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Sacd/dvd-a, The Hype Is Dead, For Me At Least...

SACD, DVD-A....

I purchased a 2000.00 Universal and about 10 titles mostly SACD

SACD- Nice on surround, actual 5.1 disks, Stereo SACD well if you can get a Re-mastered CD or a Hybrid then its just as good on an awesome Redbook player as thru an SACD decoder... It is interesting.

DVD-A- Most of them ended up very UNDERWHELMING.... as stated earlier, and just a PAIN IN THE A$$...

Vinyl- I am only mentioning this as it seems viable for the discussion, as much garbage as it takes to turn on a DVD-A disc half the time I can put a LP on my VPI record cleaner, and Que it up just as well and it BLOWS away the DVD-A, and Most SACD's... I am not an Analog protector, as a matter of fact I bought My Analog RIG after ATTEMPTING SACD/DVD-A universal world.

CD- Bottom line Re-mastered Cd's and SACD Hybrids sound superior on a good old 16x BIT WADIA 4000.00 player than the SACD on the top of the line Marantz SACD player(this was borrowed)... This will catch much Heat I am sure, but drop the drama, invest Redbook, You can't buy anything on SACD or DVD-a in comparison to well recorded Redbook on a Very good redbook machine unless you are looking for the true benefit of surround SACD's. 2 channel I do not see the point.

Now let me back up, I am irritated only because, I am young, never had vinyl, and I started my High-end(audiophile) Life right in the Middle of SACD/DVD-A War about 2 years ago, so of course I had to have it... I will never go back to the headach of it now that someone was kind enough to show me the true sound of a Wadia player and a Vinyl rig in comparison to it.

I sold all Hi-Def Audio Software and Hardware and took all that money to the used market and Purchased the Wadia and Vinyl rig with YES an old fashoned Record cleaner to get the most out of it, and could not be Happier! Plus 90% of everything you could want is on Vinyl and CD, including New bands, many re-issues, etc...

Don't get me wrong, If you are into the titles that are in abundance on the SACD format GO FOR IT! It sounds VERY VERY good, but if you like maybe 10 CD's that exist on it, take the extra Money and purchase at least a Theta, Wadia, Maybe even Krell Machine(but I do not like the sound as much)... Okay don't take this as bashing, this is Truly my opinion on what I have heard and spent much time testing, And these were all done in home comparisons with Equal cost equipment for the most part for many months. And done in a very good room, good cables, speaker placement, power supply, and acoustic treated room that sounds excellent and does not lie....

I have nothing against the Hi-res music, hell I wanted it, I tried it as a newbee, and there is some definate impressive stuff, the MAIN thing I love about using Hi-res is When you can get your favorite guys in concert with DTS up on the HDTV in front of you, that so far is the only worthy format I have found worth the money and the cause, So I have a Seperate MOVIE / Slash / Concert DVD system that is a lot of fun and phoenominal results... But 2 Channel, get the best CD's or Hybrids, because the Hybrids do for some reason sound better than the originals probably due to they are Re-mastered very well, and a rewarding CD player will show this as much as the SACD counterpart if in a correctly setup system. And Vinyl, Ha well lets just say coming out of college recently my friends laugh until they here it cranked and can't believe it, especially if you have some good stuff to back it, but there is "DOG" recordings on ALL formats so don't think any sytem will Turn coal into a diamond in front of you.

But this all costs money No doubt, I only threw this little thread in here to maybe help some people save some cash... We can't have it all, but you can have it better if you know the direction to go in, I did not, but I found it, and it was full circle all the way back to the begining.. Don't let Hype rule your ears.
matrix
robm321
932 posts
 
SACD IS DEAD lol not really I just wanted to say it. I hope it's not dead anyway.

Ben you're digging yourself a bigger and bigger hole, at this point cut your losses before you lose more credibility. You may be missunderstood and that's fine, but it's looking like your hoping that you're not missing out on SACD and hoping it dies so you can feel good about only having Redbook capabilities. It's no big deal, you don't have to defend your honor - this is an audio forum.

