[PsychoZX]

I'm listening to the XRCD version of Dire Straits - Brothers In Arms. It sounds absolutely fantastic. Easily one of the best I've heard.

 

[soundboy]

Have you tried the SACD or the DVD-A, both containing HDCD-encoded CD layer/side?

 

[PsychoZX]

Quote:

Originally Posted by soundboy Have you tried the SACD or the DVD-A, both containing HDCD-encoded CD layer/side?

No I haven't. Are they even better?

 

[PsychoZX]

Quote:

Originally Posted by soundboy Have you tried the SACD or the DVD-A, both containing HDCD-encoded CD layer/side?

No I haven't. Are they even better?

 

[Bunnyears]

You don't need any special equipment to decode xrcds. they play on any cd player which makes them very nice. However, most of the sacd/hybrids have a stereo layer which is comparable in quality to the xrcd and sometimes it's a bit cheaper. For sacd, dvd-a stereo and multitrack formats your player has to have the licensed software to decode the layers.

 

[PsychoZX]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bunnyears You don't need any special equipment to decode xrcds. they play on any cd player which makes them very nice. However, most of the sacd/hybrids have a stereo layer which is comparable in quality to the xrcd and sometimes it's a bit cheaper. For sacd, dvd-a stereo and multitrack formats your player has to have the licensed software to decode the layers.

I know that. I was asking if the DVD-A or SACD versions sound any better. Sometimes high rez versions of albums tend not to sound any better.

 

[Welly Wu]

I agree that JVC XRCDs are the "other HDCD" format and the sound quality is worth the steep prices. I love the total immersion of sound and I can just pop the disc in any CD player instead of shopping for players with the right decoder. However, SA-CD and especially DVD-Audio have much better sound quality. I have a couple of old JVC XRCD releases and the SA-CD or DVD-Audio version. Not many, but I tend to think that the high resolution formats trounce the XRCDs: there is a wider, clearer soundstage with greater extension in the treble and bass regions along with about the same purity in the midrange. That's about it though. The cost of media is a bit lower for high resolution discs as compared to JVC XRCDs which have retained their value over time.

 

[Bunnyears]

Quote:

Originally Posted by PsychoZX I know that. I was asking if the DVD-A or SACD versions sound any better. Sometimes high rez versions of albums tend not to sound any better.

I have the Heifetz/Reiner Tchaikowsky Violin Concerto in D in three formats: vinyl, JVC xrcd and RCA Living Stereo sacd/hybrid. The best sound quality is the SACD 3 speakers; next would be SACD downmixed to 2 speakers. I can't hardly tell the difference between the sacd/hybrid's stereo layer (redbook) and the jvc xrcd. The vinyl when new was incredible, but that's more than 30 years ago! the recording has an incredibly rich sound, but it's an old recording so it's got a couple of pops and some crackle which detract from that analog smoothness, thus it's sound quality is not as good as the sacd/hybrid.

If there was an earlier cd issue of the concerto I'm unaware of it.