Danlib1 and Czbbcl, thanks for your thoughts. Yes I think the consensus is that depending upon the gear and recording SACD and CD can sound very similar. But there's still what I believe is the interesting question about when the source doesn't change and it's the analog output of a UDP, why upgrading other components would cause the percieved difference in quality between SACD and CD to shrink, even as the quality of both increases. Or put another way (and this may be key to the answer) why does CD playback increase MORE thans SACD playback when other parts of a system are upgraded?
SACD sounds worse or CD sounds better or ....?
I have been going through a rather substantial system upgrade over the past few months. The only thing that hasn't changed (yet) is my source: a Bel Canto PL-1A UDP.
Everything sounds better with the new system and I am very pleased.
BUT one thing is puzzling me. Whereas before, with my less capable system, SACDs always sounded substantially better than Redbook CDs. Now the difference between the two formats is not as substantial. And the source hasn't changed. And I was running PL-1A analog out before as well.
The only thing that has changed at the source is that my new pre-amp has balanced inputs, and so I am using the balanced outputs from the PL-1A whereas before I was using the RCA outs.
Does this make any sense? Any thoughts as to why a system that is generally better in every sense (more extension in both directions, better resolved, better balanced, fuller, etc), would end up have less of an apparent difference between CDs and SACDs?
Thanks for your thoughts.
--dan
Everything sounds better with the new system and I am very pleased.
BUT one thing is puzzling me. Whereas before, with my less capable system, SACDs always sounded substantially better than Redbook CDs. Now the difference between the two formats is not as substantial. And the source hasn't changed. And I was running PL-1A analog out before as well.
The only thing that has changed at the source is that my new pre-amp has balanced inputs, and so I am using the balanced outputs from the PL-1A whereas before I was using the RCA outs.
Does this make any sense? Any thoughts as to why a system that is generally better in every sense (more extension in both directions, better resolved, better balanced, fuller, etc), would end up have less of an apparent difference between CDs and SACDs?
Thanks for your thoughts.
--dan
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- 17 posts total
- 17 posts total