SACD 2 channel vs Redbook 2 Channel

Matchstikman, the unswer is YES. Just like Nrchy said - the SACD has much higher resolution. The best way I can describe it as music sounds clearer and more defined.

Overall, I agree with others who have stated SACD is superior.

Of course, it also depends on the quality of the recordings. With that said, I believe that overall SACD playback generally has more warmth, depth, and a tad better resolution.

If I were to limit the improvements to one word, I would use the word 'richer'. As SACD playback seems to consistantly and distinctively have a 'richer' sound over redbook cd.

But you also have to ask, how much of the difference can be attributed to the SACD formatted recording and how much can be attributed to the component itself?

-IMO

Perhaps it would have been prudent to ask Matchstikman his budget and his system.
There are others who think based on what they've heard on SACD that it DOESN'T make a very big difference on playback quality at all especially down at the entry level to moderate level of things.
There are some of us who have heard inferior SACD discs in comparison to their Redbook versions.
It is also rich imho to make such statements when some of the above have already admitted that on certain hybrids the Redbook layer is better.
It also depends how you determine "superior"-are we talking technically,sonically or as a format?
Redbook is still the superior format in my book since if I want to buy new music I can actually buy it and listen to it on Redbook.
There's no doubt technically SACD is superior,I also respect those who have heard the improvements SACD brings to them on their systems-again other haven't.
But it is a pretty complicated issue-I found SACD inferior as a format for several reasons and sold all my SACD discs but kept my hybrids for the Redbook layer.

The SACD data format is completely different from the PCM redbook format, so that theoretical comparisons are not easy. There is an argument, posted elsewhere, that SACD resolution for signals above 8000 Hz is actually inferior.

To my ears, and depending on the particular disc, SACD is better than CD. Perhaps this is because the frequency range below 8000 Hz is most important.

On the other hand DVD-A is easy to compare to CD. It's the same PCM code except with 24 bits instead of 16, and 96KHz instead of 44.1 KHz. It's what they would have done thirty years ago if the technology had been available.

No question that SACD brings stereo to a whole new level. There is no comparison, the difference is akin to the superiority of good vinyl over redbook and it's completely addicting once you appreciate it. To be honest, I have a heck of a time analyzing the SACD side of good sacd players (I've heard many good and great ones, a few bad ones). I can pick apart the redbook side of any player in a few tracks, but SA-CD, after only a few seconds of listening, makes it near impossible for me to think about the equiptment; I get lost in the music, the ease, that naturlness, realness, coherence and life of the music. When I do force myself to compare, to listen to a redbook layer of a SACD, I in general will find that SACD is smoother, its more open, its fuller, its vastly more extended up top, it has better detail and clarity with a lower noise floor, it's simply more like real music...but I quickly forget about all the fluff and realize there is beautiful, life-like music playing in my room when playing the DSD side.... Like every other format it of course is recording quality dependant, yet I've heard things with good SACDs that my best CD's are completely lacking.

Every person I've let hear SACD in my system (strictly 2ch), even nonaudiphiles who don't care in the least about this hobby, have had no trouble picking up on the very differences I hear wrt the superiority of SA-CD, and this without any prompting from me. That's what amazes me and give me hope for the format, along with the flood of new titles finnally making it to shore and Sony promising to open the flood gate in 2004.

It's also worth observing that, as far as I can tell, Ben_campbell is the only person on this board, out of hundreds or even thousands of members, actively crusading against SACD at every turn. He can't hear the difference, as stated a hundred times now, which is fine; we all hear differently and we value different things in sound reproduction. However, do note that the fans of the format hugely outnumber the unbiased detractors, and likewise, appreciate that when I say I'm a "Fan" that is short for "Fanatic!"