Stupid Question about SACD players and Dedicated DACs

[jpelg]

Quote:

Originally Posted by soundboy Pioneer Elite, Sony and Denon all have SACD players that can output the SACD signal digitally.

Isn't that only thru proprietary interfaces that connect only to their own matching HT receivers?

Even if you could output it, I don't think there are any commercially available, standalone DAC's that can accept or decode a digital SACD signal anyway.

 

[Oliver :)]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jpelg Isn't that only thru proprietary interfaces that connect only to their own matching HT receivers?

Yup.

 

[soundboy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jpelg Isn't that only thru proprietary interfaces that connect only to their own matching HT receivers? Even if you could output it, I don't think there are any commercially available, standalone DAC's that can accept or decode a digital SACD signal anyway.

You're right.

At the same time, HDMI v1.2 was approved by Sony/Philips last September for digital transmission of SACD signal.

 

[Naga]

i remember reading that

 

[swmtnbiker]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jpelg Isn't that only thru proprietary interfaces that connect only to their own matching HT receivers? Even if you could output it, I don't think there are any commercially available, standalone DAC's that can accept or decode a digital SACD signal anyway.

Exactly the problem, and the most relevant response to the OP's question.

 

[Garbz]

Denon use their proprietry Denon link cable to output digital SACD to their receivers. They were able to licence this because it's there technology and currently there's no way to record from it. Plus being very uncommon it's unlikely to be cracked.

Even if the digital S/PDIF outputs were enabled for SACD playback, what would they send? The S/PDIF interface is designed to carry LPCM data. I'm not sure that DSD data would even fit within the S/PDIF clock, and even if so there's definitly no S/PDIF decoders available which can demux the SACD data.

 

[thomaspf]

DSD travels fine over firewire and there is nothing proprietary about it.

The higher end Denon gear send DSD signals over firewire and I assume nothing would stop a DAC vendor to get a license to build a DAC with a 1394 input. You can mix and match 1394 equipped gear from Sony, Pioneer, and Denon.

In addition to receivers from the companies above the DCS dac supports this interface. And before someone asks... No, I have not tested interoperability between a Denon universal player and the DCS Elgar.

Cheers

Thomas