I haven't heard the one you mention, but there is no reason for the CD layer of a hybrid SACD to sound any worse than a normal CD. It's been stated somewhere that engineers have to work on the CD layer to get it to sound right more than they have to work on the SACD layer. Anyway, it is possible to have an awful sounding CD layer, but if it sounds awful it is not because of the hybrid technology. Something else is the matter, like the mastering. Give the Alison Krauss "Forget About It" a listen. A number of people have commented on how exceptionally good the CD layer sounds, almost as good as the SACD layer. It was mastered by Doug Sax.
Steve said once though that the CD layer on a hybrid SACD has to be downsampled from the SACD layer. And he has expressed dissatisfaction with the CD layer results. But Steve hasn't said the CD layer sounded horrible. So I still think it's more likely that you just got one that wasn't mastered to your tastes (we have to assume the Telarc people liked it). Reading between the lines a little, it looks like when Steve does master an SACD, it will be a single layer and not a hybrid. Unless he comes up with a way to make the CD layer sound satisfactory to him. P.S. "Forget About It" is available from Rounder for $17.99. No need to pay $25.
Paul, Michael Bishop from Telarc posted in the HiRez ward of AA that on one particular Telarc recording, the CD are SACD multi-channel were recorded separately. The engineers assigned to each recording tried to do the best job they could with the appropriate equipment. I'm wondering about "the CD layer on a hybrid SACD has to be downsampled from the SACD layer". In the case of a DSD recording, I suppose you mean that the PCM master for the CD layer is derived from the DSD recording for the SACD layer. As I said above, that may not always be true. And it would not be true if the original were an analogue tape, or say Telarc's 50KHz Soundstream digital tape. There certainly are CDs out there that are derived from DSD recordings. Take for example Sony's Mary Chapin Carpenter. This reportedly is a nice sounding CD. Regards, Metralla
If you like "Forget About It" by Alison Krauss, be sure to get her other Stereo SACD "Now That I've Found You: A Collection". It's also mastered by Doug Sax and sounds even better than "Forget About It". It's also a hybrid disc - so I don't put much stock in the notion that hybrid SACDs somehow sound inferior. Definitely not the case here !
Re: forget about it $25? Even Tower Records is selling the Rounder SACDs for less ($20.99). The best deal can be found at Rounder and Elusive Disc. Both sell the Rounder SACDs for $17.99 each.
dual layerity Darn, forgot about that bill for the sacd PLAYER! But thanks for the thoughtful reflections on the mastering possibilities Metralla. I'm buying 'table before shelling out bucks for an Sacd player. A good way to spend time while keeping an eye on the Sacd catalogue...... Djose
