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Sacd/dvd-a, The Hype Is Dead, For Me At Least...

SACD, DVD-A....

I purchased a 2000.00 Universal and about 10 titles mostly SACD

SACD- Nice on surround, actual 5.1 disks, Stereo SACD well if you can get a Re-mastered CD or a Hybrid then its just as good on an awesome Redbook player as thru an SACD decoder... It is interesting.

DVD-A- Most of them ended up very UNDERWHELMING.... as stated earlier, and just a PAIN IN THE A$$...

Vinyl- I am only mentioning this as it seems viable for the discussion, as much garbage as it takes to turn on a DVD-A disc half the time I can put a LP on my VPI record cleaner, and Que it up just as well and it BLOWS away the DVD-A, and Most SACD's... I am not an Analog protector, as a matter of fact I bought My Analog RIG after ATTEMPTING SACD/DVD-A universal world.

CD- Bottom line Re-mastered Cd's and SACD Hybrids sound superior on a good old 16x BIT WADIA 4000.00 player than the SACD on the top of the line Marantz SACD player(this was borrowed)... This will catch much Heat I am sure, but drop the drama, invest Redbook, You can't buy anything on SACD or DVD-a in comparison to well recorded Redbook on a Very good redbook machine unless you are looking for the true benefit of surround SACD's. 2 channel I do not see the point.

Now let me back up, I am irritated only because, I am young, never had vinyl, and I started my High-end(audiophile) Life right in the Middle of SACD/DVD-A War about 2 years ago, so of course I had to have it... I will never go back to the headach of it now that someone was kind enough to show me the true sound of a Wadia player and a Vinyl rig in comparison to it.

I sold all Hi-Def Audio Software and Hardware and took all that money to the used market and Purchased the Wadia and Vinyl rig with YES an old fashoned Record cleaner to get the most out of it, and could not be Happier! Plus 90% of everything you could want is on Vinyl and CD, including New bands, many re-issues, etc...

Don't get me wrong, If you are into the titles that are in abundance on the SACD format GO FOR IT! It sounds VERY VERY good, but if you like maybe 10 CD's that exist on it, take the extra Money and purchase at least a Theta, Wadia, Maybe even Krell Machine(but I do not like the sound as much)... Okay don't take this as bashing, this is Truly my opinion on what I have heard and spent much time testing, And these were all done in home comparisons with Equal cost equipment for the most part for many months. And done in a very good room, good cables, speaker placement, power supply, and acoustic treated room that sounds excellent and does not lie....

I have nothing against the Hi-res music, hell I wanted it, I tried it as a newbee, and there is some definate impressive stuff, the MAIN thing I love about using Hi-res is When you can get your favorite guys in concert with DTS up on the HDTV in front of you, that so far is the only worthy format I have found worth the money and the cause, So I have a Seperate MOVIE / Slash / Concert DVD system that is a lot of fun and phoenominal results... But 2 Channel, get the best CD's or Hybrids, because the Hybrids do for some reason sound better than the originals probably due to they are Re-mastered very well, and a rewarding CD player will show this as much as the SACD counterpart if in a correctly setup system. And Vinyl, Ha well lets just say coming out of college recently my friends laugh until they here it cranked and can't believe it, especially if you have some good stuff to back it, but there is "DOG" recordings on ALL formats so don't think any sytem will Turn coal into a diamond in front of you.

But this all costs money No doubt, I only threw this little thread in here to maybe help some people save some cash... We can't have it all, but you can have it better if you know the direction to go in, I did not, but I found it, and it was full circle all the way back to the begining.. Don't let Hype rule your ears.
matrix
ben_campbell
1,164 posts
 
Tbg you are as bad as Jayctoy where did I say SACD was dead?

Please remember the music review website I set up FOR Audiogon members has a SACD section.
I think I've done more than most for SACD in a positive sense even if I did not embrace the format.

To answer your other point Tbg you can see from this thread many audio fans have been disapointed by the format.
Are we just to be sheep and not share our experiences?

Some of these comments are beyond silly and I don't really know why I'm getting singled out.
robm321
932 posts
 
Matrix,

You make a good point. With Rock, etc. kind of music, SACD wouldn't provide much benefit. SACD doesn't benefit much from amplified music from what I've heard.

Oh well, until the next format comes along to tease us, I guess it's Redbook and of course vinyl.

Rob
audio_girl
91 posts
 
Top notch DVD-Audio discs and top of the line CD's are superior to SACD in one respect:
Because of the limitations of the one bit DSD system in the high frequencies, DVD-Audio's and CD's actually have better dynamic range above about 8khz than SACD's, and much less ultrasonic noise.
I have read this from several sources.
I personally have excellent hearing acuity in the high frequencies.
In my experiences, top flight SACD's do sound better than top flight CD's in the lows and the mids, sometimes much better. I do however hear some limitations in the highs on most SACD's, IMHO, especially compared to top-notch Advanced Resolution Stereo 2 channel tracks on some DVD-Audio discs, and on some exceptionally recorded CD's.
Vinyl is superior to all of them, however, IMHO.
tbg
5,263 posts
 
Ben, I think there is a major difference between many being disappointed and, as you say, sacd being dead. Many, myself included, were greatly disappointed by redbook. This format has greatly improved in the last four years.

Audio-girl, I think what kills the vast majority of dvd-as is copy protection. I have two dvdas that I listen to. I have many with both dad and dvda encoding. I also have many Classic dads. These are better IMHO.

I entirely agree about vinyl being superior, but it is still a pain in the ass.
ben_campbell
1,164 posts
 
Tbg-sorry but PLEASE show me where I wrote SACD is dead?

I'm getting more than a little angry now-if you can't read what I've written and explained then please do not mention me by name nor attribute statements I have NEVER made.
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