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SACD - M. Davis - So What

I've just recently moved into the world of SACD.
The Sony DVP 900- with less than 48 hours break in(which may have some influence on what I'm writing).
I've only got the Sony double sampler SACD disc-some of the tracks do sound very good indeed so don't think I'm SACD bashing.
However here is my query for Audiogoners who have Miles Davis Kind Of Blue on SACD-how does it compare to the Mastersound CD( or the normal 20 bit remaster)?
To my weak ears on the only track I can compare the opening So What-the Mastersound sounds much better detailed and weighty in the bass department-I'm really quite surprised since the rest of the sampler disc sounds very good indeed even on older tracks like Santanna and Jeff Beck.
Anybody care to comment on Miles Davis on SACD in general and KOB in particular.
A search on Audio Asylum revealed some very different opinions so I'd be interested to hear Audiogon members view on this.
Thanks,
ben_campbell
ben_campbell OP
1,169 posts
 
Trelja-er think you picked me up wrong the Mastersound CD sounded better on the bass than the SACD!
My girlfriend who's hearing is much better than mine agreed also.
She did mention the bass was more subtle on the SACD but overall she could hear much more detail (fingers on the strings on the opening bars)on the CD.
I think from the very very little I heard your description in general is true about SACD but not with So What in my system at the moment that is why I asked the question.
I found this track to be a major disappointment and what worried me a little it was the only track I was really familar with.
Ag insider logo xs@2x
drubin
3,276 posts
 
Others have described Kind of Blue as one of the major disappointments of SACD. On the other hand, I have a Japanese SACD of In a Silent Way, which is quite excellent.
jsbail
368 posts
 
It took about 500 hours for my 9000ES to sound it's best. Give it a few weeks and tell us what you think then.
phild
603 posts
 
Hey Ben, I'm not familiar with either the SACD or Mastersound (mine is the Columbia/Legacy), but...the details that you mentioned (fingers on strings) are the sorts of details that tend to rise to the top and become more audible the more a signal is compressed. Compressing the bass *could* produce the differences that you noticed. I'm not saying that's necessarily the case in this situation, but it's ALWAYS possible with modern redbook CDs (the labels have all gone compression crazy). One way to tell if that is the case is to listen to the dynamic range of both. If one is compressed more than the other it will not have the same range. Of course, a compressed signal could sound better. It all depends.

By the way...were you playing the redbook CD on the same machine, or a nicer CDP?? If you used different players, the difference could be due to better redbook CDP vs. cheap Sony SACD circuitry.
musicslug
430 posts
 
I had to break in both the redbook and SACD circuits on my 777. It took a long time but it's a dramatic improvement. Try your A-B comparison in a month or two (and if you only have a few sacds, leave them on repeat play to facilitate the break-in when you're not listening), then do your critical evaluation. To my ears, post-break-in, SACD sounds more like analog (and I play tons of vinyl) than redbook. The new Let It Bleed (Stones) SACD is amazing: it sounds like you're in the studio with the musicians and no amps or electronics. I suspect that if the music biz goes to all SACD processing (DSD from start to finish rather than old analog tapes converted to SACD), we'll be in for many treats...
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