Analogue Productions SACDs

@big_greg 

I disagree with the following statement:

A regular CD in a good player or transport/DAC will sound better than a SACD in an Oppo or entry level player

Sony and Philips 25 years ago introduced the SACD format, expecting it to replace CDs which they also co-invented.

DSD is much simpler to play back than PCM, and has much higher resolution than Redbook PCM.  

I do not know why SACD was so poorly received in most markets, but my guess is poor marketing.  It must be hard to improve on the "perfect sound forever" pitch which almost wiped out LPs.

If you find multi-channel unrealistic, my guess is you do not play much classical music.  In a concert hall, much of the sound we hear is reflected and it is the subtle hall sounds that add an extra tad of realism, if the recording engineer so chooses!

@richardbrand The source material matters, but if the equipment isn't up to the task of extracting the information from the media, the sound quality isn't going to be as good as it could be with a high quality external (or internal) DAC converting the digital to analog.  

I have many SACDs and if I play the SACD in my Oppo player and the sound from the internal DAC in the Oppo is clearly worse than if I play the red book version from the same SACD disc in the CD player in my Rockna server through my Rockna DAC. 

Just as there's a very noticeable difference if I play the same SACD using the Oppo internal DAC or send the DSD stream to the Rockna DAC.  

It's like saying that if you play a MOFI or UHQR or other high fidelity vinyl record on a $300 turntable with a built in phono stage, that it's going to sound better than a "standard" pressing of the same record on a $5000 turntable with a $5000 cartridge and a high quality phono stage.

It's very easy to demonstrate and the type of music doesn't matter.  

I didn’t realize my $2,000 Oppo 105D was entry level. 

I guess our oppo’s are missing a zero

I didn’t realize my $2,000 Oppo 105D was entry level. 

Very much so. The 105D retailed for $1200 and its main purpose was to play blu-ray discs. Jack of all trades, master of none. Not sure why someone would pay $2,000 for one, unless it was FOMO when they were being discontinued.

CD and SACD playback is lackluster using the internal DAC. And no, you don't have to add a zero to get significantly better sound quality, you just need to connect it to a better DAC and use it as a transport.