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In Reply to: RE: What do you notice most in regard to SACD vs Redbook of the same title? posted by Awe-d-o-file on June 30, 2008 at 14:00:31
I was thinking the same question. I've only had my sacd player (stereo only NOT multi-channel) a few months. I only own about 10 SACDs. I bought the cdp player because of its sacd feature but more importantly that it plays cds well. Here are my observations about digital source in general:
1. No SACD sounds bad.
2. I have yet to find SACD that is clearly superior to my top CDs. This may or may not be a surprise given I have 150CDs and 10SACDs.
3. I bought DSOTM Pink Floyd because google'ing suggested this was one of the best SACDs available (and some guy even enthusiastically posted that this disc was why SACD technology was created). In doing so I have discovered the joy of Pink Flyod, but was disappointed with the quality of the disc. This disc does not excite me anymore than an average-good cd in terms of sonic performance.
4. My best cds are divided into: (a) old recordings (back to 1990s and early 2000s); (b) newish (2007-2008) "audiophile" recordings. Of (a), one of my best is Roxy Music best of Bryan Ferry. I also enjoy best of Bread and David Gates a lot but that disc is less spectacular. Of (b), this is strangely broken into recordings that initially startle and intensely please but after a while draws a somewhat strong rejection because of the extra edge/glare/bass associated with the enhancement, and truly wonderful recordings that cut out the edge/glare/bass leaving behind a heavenly non-fatiguing listening experience. A couple of discs from (a) and several from (b) equal or top my 10 SACDs.
5. Having said that, I must qualify that I am still looking for a good amp and I realize that room makes a large difference sonically. A new amp perhaps could bring out more in SACDs than CDs due to higher resolution on the SACDs requiring stronger gears to resolve that extra definition(although this is nothing more than my own speculation/hope). My own room is 3.3m (speakers to seat) x 4m (speaker to speaker). Camping out temporarily at my parents'abode with a 4.5m x 9m room with a Creek Destiny + Cambridge 840c + B&W601 (S1) speakers + QED silver anniversay XT cables + Monster mi1000 interconnects, reveals an overall more enjoyable listening than that of my own room with Marantz SA7S1 + Creek Destiny + B&W805s + Transparent Music Link Plus + Kimber speaker cables. Perhaps the talent of SACD would also be revealed in a more acoustic friendly room?
6. Finally, the discs that I mentally discarded as never to touch again in my collection have come alive one by one as my system burned-in and as I acquired the new cdp. This points to another variable other than the quality of the disc itself that could impact conclusion. I certainly would have said those discs (including Queen Greatest Hit, Roxy music, Nottinghill sound track, Don Mclean greatest hit, etc) were crap 6 months ago, and that those edgy audiophile discs were the greatest revelation 3 months ago, but not now. Who knows what I might "discover" in the next several months?
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