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MULTI-CH SACD'S on 2CH SOUND STRANGE?

I HAVE A 2CH SACD PLAYER. SOMETIMES SACD's sound pretty good, but in several cases, usually with orchestral pieces, for some reason the melody carried by the string section gets drowned out by the horns/brass instruments. the effect is unnerving, like i am hearing the background or supportive musical lines as the dominant voice and the theme as the supportive or background voice. i have tried switching the phase, and even going to the redbook layer (if there is one). Naturally these are Hybrid Multichannel Discs that can be played on a conventional, 2CH SACD, and 6CH SACD. I have even updated the firmware on my SACD player (EMM Labs) but to no avail. Am i the only one who has this problem? Funny thing is, the redbook cd's i have always thought sounded great still sound that way, and small ensembles/chamber music on SACD sound amazing. but it would seem i am getting some of the other channels mixed up with the main-front-L&R channels.
WHAT is wrong with this picture? Thanks for your feedback.
french_fries

Showing 5 responses by zd542

zd542
5,339 posts
 
The SACD's you are referring to were probably not recorded in multichannel originally. Its likely that whoever engineered stereo versions to multichannel did a very poor job. They probably don't understand audio very well and approached the job with a theatre mentality. That could easily explain the results you are getting.
zd542
5,339 posts
 
Sorry about that. I guess I don't see bold print very well.
zd542
5,339 posts
 
Have you ever tried the SACD's that are giving you trouble on another player? It only happens once in a while, but sometimes I find that, occasionally, a disc has some compatibility issues or is just defective. You should be able to tell, even if the other player is not a high end unit. Anything that plays the formats should work fine for a test.

Also, you said you checked phase. How did you do that?
zd542
5,339 posts
 
Yashu,

I don't know what model Arcam you have, but I have an FMJ 33. Its not my main CD player but I do listen to it on occasion. I think its a great CD player and don't see myself selling it. Your description of your Arcam is pretty close to how I would describe mine. I can give you 2 recommendations. 1. Don't get rid of your Arcam until you actually have another CD player that you've had a chance to listen to for a while, and you know for sure that selling it is the right move. 2. I normally don't recommend expensive cables because I feel the money is almost always better spent on active components, but this is an exception. On my Arcam I use an Audioquest Cheetah IC, which is a solid core silver cable, and it makes a very big difference. I find that silver, most of the time, doesn't sound better than copper. On my FMJ 33, it sounds great and is definitely worth the cost. If you look at the model that replaced the Cheetah, its almost the exact same cable. If you find a good deal on a used Cheetah, I think you'll find it money well spent.
zd542
5,339 posts
 
Given the problem, it makes complete sense. Given also that your player is only 2 channel, there is really no way that you could have known. Its amazing how they can have that 3rd option an not mention it.

You mention the volume level differences between CD and SACD. I'm pretty sure thats normal. On most multi format players, the volume differences between formats is dealt with internally so that they are level matched. Doing that degrades sound quality (I have no idea by how much). Ayre gets a lot of complaints about this with their player. People call in thinking that there is something wrong with the machine. Thats just how they make it. I'm not 100% certain its the same with your EMM, but I'm pretty sure it is.
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