[gloco]

Hi Guys and Gals, 
 
         Looking through the search engine, looks like there hasn't been a thread on Hi-rez audio in years.  I owned several SACD's since 2005 that collected dust before getting my speaker rig in order recently and now I can finally enjoy Multi-channel music discs finally.  Some sound great, some kinda meh.  I'm looking to slowly, but surely, expand my collection of Multi-channel (hybrid) SACD's and pick up whatever DVD-A and BR-audio discs I can get on my hands on that cover my taste in music (rock, pop, metal, some jazz).  
 
I just ordered a small stash of SACD's and DVD-A discs on Amazon.  Loving the solid prices on there and will probably continue to pick away at their rock-pop selection.  
 
Anyone else out there interested in having a discussion?   My recent SACD highlight is Dire Straits Brothers in Arms.  I would have never known this is derived from a 16/44.1 PCM master tape.  The multi-channel offering sounds incredible.  It's done perfectly well with the vocals coming out of the Center channel while the instruments are all laid out in perfect order from the other two pairs of speakers (front and back).  On the other hand, the Police Greatest Hits SACD is a complete disaster.  You can clearly tell it was just run through a DSP to re-create a fake Multi-channel effect, akin to using a DSP effect on a Receiver.  Total letdown.  
 
Okay, fire away!!!  

 
Stuff I just ordered:
 
A Chorus Line (1975 Original Broadway Cast) (Multichannel/Stereo SACD)
Freewheelin Bob Dylan (Hybr)
Eric Clapton - 461 Ocean Boulevard (Hybr) (Ms)
 
Allman Brothers - Eat a Peach
Sheryl Crow - Globe Sessions (Dts-Es)
 
R.E.M.: Automatic for the People
The Beatles - Love (CD + Audio DVD)
Rem - Out of Time (CD + DVD-A) (Dig)

Rem - Monster (CD + DVD+ A) (Dig)
The Beach Boys - Pet Sounds
 
 
I have maybe another two dozen SACD's sitting on my music shelf.  
 


 

 

 

[BlazingArrow74]

... Hey-There, one I really enjoy that fits the genre is the DVD-A release of Goodbye, Yellow Brick Road ... It has the Multi-Channel as well as the Stereo Mix, and comes with a DVD-V documentary on the making of the album ... I miss hearning the surround mix on a relative's system (I only have a stereo setup), but I remember it being great: very discrete too, and I loved the synth getting it's own speaker in certain places ... Take Care.

 

[gloco]

Cool, thanks for the rec.  I have that in my amazon wishlist.  And a few other EJ sacd's.  I'm trying to grab anything of interest while it's still affordable.  Seems like any sacd/dvd-a's that go OOP suddenly spike in price in the Market Place.  
 
I also received most of the discs that I ordered and the few I've casually sampled sound excellent.  Glad to get my hands on some pop, rock and classic rock discs.  Too bad there's not more of that genre in the audiophile world. 
 
I'm hoping BR Audio takes off and we start seeing more popular albums come in that format.  
 
Cheers!

 

[BlazingArrow74]

... Sure, Gloco ... I meant to ask: what is Blu-Ray Audio ? ... I've never seen a disc anywhere ... What is the encoding format / sample rate / bit depth ? ... I find it odd that Blu-Ray audio would come about when DVD-A & SACD are still catching on ...

 

[Radioking59]

Quote:

... Sure, Gloco ... I meant to ask: what is Blu-Ray Audio ? ... I've never seen a disc anywhere ... What is the encoding format / sample rate / bit depth ? ... I find it odd that Blu-Ray audio would come about when DVD-A & SACD are still catching on ...

 
DVD audio and SACD are 10+ years old and will never be a mainstream format. While SACD has a niche market, DVD-A is pretty much dead.
 
Blu-Ray audio is just like DVD-A with just sound and no video. The resolution is usually 24/192.  One disc that I know of is Tom Petty's Damn the Torpedoes.
 
http://www.amazon.com/Damn-The-Torpedoes-Blu-ray-Audio/dp/B0042KZJ50/ref=pd_cp_mov_1

 

[RUMAY408]

Quote:

... Hey-There, one I really enjoy that fits the genre is the DVD-A release of Goodbye, Yellow Brick Road ... It has the Multi-Channel as well as the Stereo Mix, and comes with a DVD-V documentary on the making of the album ... I miss hearning the surround mix on a relative's system (I only have a stereo setup), but I remember it being great: very discrete too, and I loved the synth getting it's own speaker in certain places ... Take Care.

