2. music
  3. 1366390627

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
arh
366 posts
 
I agree with Kr4. I have had an SCD-1, 777ES and 5400 all by sony and they played the 2 channel SACD with great results. Some multi channel SACD players require you to go into the menu and select 2 channel SACD playback. If you are listening to 2 channel and have multi-channel aselected you will only get the front two channels of the surround mix. You got to read your manuals
Alan
goofyfoot's avatar
goofyfoot
1,380 posts
 
My error, I did mean 'hybrid' SACD and yes, my PentaTone SACD's in a simple 2 channel CD format sounds better to me than most standard Redbook CD's. The other comments of course were just related to me and they may or may not have any real validity. Nevertheless thanks for letting me share.
glaucon
25 posts
 
It boggles the mind that anyone who's invested in an EMM Labs or Esoteric CD/SACD player doesn't know how Hybrid SACDs work. Obviously, you're playing the MCH layer downmixed to 2-channel. As Kr4 points out, you need to make sure (1) your SACD has a 2-channel stereo SACD layer; and (2) you've selected that playing option on the player. I have the Esoteric X-05 (which defaults to the 2-channel layer), and I have not heard any of the problems mentioned by the OP.
french_fries OP
815 posts
 
My EMM player has a switch that in one mode plays 2CH SACD and in the other mode plays redbook 2CH. there is no specific information on the multichannel disc itself regarding the 2ch layer of sacd and the multichannel layer of sacd.
one would ASSUME there are 3 distinct layers - redbook, 2ch sacd, and 6ch sacd.
another disc- Pentatone Wagner excerpts sounds weird too- also a hybrid.
more a mishmosh of sounds with "almost" no distinct theme- you have to strain to hear it.
How does my EMM player sound on SACD's that don't exhibit problems? Amazing-
they almost spoil the experience of going back to redbook- even very good redbook- discs. such nuances that (mostly) only a very clean LP can deliver. you can really share in the emotions of the artists as they shape each phrase of the composition. It's a great technology, but 3 layers on the same disc could be problematic. My 1st EMM dac (the DAC6E) could have played those 6 tracks (into a 6ch preamp of course) with outputs to 6 mono amps or 3 stereo amps (or a "home theatre" amp) to 6 properly arrayed speakers in a properly configured listening space. not an option for most folks unless the speakers are very small and
you're watching LOTR on Blu-ray.
BUT NO, there has to be an answer to this question, with a possible solution as well.
zd542
5,339 posts
 
Have you ever tried the SACD's that are giving you trouble on another player? It only happens once in a while, but sometimes I find that, occasionally, a disc has some compatibility issues or is just defective. You should be able to tell, even if the other player is not a high end unit. Anything that plays the formats should work fine for a test.

Also, you said you checked phase. How did you do that?
More to discover