sacd,vinyl, and rebook....

We'll, my feelings on this topic have been expressed many times over the last couple of years. The link that Albert Porter provided gives an objective scientific view which was sorely lacking from most of the debate over the years.
All I can say at this point is "fool me once (betamax) shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me". Lets hope we all remember this the next time Sony tries to lead us into another format war.

I don't have a sacd player. I have bought some hybrids, though, because I've heard the cd layer is usually the best sounding version, compared to other redbook issues. I've found this, so far, to be true. In addition, I can at some point buy a sacd player if I want, or simply continue listening to the cd layer. I would never buy a sacd only disc.

I really do not understand what the purpose of this thread is. I have great capability to play LPs, cds, sacds, dvdvs, and dvdas. I certainly do not have every performance in all of these formats and no intension, even were they available, to have everything in multiple formats. I find LPs superior when everything is perfect but a major pain in the ass. I have had an enormous improvement in the quality of my cd performance thanks to modern dacs and clean power. Now I could listen to cds exclusively. I have found sacds to sound more realistic than cds with a considerably better sense of the sound stage, but with less dynamics (XRCD24 clean their clocks). I thought that few if any dvdas were worth having, but system improvements have shown some are excellent. I am not looking for a victor in the format wars and just enjoying what is available. I will continue to buy sacds when they become available.

Of all the posts, I find Gaudio_eek's quote of Ivor Humphreys the most salient; why do so many of us in this hobby chase tweaking the noise? Really, Albert's referenced article is dealing with a worse case scenario of -40db in the upper register. Please! There's 10,000 times more other stuff going on with these recordings!

At a certain level (just for a guess, I'd say a $5,000 system) the details we're hearing are mostly the decisions of the recording engineer and mixing artist (yes, artist). And while I love 'air' and 'etched details' and 'palpable' and all that other stuff, there's some lower order terms we tend to miss in all this minutia: things like rhythm, melody, harmony, and tonal communication.

In other words: music!

I'm not attacking those who can hear the differences between formats (for they do exist, and yes, I have heard them). Instead, I am asking why do we feed this machine? Why do we buy this equipment when there are satisfactory formats (CD for simplicity, Vinyl for high res playback, MP3 for portability)? And this is hardly a Luddite anthem, but it is an appeal to reflect on the rationality of our purchasing behavior with respect to the primary goal: the joy of music.

Sincerely,

Hope you guys understand that the article was pointed out only for discussion.

I don't have conclusive proof of which digital format is best or what the engineering limits are in the various digital formats.

I am strictly an analog guy and the sum of my investment in digital is a Sony 9000es. It is capable of playing SACD, but I have so few titles I would hesitate to compare.

No doubt the new generation machines such as the EMM Labs would crush my stock Sony, the problem comes (for me) paying the price for the EMM Labs and having it crushed by my analog rig.

Still it's an interesting debate and I thought the link I provided was worth sharing since it was precisely on topic.