I bought a Jackson Browne album years ago, "Running On Empty" in my naive pre-audiophile years.  I thought it was a video disc, but I was wrong, no video just pictures and stunning sound.  One of my first introductions to hi def resolution sound.  That DVD-A changed my life for the better.  

 

[gloco]

Quote:

... Sure, Gloco ... I meant to ask: what is Blu-Ray Audio ? ... I've never seen a disc anywhere ... What is the encoding format / sample rate / bit depth ? ... I find it odd that Blu-Ray audio would come about when DVD-A & SACD are still catching on ...

 
Personally, I think both formats are dying.  SACD will never catch on thanks to Sony and it's stranglehold on the technology behind SACD.  Plus, it doesn't help that SACD media is largely composed of Jazz, Classic and Classic Rock offerings only.
 
Based on info in the Tom Petty link Radioking offered, it has these three audio options:
 
5.1 96kHz/24bit DTS-HD Master Audio
5.1 96kHz/24bit PCM
2.0 96kHz/24bit PCM
 
I imagine the DTS-HD Master Audio track sounds incredible.  Since blu-ray is slowly, but surely, spreading out I'm hoping BR-Audio catches fire and replaces the CD format.  That and with people increasingly springing for affordable HT-in the box systems it's just a matter of time.  I bet if more B&M stores had 5.1 setups on display it would convert people to surround sound and build demand for media.

 

[RUMAY408]

Quote:

 
Personally, I think both formats are dying.  SACD will never catch on thanks to Sony and it's stranglehold on the technology behind SACD.  Plus, it doesn't help that SACD media is largely composed of Jazz, Classic and Classic Rock offerings only.
 
Based on info in the Tom Petty link Radioking offered, it has these three audio options:
 
5.1 96kHz/24bit DTS-HD Master Audio
5.1 96kHz/24bit PCM
2.0 96kHz/24bit PCM
 
I imagine the DTS-HD Master Audio track sounds incredible.  Since blu-ray is slowly, but surely, spreading out I'm hoping BR-Audio catches fire and replaces the CD format.  That and with people increasingly springing for affordable HT-in the box systems it's just a matter of time.  I bet if more B&M stores had 5.1 setups on display it would convert people to surround sound and build demand for media.

I have Petty's BR from the Live Anthology Compilation he put out a few years ago.  The DTS-HD surround is excellent.  The resolution at 24/96 is comparable to any DVD-A or SACD that I have.

 

[TheAttorney]

Eleanor McEvoy's "Out There" hybrid SACD is great both musically and sonically. And this is based only on the RB layer, so I imagine the SACD layer will sound even better. So you get "audiphile label" SQ at almost normal CD price.
 
Eleanor is sometimes classed as an Irish alt folk singer. I'd class her as intelligent singer/songwriter, who writes wry, dry songs mostly about grown up angst. She's better than that description probably sounds.
She's also one of the few artists who is also proud to be a hifi enthusiast - which probably explains the great SQ of this album.
 
If you find you like that one, then also try her more recent, stripped down, "Alone" album. I think this is RB only, but the album notes do say "mastered to DSD", and the SQ is at least as good as the above.

 

[JakeJack_2008]

I suggest that you change the title to "... ... Blu-ray Albums" (The acronym BR-Audio hides the meanining.) JJ

 

[TJ Elite]

Quote:

I suggest that you change the title to "... ... Blu-ray Albums" (The acronym BR-Audio hides the meanining.) JJ

 
BR is actually an incorrect acronym for the format. People often leave out the word disc but when you include it it's not that difficult to understand why the correct acronym for Blu-ray Disc is BD (check Wikipedia if you want). I think people should learn to recognize the acronym, though, and not just use the word Blu-ray all the time. It's as close to the acronym CD as you can get; in the alphabet B is only one step away from C.

 

[JakeJack_2008]

Ok, so what does this mean: SPLHCB? (Do not use the Internet, please.) Once I was on a swinger's' site, just out of curiosity, and a woman said in her profile: if you use acronyms/abbreviations don't bother to contact me.