Sorry, don't agree you can generalize this way. You're selling good SACD short. Audiophile quality LPs will usually sound better than SACds, but not always. SACD reissues of ordinary decent or not so decent LPs--e.g. most of the 60-70s Columbia catalogue--are a huge improvement. And at least on high end equipment, the SACD layer will virtually always sound better than even upsampled CD. My comparisons are done on a Classe Omega SACD player, with CD playback from the Omega's digital out to a dCS Purcell and Elgar combo, and where the SACD isn't so great, invariably the CD is worse.
When does SACD make sense - my theory
I purchased a SACD player a few weeks ago. Sony SCD-C555ES. Also purchased about 15 SACDs.
Tried Kind of Blue by Miles Davis and compared to my vinyl. Vinyl was better. Tried the new Dark Side of the Moon by Pink Floyd from 2003 and compared to vinyl. Vinyl also better.
My thinking is that Vinyl will always better from old stuff that was captured on Analog and mixed for Analog/Vinyl. Never purchase SACDs with 50s, 60 and 70s music. Rather focus on the period when the CD was young, the recordings were captured digitally and now need a major re-mixing to sound good.
My theory.
1. When there is vinyl it will always be better than SACD
2. SACD players do good job on CDs too. My a couple of years old CDs sound at least as good as when I played them on my previous Rega Planet. Consequently, do not replace a few years old CDs with a SACD version. Very small difference.
3. Replace early CDs - 80s and early 90s, before the figured out the technology that are very cold sterile recordings that will sound much better in SACD.
Looking forward to everyone's comments.
Tried Kind of Blue by Miles Davis and compared to my vinyl. Vinyl was better. Tried the new Dark Side of the Moon by Pink Floyd from 2003 and compared to vinyl. Vinyl also better.
My thinking is that Vinyl will always better from old stuff that was captured on Analog and mixed for Analog/Vinyl. Never purchase SACDs with 50s, 60 and 70s music. Rather focus on the period when the CD was young, the recordings were captured digitally and now need a major re-mixing to sound good.
My theory.
1. When there is vinyl it will always be better than SACD
2. SACD players do good job on CDs too. My a couple of years old CDs sound at least as good as when I played them on my previous Rega Planet. Consequently, do not replace a few years old CDs with a SACD version. Very small difference.
3. Replace early CDs - 80s and early 90s, before the figured out the technology that are very cold sterile recordings that will sound much better in SACD.
Looking forward to everyone's comments.
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- 13 posts total
- 13 posts total