Coping in an Age of Uncertainty


there have been numerous threads here, i know, about sacd v. dvd-a, upsampling, oversampling, etc. a number of these threads have included discussions of which, if any, new digital format will replace what we now call “redbook” cd’s. i don’t wish to rehash these discussions. rather, i’d like to hear from others how they are coping with the “age of uncertainty” in the realm of digital audio. is it better to “roll the dice” and invest in sacd or dvd a? ignore the contenders for the new and get the best possible out of redbook cd’s? buy with upgradeability firmly in mind? follow another path? i don’t post this query out of mere curiosity. i really haven’t figured out what course i should follow. i’d appreciate your giving me a hand. -kelly
cornfedboy

Showing 2 responses by mrtennis

it's easy:

try to decisde which sounds better to you.

listen to a dual layer disc on several sacd/universal players and see which sounds better.

suppose after listening to e.g., 10 sacd players with a variety of discs, you prefer the sacd.

the next step is to listen to the redbook layer on your preferred cd player and the sacd layer on a preferred sacd
player. which do you prefer ??

essentially, you are comparing a very good cd player vs a very good sacd player, using dual layer discs.

be careful how you do this.

my experience tells me that remastered 16 bit cds don't always sound better than the original 16 bit.

you need a mix of current recordings and remastered 16 bit recordings. note all the differences.

this is not easy because, in the final analysis if you can't do this on your own system, it may be difficult to a meaningful analysis at a dealer.

hope this helps.
sorry, i made an era in my last post.

i meant to say that sacds remastered from 16 bit cds often do not sound better than the original 16 bit cd, because of degradation of the master tape, especially when the tape is more than 15 years old.