In a few years from now - if you are right then you can rub it in our faces.
matrix OP
305 posts
 
Yeah, there will always be decisions on all types of things. Formats, equipment, what is necessary what is not. But after about 6 years and nobody changing from Recording in the standard PCM to DSD in general and taking a chance on putting out pure SACD discs we just will get a few very interested in SACD. But my real point was In re-masters the SACD layer has not completly impressed me so if we go on the hybrid layer of SACD it is more or less determined it does sound about as good on redbook as playing the SACD layer unless running it in surround sound on a 5.1 disc. I never owned a DSD direct disc from the recording all the way thru so I guess my point is not valid as to the capability of SACD, so sure it is capable and in the end technology is advanced over Redbook, but if your looking to replace a portion of a collection of Horrible sounding CD's with SACD only disks then to me its definatly not worth it If you can get it remastered recently or a Hybrid SACD, and just play it back on an excellent redbook player I find it better off, However when possible I will purchase the Hybrid's if available over a standard CD as it has proven to me to sound better as well. Excuse the run-on sentences but its very hard to make technical points this way quickly.
ben_campbell
1,169 posts
 
Robm321 you really are a cracker.

CD didn't happen?
Nah neither it did.

As for waiting a few years well I've already done that and won the argument to this point.It was stated by a few then that SACD was going to take over CD, it remains the niche Audiophile format I said it would.

What I think you should do rather than taking about people digging holes (care to point me in the direction where I said I'd hope it would die?)maybe you should read what was written.
There's a real inability around here to do that.
I'll leave it that.
robm321
932 posts
 
Ben_campbell,

I'm a cracker? Am I at least salty?

per your request:

07-18-05: Ben_campbell
Of course it's dead I said it was.
:-)
Ben_campbell (Reviews | Threads | Answers)

dig.. dig... dig...

Rob
guidocorona
4,298 posts
 
Oh Wow. . that was real profound, almost like. . . wow!

Once upon a time, many many ears ago, there were three Audiophile monks who lived in a strict monastery of the Holy Audiophilic Order of Saint Aloysius of Appenzell (CH), on top of Bald Mountain where they were seeking Final Audio Nirvana. For many years our little monks had respected the sacred vow of silence. They would listen in rapturous awe to their little high end audio system built into each cell, but would not utter even the tiniest sound of their own.
They communicated amongst themselves only to share their individual state of audio ecstasy, only through their Internet chat scribblings, and occasional mildly suggestive hand/finger gestures.
One day, after lengthy Internet consults, our three heros decided to visit father Abbott and request a special year end dispensation. The good Abbott agreed. They had been in fact good audiophilic monks for so many decades, that a little voice chat would not hurt the Monastery's reputation.
On the next new year's day, the first little monk would be allowed to utter a single sentence of momentus importance. The second monk would follow suit on the 1st anniversary with an appropriate repost, followed eventually by the third little monk with a final summation on the second anniversary.
On New Year's day the three little monks assembled in front of the grand audio system in the Monastery's cathedral. The first little monk gathered his courage and proclaimed ecstatically: "SACDs are dead!"
The second little monk looked as if he had just swallowed a cryo-treated blown 1959 pinched waist White labled RCA tube of ill repute, but kept his silence with wounded dignity.
On the first anniversary, once again they gathered in front of the great altar to the Goddess of Audiophilia nervosa, and the second little monk, who had held it all in for a full year, spat in a virulent outburst of most unbrotherly wrath: : "Never. . . SACDs are alive. . . and well to boot!"
The third little monk looked morose, but remembered his place. Not a peep was heard from him 'til the following New Year's day, when bowing once more together in full humility in front of the mega-galactic system created and worshipped as a supreme Goddess of Audio Nirvana by all the little audiophilic monks of the monastery of Sain Aloysius, he shouted indignantly: "I do hate so these ungodly arguments about SACDs!"
And out they filed, the little monks, each of them having uttered his piece. . . .
And they have never been heard since. . . or even seen,. . . . or at least so the story goes.
Amen!

PS. Yet there have been persistent rumours . . . after so many years. . . that in the dead of new Year's Eve. . . muffled and discordant shouting can still be heard, emanating from under the darkened krypts of the cathedral of Bald Mountain. . .
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