Have you heard SACD?

Madison, joy to your ears indeed! You are right, SACD is a great leap forward and finally the promise of digital is rising beyond the old snake-oil hype and is beginning to be fullfilled. My ears at least agree fully with yours. The best of SACD seems in a few aspects even truer to the music than the best of vinyl. The only thing which irks me, is the hiss, which obviously cannot be avoided, when transcribing older takes into this new format. Cheers,

So the mod is finally kicking in, Detlof! I'm between two stools about factory-modding my cdp to play SACD. It's a 2 month, $ 1,5k extra investment...

I too like sacd sound -- particularly the dsd recordings (as opposed to conversions).

Cheers!

It is Greg, it is! I'm still burning it in and experienced an amazing leap forward in transparency and finesse after about 60 hours of continuous play. Cheerio!

Hi Detlof!!!! I luved SACD, with the Sony SCD-777ES SACD player. HOwever, I sold it because I demod the then prototype (now available) Granite Audio tube CD player, vs my internally Bybeeized Sony 777, and the Granite using the tube analog redbook CD output sounded a bit better across the board than the Sony in SACD. This was using duplicates of SACD/CD dual layer CDs with players volume matched
and hit a button and A-B switch. Now, the same Granite player with analog non-tube outputs sounds nowhere near as good on redbook CD as the Sony on SACD. This leads me to conclude how important the analog output stage is and that the Sony SACD players still have somewhere to go to reach their obvious potential. The Granite tube player is in the SACD player ballpark, at $2900 retail, but a web dealer listed it at $2400, with a thirty day money back guarentee.
I apologize, this sounds like an ad. It ain't, at least I have no affiliation other than being a reviewer/moderator over at www.avsforum.com . But I luv this tube CD player and the option of an outstanding redbook CD player which makes all your regular CDs sound much better should be at least considered.

Steve, you are dead on! That's why I had the 777ES upgraded at Audience for almost 3k, but they did a tremendously good job especially on its analog stage. I am now burning it in and am truly amazed! Cheers!

Yes I have.
You guys better go out and do a good job in the advertising industry :-)
What sense - in all fairness - can it make to transfer CDs to a new format and accept the hiss that transaction creates or has at the same time? That isn't even HIFI level to do so.
Listen to REAL music and then listen to SACD. Hear the difference? Sure - it is a DIFFERENT difference from the real thing than CD or Vinyl is, but that's it! High End ALWAYS will stick to that difference - and well so! A Steinway grand is a Steinway no matter if you have it on SACD or whatever. We all can save a lot of money accepting that our CD collections of thousands of CDs are very close to real music played over a true High End system. The sound may be different but it is so with the change of every cable.
Viva la difference and keep up the good music!
Cheers

Yes an I own a 333ES but the lack of software in Canada (Sony single layer and a few Telarcs via HMV.com) and what is available is prohibitively expensive. Forget about buying off US sites as the current exchange rate is in the toilet coupled with duties/taxes makes it no better. A great format that needs some decent titles and cheaper prices for everyone - something thats been said a million times before. For what I invested in a SACD player last February I could have bought a much better redbook player (probably used)! I am very disillusioned with the whole process...

I have not yet auditioned SACD in my home, but I have heard it in dealer environments. I tend to agree with Sbruzonsky. I opted for the Audio Aero Capitole 24/192 tubed output player. Expensive, but worth the price when you consider how much my Redbook CD's now sound like music. And, I didn't have to buy the same material AGAIN on a different format!

It truly is amazing (Detlof, way to go!!!), and I like it quite a bit better than DVD-A.

What I still have a problem with is the software availability, not just in our neighboring Canada, but everywhere. I am getting quite impatient and look forward to the day when most software can be heard in this GREAT format!

Aida w, I cannot find fault with what you are saying, but obviously you have not suffered as much in trying to listen to CDs-this goes only for classical, big orchestral music - as I have. I agree SACD, especially if its a hissy classical transfer, is still miles from the real thing, but finally I can enjoy classical music, without finding it unbearably bleached, unnatural and thinned out. There are excellent redbook CDs, but even on my first class CD playback rig, classical music CDs are mostly just plain awful to these ears. Not so anymore with SACD, but only after the Audience mod.