PS3 & the SACD

In my experience, the ripped file is equal to or superior to the disc playback. I cannot compare to HDTracks and my comment is based primarily on multichannel tracks.

I have somewhere around a terabyte of files ripped from SACDs. Sound quality varies, but the very best of these represent the very best sound I get from digital. Same is true of purchases from HDTracks. The best sounding DSD is it least on par with the best sounding PCM - though my Mytek DAC seems to really shine with DSD.

It's really difficult to make fair apples-to-apples comparisons of the same album from both sources. If the same album can be found, often the master is different or the PCM had been derived from the SACD. I have compared "Like Minds", for example. The SACD rip is superior to the 96/24 purchase from HDTracks, but I'm pretty sure the latter was derived from the former.

I have not compared the SACD rips to playback in a disc player, but friends who have report what Kr4 reported.

My experience is that the quality of the PS3 rips from SACDs vary quite a bit. Some are close to the SACD in sound quality and some are considerably worse.

The best bet for favorite albums is to get them on DSD Download from sites like Super HiRez and NativeDSD. Those DSD Downloads come from DSD Edit Master Tapes and Analog Master Tapes and are far better sound wise than the PS3 rips or even the SACDs. Enjoy!

My experience is that the quality of the PS3 rips from SACDs vary quite a bit. Some are close to the SACD in sound quality and some are not as good as the SACD.

The best bet for favorite albums is to get them on DSD Download from sites like Super HiRez and NativeDSD. Those DSD Downloads come from DSD Edit Master Tapes and Analog Master Tapes and are far better sound wise than the PS3 rips or even the SACDs. Enjoy!