Irishdog, that's a good point (although you can have most recordings from the 80's, I am quite certain that early 16 bit pcm digital will not sound any better on SACD); I too am not pleased at what appears to be a complete shift to multichannel, as a lot of fine Telarc DSD recordings which were only recorded in two channel (the Shaw/ASO Dvorak Stabat Mater, the Spano/ASO Sheherazade, the McDuffie/SCO Mendelsohnn/Bruch violin concerti, to name a few) will likely never be released in the SACD format. I recognize that the "hook" to get people to buy SACDs may have to be its multi-channel capabilities; perhaps if that does establish the medium, then the record companies will raid their vaults. I will note, though, that the new upcoming Mercury reissues will mine some great recordings, even though there's only the third/center channel in the multi-channel mix, so maybe there's some hope.
SACD 2 channel vs Hybrid SACD
It appears that there are many original SACD players that will not decode the more recent Hybrid SACDs. It seems that almost if not all of the newest titles over the past 6 months are being offered only in hybrid SACD format. Is there any advantage to keeping a player that will only decode 2 channel SACD, that is, will these hybrid SACDs still sound better than Redbook CDs even though they are not being utilized to their full potential? Any knowledge of any outboard Hybrid SACD processors available?
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- 18 posts total
- 18 posts total