[phreaknupallnite]

Quote:

Originally Posted by uzziah what if i want to put a sacd on my computer to be played portably? is it possible? by "hybrid" are you saying i could rip it onto my computer, but it would only read the "stereo" level of encoding? in other words, i would basically have a standard stereo cd ripped on my computer?

Yep, just the "stereo" or 2 channel layer. I will say that I've compared the cd versions to the same sacd and there is a difference in sound quality.

 

[phreaknupallnite]

Quote:

Originally Posted by uzziah i don't have any sacd's right now, and i'm going to by a (up to) $300 source sometime soon. i'm debating whether to buy a standard cd player like a nad or rotel. or, should i buy a sacd/cd player? i mainly listen to classic rock, jazz and classical. techno as well. the listing of sacd's already seems to have much of my favorites in it. i wonder, how would such an sacd player stack up to a comporable nad cd player for playing regular cd's? i'd probably end up listening to cd 50% of the time, and sacd 50% considering my cd library is already well built should i consider dvd-a?

I hope this helps

I know there are a few decent dvd/cd/sacd or dvd-aplayers out there for under your price range, but you will not get one that plays sacd and dvd-a. They are coming and the price point is being brought down as it becomes standard. There are a few things of interest happening in the multi-channel audio world, namely firewire and hdmi. This is another reason price on players that dont have these two things are becoming very affordable. I would easily recommend two players for you, one is the pioneer elite DV45A, the price was 499.99 when it came out, but has dropped to a nice 349.99 price point. If you find one at a retailer that has been returned they will probably knock 10% off of it, I know we do. Its open box, not broken. The other is also a pioneer model, its a DV-578A-S at 149.99-199.99 depending on where you find it and sales, etc. I would spend the extra bucks and get the elite model, I like the way it sounds and is just a solid player. Feel free to send me a message if you have any questions about these two, I've put the DV45A and its more expensive firewire version, the DVAI in alot of peoples homes.

 

[soundboy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by phreaknupallnite Yep, just the "stereo" or 2 channel layer. I will say that I've compared the cd versions to the same sacd and there is a difference in sound quality.

That sounds confusing....a 2-channel SACD mix is mandatory on all SACD; the multi-channel surround SACD mix and the regular CD layer are optional. Therefore, on a computer, you can only play the CD layer of a SACD (better known as a hybrid SACD).

 

[phreaknupallnite]

Quote:

Originally Posted by boodi I'd get a universal player if i were you , then maybe get it modded / upgraded if it would need to. The DENON dvd 2900 seems a good choice to me , this if you can afford it ; it is also mod-ready

The 2900 is $999.99. The mods I looked at are $649.00 and $100.00 for the multi-channel mod. Then theres +2% for something(shipping, I'll assume). The good thing is "All prices include several hours worth of professional installation."

so you got that going for you. I would say for $1750.00 or so you could just buy a better player from someone else to begin with. The bad part is your budget of $300.00 is shot to hell and the price of sacd's and dvd-a are not cheap. I'd save the mod prices and buy some software to ENJOY. Equipment alone is pretty boring.

 

[phreaknupallnite]

Quote:

Originally Posted by soundboy That sounds confusing....a 2-channel SACD mix is mandatory on all SACD; the multi-channel surround SACD mix and the regular CD layer are optional. Therefore, on a computer, you can only play the CD layer of a SACD (better known as a hybrid SACD).

you got it, sorry for the confusion.
SACD has two layers, one is a 2 channel layer the other a 5-6 or sorround or multi-channel, whatever you prefer.

 

[soundboy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by phreaknupallnite you got it, sorry for the confusion. SACD has two layers, one is a 2 channel layer the other a 5-6 or sorround or multi-channel, whatever you prefer.

Actually, the SACD layer will contain the stereo mix, and if available, the multi-channel mix. On a hybrid SACD, the CD mix is located on a separate layer.

Maximum number of channels on a SACD is 6....basically the 5.1 mix. There're SACDs out there that have multi-channel information but only use, for example, the front 3 channel (as originally intended). Like some of the recently released RCA Living Stereo SACDs.

 

[Oliver :)]

Quote:

Originally Posted by boodi I'd get a universal player if i were you , then maybe get it modded / upgraded if it would need to. The DENON dvd 2900 seems a good choice to me , this if you can afford it ; it is also mod-ready

No, it's not. It sounds great, despite having little character. It is an amazing video source. But the double speed drive sucks. It is just too loud with irregular discs, and can be very annoying if you have open cans or listen on a relatively low level. Denon's opinion is "it's not our fault that discs are not perfect", and they would rather keep the 2x drive instead of whatever, upping the RAM, or having a speed-switch. Not recommended unless you want excellent video in your universal player.

Edit: It is also way out of the OP's price range.

 

[boodi]

fyi http://www.sacdmods.com/DVD2900.htm link to a dvd2900 sacdmod modded