2. digital
  3. 1168841401

State of HDCD and SACD

I am contemplating a new digital front-end and wondering if I should give preference to HDCD or SACD. It seems that you do not see these two technologies combined too often in a CDP, at least not well!

So, what I want to decide is "What has more of a future as a format?" I think both can sound excellent - that's not the question. I have a MiniMax CDP in my 2nd system that does great things with HDCD, and I previously owned a Shanling T200 that was great with SACD (and Redbook).

If I decide to put my eggs in the HDCD basket I'll probably get a Raysonic CD128. If SACD, a Marantz SA-11.

So, I would appreciate hearing takes on the respective futures of these formats. SACD has many titles available but still a drop, of course, compared to Redbook, and it seems views differed greatly on its future the last time I looked into it, about a year ago.

Would also consider other recommendations for players. Is there something there under $3K (preferably new - I don't trust used digital transports) that does HDCD and SACD and does them both well?
paulfolbrecht
johnjbarlow's avatar
johnjbarlow
175 posts
 
This is one forum I intend to watch closely. At this time my listening is exclusively on vinyl. I am considering another foray into digital. SACD will probably be the format I choose. I look forward to hearing the RCA Living Stereo series on SACD.
kira
83 posts
 
Both SACD and HDCD are on life support and will never be anything more than a tiny niche. DVD Audio is dead. The replacement for redbook has yet to be invented.
rar1's avatar
rar1
1,784 posts
 
Paul:

CD Redbook will be the standard for now and the near future and is where your preference should be. SACD's and HDCD are nice to haves, nothing more or less.

I have owned a SACD player (SONY SCD 555 ES) for 5 years now and the buying and tracking down of SACD's is a pain. I find myself buying titles (usually by mail order) more because I bought into SACD, than because I would normally buy these titles in the first place. For me, with the exception of the RCA Living Stereo, Dylan, Stones, Renee Jacobs' Opera series and the odd Byrds or BST release (and they are all hybrids), there is not much available that I would NEED to have.

I currently own SACD and DVD-A players and owned a HDCD player, with HDCD being the format I liked the best.

If I had to do it all over again, I would have passed on SACD and spent the money on a much better redbook player. It's not that what I own is shabby, but the $1K or so could have been spent on other components.

Regards, Rich
Post removed 
paulfolbrecht OP
603 posts
 
I do already have a number of SACDs (about 15), mostly hybrids, that I bought when I had the Shanling.

When I switched to the all redbook, NOS DAC front-end I kidded myself into believing it was as good as SACD. Listening to a friend's Denon universal with SACD made me realize I'd been doing just that - kidding myself. SACD definitely sounds better than even the best redbook IMO. The question is, is it worth it with the limited selection of titles? HDCD is probably not on par with SACD (imaging is as good, but does not achieve the same smoothness in my experience).

This is why I'm trying to nail down this question: which has more of a future, SACD and HDCD? SACD is entreched as a _niche_ audiophile format but, damnit, it is still very much entrenched or so it seems to me. But I could be wrong!
More to discover