[Jeff Wong]

Unfortunately, I can't remember where I read it, but, I seem to recall coming across a small blurb that said Best Buy sent out an announcement to record labels that they will be phasing out stocking DVD-A and SACD.

 

[soundboy]

My local Best Buy has recently restocked its SACD section with Fantasy, Universal, and Telarc titles. Also lowered some Sony SACDs from $16.99 (or above) to $14.99. RCA's Living Stereo SACDs can be found in the regular CD section. I also located both Brian Ferry's "Boys and Girls" and Roxy Music's "Avalon" SACDs at my local Best Buy.

 

[dj_mocok]

What's SACD ??

 

[EdipisReks]

Quote:

Originally Posted by dj_mocok What's SACD ??

School of Architecture and Community Design.

 

[virometal]

lol, dry befits dry sometimes.

So Reks, as someone who has followed your system since having first joined because of our somewhat similar music tastes, have you sampled the high rez formats in the Yamaha universal? If so, what are your thoughts where sound quality is concerned?

I don't mean to thread jack, but this appears an adequate time for such an inquiry.

 

[soundboy]

OTOH, I did locate SACDs of Muddy Waters and Bruce Cockburn at my local Best Buy

 

[EdipisReks]

Quote:

Originally Posted by virometal So Reks, as someone who has followed your system since having first joined because of our somewhat similar music tastes, have you sampled the high rez formats in the Yamaha universal? If so, what are your thoughts where sound quality is concerned?

oooh, i didn't know i had a groupie.

the high rez discs sound amazing, with a few exceptions. i have 2 DVD-A discs (the dualdisc of NIN's With Teeth and Beck's Sea Change), and 6 SA-CD's (Bjork's Medulla, Steely Dan's Gaucho, Bob Dylan's John Wesley Harding, Bob Dylan's Highway 61 Revisited, The Rolling Stones' Let It Bleed and NIN The Downward Spiral 10th Anniversary Edition).

both DVD-A discs sound amazing! these are both modern recordings, with presumably the same mastering in both the CD versions and the DVD-A version (i have the regular CD version of Sea Change, so i've been able to compare it to the DVD-A version), and the sound is just much more natural, detailed, and dynamic than the CD version. this could come down to DAC quality (the Yamaha player uses separate DAC circuits for CD, DVD-A and SA-CD), but the Yamaha's CD performance stands up well to other players like the Denon 2910, so i think it's the format.

with the SA-CD's, the pattern repeats with the more contemporary recordings, but the older recordings aren't great. the two Bob Dylan discs are a bit better than the original CD releases, but the SACD sounds about the same as the CD layers. i think the mastering is probably much better than the original versions, but the master tapes just don't have the quality to make the high rez layer substantially better than regular CD version. Let It Bleed sounds pretty terrible, SA-CD layer or not, but i've heard that it was poorly recorded, so i'm not surprised. the best sounding disc is probably Steely Dan's Gaucho, which really shows how great the original recording quality was. the CD layer of Gaucho is great, but the SA-CD layer is just magical, with sparkle and crispness, and depth, that the CD layer just can't capture. i look forward to getting more high rez albums!

 

[bigshot]

The original album of Let It Bleed sounded OK. I think those Rolling Stones SACDs are monkeyed with big time. I listened to the original CD release of December's Children and the bass was amazing and tight... extending way down low. There is some midrange rolloff in the vocals, but that was how they EQed Jagger back then. It gave him a sharp, agressive sound. The new SACD I heard totally ruined that effect.

I plan to get the SACD of Gaucho as my last hurrah with this format. It would be interesting, if you have the time, if you would do a rip of the CD layer of Gaucho and compare it directly to the SACD layer using your Yamaha CD player alongside your SACD. That's the only way you can really compare the two layers. It's too much hassle to switch back and forth otherwise.

See ya
Steve

 

[virometal]

Quote:

Originally Posted by EdipisReks oooh, i didn't know i had a groupie.

Please, like your system is the only one I follow.

Thanks for your insights though.

 

[EdipisReks]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bigshot I plan to get the SACD of Gaucho as my last hurrah with this format. It would be interesting, if you have the time, if you would do a rip of the CD layer of Gaucho and compare it directly to the SACD layer using your Yamaha CD player alongside your SACD. That's the only way you can really compare the two layers. It's too much hassle to switch back and forth otherwise.

my Yamaha CD player IS my SA-CD player. it's a universal DVD player.

 

[EdipisReks]

Quote:

Originally Posted by virometal Please, like your system is the only one I follow. Thanks for your insights though.

 

[bigshot]

Quote:

Originally Posted by EdipisReks my Yamaha CD player IS my SA-CD player. it's a universal DVD player.

Did I read you wrong? I thought you said you had a separate CD player that you were using to compare the standard CD of Sea Change to the SACD...

See ya
Steve

 

[EdipisReks]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bigshot Did I read you wrong? I thought you said you had a separate CD player that you were using to compare the standard CD of Sea Change to the SACD... See ya Steve

what i posted was that i have the normal CD of Sea Change AND the DVD-A version, so i can compare the two. they are both played in the same player. sorry if i wasn't clear.

 

[bigshot]

Does your player switch between SACD and CD on the fly? My Phillips requires a stop and restart, which takes a long time... and the volume of the SACD layer is much louder than the CD layer. This makes it impossible to do any kind of comparison without having a second CD player and a balanced input level. I'm not familiar with the Yamaha. Do they have this same problem too?

Thanks
Steve

 

[EdipisReks]

i don't know of any player than can change layers on the fly. my yamaha has to start the track over to change layers. the volume is exactly the same for both SA-CD and CD, as far as i can tell.