MULTI-CH SACD'S on 2CH SOUND STRANGE?


I HAVE A 2CH SACD PLAYER. SOMETIMES SACD's sound pretty good, but in several cases, usually with orchestral pieces, for some reason the melody carried by the string section gets drowned out by the horns/brass instruments. the effect is unnerving, like i am hearing the background or supportive musical lines as the dominant voice and the theme as the supportive or background voice. i have tried switching the phase, and even going to the redbook layer (if there is one). Naturally these are Hybrid Multichannel Discs that can be played on a conventional, 2CH SACD, and 6CH SACD. I have even updated the firmware on my SACD player (EMM Labs) but to no avail. Am i the only one who has this problem? Funny thing is, the redbook cd's i have always thought sounded great still sound that way, and small ensembles/chamber music on SACD sound amazing. but it would seem i am getting some of the other channels mixed up with the main-front-L&R channels.
WHAT is wrong with this picture? Thanks for your feedback.
french_fries
Yashu, redbook cd's sound very good on my EMM player. so do most sacd's.
i probably need to label/catalog all the discs that are giving me problems.
there is a phase switch (a circle with a line bisecting it) that reverses phase
on the disc.
the display clearly states "2CH SACD" in the sacd mode when it is playing that format.
I called EMM and spoke to tech support and told them to make a note of the problem, although they responded that the player is working
the way it is supposed to and i am the only one who has called with this specific issue.
Thanks French fries,

I was really looking for the sound character of the EMM CD player. My Arcam has a wrm, detailed sound with an incredible realistic soundstage. Unfortunately it's old and I am looking to replace.

I am concerned that the EMM might not be as smooth. I tend to listen for long periods, and I want to keep away from anything that might be fatiguing.

What do you think?

Thank you.......
Hi Yashu, all i can comment on the EMM "sound" is that one recording is night and day different from the next. if you're not in the best of moods on a given day this might be of some concern- if you want everything to sound equally wonderful. If you're impatient you may find yourself restricting your listening sessions to a set of tried-and-true sources. when you have more time or are in a cheery mood you can settle back and just take the good with the not-as-good.
in a few cases i have had to simply take a disc (that is not Miles Davis or T.Monk, etc.) and put it in my "trade or sell" box in another room. transparency is a bitch, and must be dealt with forthwith. But, Can you blame those engineers that did such an outstanding job for showing up the shortcomings of other more mass-produced recordings?
that is why it sometimes makes sense to have a second system with less resolving ability- a better match for many of the sources widely available today. is it any mystery why, when you go to a demo on an expensive set-up, you will often be encouraged to listen to certain tracks, with the consultant pointing out various qualities as the music is playing?
Yashu,

I don't know what model Arcam you have, but I have an FMJ 33. Its not my main CD player but I do listen to it on occasion. I think its a great CD player and don't see myself selling it. Your description of your Arcam is pretty close to how I would describe mine. I can give you 2 recommendations. 1. Don't get rid of your Arcam until you actually have another CD player that you've had a chance to listen to for a while, and you know for sure that selling it is the right move. 2. I normally don't recommend expensive cables because I feel the money is almost always better spent on active components, but this is an exception. On my Arcam I use an Audioquest Cheetah IC, which is a solid core silver cable, and it makes a very big difference. I find that silver, most of the time, doesn't sound better than copper. On my FMJ 33, it sounds great and is definitely worth the cost. If you look at the model that replaced the Cheetah, its almost the exact same cable. If you find a good deal on a used Cheetah, I think you'll find it money well spent.
Play back the SACD "Wish You Were Here" on a 2 channel only SACD and there is missing information. Such as when the guitar intro starts in one channel, you can hardly hear that sound when played back.

The regular CD has the intro in the right channel.
On my OPPO 95 that guitar intro comes from the rear channels.