Are You Happy With 2 Channel SACD?

If you look in general, most of our systems are set up in two channel mode.In the surround sound mode, you are not going to see 5 SET amps all feeding into I don't know what kind of processor. If I set up surround sound, It would be through a SS state multichannel amp or a good reciever. One does not set up multi channel systems to do real critical listening. I am more impressed with two channel SACD than with multichannel SACD. This may seem very old fashioned, but so are tube amps.

Mikesinger and Surfgod THANK YOU !!!! BTW ironically today I ran into the saleman from the local "high end shop" and he is still trying to get me to purchase a SA12 over the SA14.. but it seems to me by way of the responses I've gotten that maybe he "the salesman" may be in the minority as far as choice of unit... You don't thing commission might have something to do with his choice??? NEVER.......

I am having a VERY hard time hearing the difference between the CD and the stereo SACD layers of my classical Hybrid discs played on my Philips 963sa. My hearing is fine (I am a professional musician), but my pre-amp is admittedly lower-mid-fi, a Yamaha dsp-e492.
If there really is a huge difference between the two, shouldn't I be able to detect it even on modest equipment?

Boldstrummer:

In all candor, in this hobby, just about every "huge difference" that someone claims that they can hear is typically nothing more than something that is casually discernable and a function of how much they let it bother them. With that said, I find that the difference between the redbook and hybrid levels may be discernable, but is not "huge" on first listen. With hybrids/SACD, I find that the overall sound is less fatiguing over time and I can listen to my system for longer.

Regards, Rich

I think part of the problem is that it takes awhile for the SACD player to break in, but a lot of the time, when people buy a CD/SACD player, they don't have any SACD's to play, so they buy one or two, A/B the SACD layer against the CD track, have a hard time telling the difference, and give up. If you listen to SACD's for awhile, let your player break in, then go back to redbook CD's, I would bet you'll miss the air, the natural-ness of the detail, the lack of digital glare, the increased dynamic range, and the ambient information of the SACD. CD will sound slightly compressed after you get used to SACD. They *do* need to open the floodgates on SACD releases, though -- that would help.

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