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SACD... can you hear the difference?

I'm fairly new to SACD as it's only been a month since I purchased my first player that takes advantage of the format. Some say even on a good system which is set up properly that they can not notice a difference between SACD and standard CD.

For example my Wife is a huge James Taylor fan. A couple weeks ago I found 2 original master recording SACD disks from a company called Mobile Fidelity Sound Labs. Both James Taylor just as she has on CD. I dialed them in perfect and OH MAN! To me the difference was like night and day, but she couldn't tell the difference in sound quality.

So either I'm imagining things or I'm able to pick up on musical pitch and clarity much better than her. I'm sure of what I'm hearing with no doubt, but she thinks I'm crazy.

Can anyone here notice how much better SACD sounds on their system verses a standard CD.
pigchild

Showing 7 responses by zd542

zd542
5,339 posts
 
"Some say even on a good system which is set up properly that they can not notice a difference between SACD and standard CD."

That could mean just about anything. SACD's do sound different than CD's. The problem with most people is they don't do it right. Quite often someone will have a really good, high end CD player but go out and buy something cheap to try SACD. They figure the format will be so much better than CD they can get started with something very entry level. That's a lot to ask. Under those conditions, you may very well like the CD better. A much better way to compare is to get a player that supports both formats, and use that for testing. That way, you're more likely to hear differences in the format and not the players themselves.
zd542
5,339 posts
 
"Can't quite put my finger on it..I use a Sony 5400 for sacd or a Mytek dac for DSD files and an Audio Note dac for redbook. To me SACD is highly over rated"

Why not try SACD and CD on one player like your Sony? That way you hear the differences you need to hear instead of the differences between players.

"09-06-14: Dweller
Don't forget the old standby argument:
"If you can't hear the difference, your system isn't good enough"."

That maybe true, but you also need to consider the fact that your system may be good enough, but the fault may lie with you. Not having good listening skills, bias, not using the equipment properly..., that type of thing.
zd542
5,339 posts
 
"09-06-14: Stringreen
I use an Ayre C5xemp which plays both CD's and SACD (and DVD's too)...anyway, I've come away with the view that both are good and there is little to distinguish between them. Really depends on how it was produced."

Interesting comment. To be honest, I'm a little surprised. If I had to pick a system to judge CD vs SACD, it would be pretty much exactly what you have. I've read some comments by Charles Hanson where he was being critical of Sony and SACD. I really didn't think much of it, because if I remember correctly, it was in a thread like this and he seemed a little PO'ed at the time. Given your setup, you must have compared CD's and SACD's to DVD-A's. Are they any better?
zd542
5,339 posts
 
"09-08-14: Wolf_garcia
Let me help...if I put ANY cd on my Linn turntable the needle just runs off and nothing but bad noise happens...SACDs or redbook...it just doesn't work at all."

Are you sure that you're placing the CD with the right side facing up?
zd542
5,339 posts
 
"09-07-14: Stringreen
ZD....as I said in my original post, the way the recording is produced has a marked effect on the sound."

I get that and agree 100%. I was just curious if you took the same exact recording on CD and SACD, and compared them to DVD-A. Just to get an idea as to how the format itself sounds.
zd542
5,339 posts
 
"as for CD, I am a bit confused as to why some of my CD's deliver great sound and others do not. I should not say some sound better, but for reasons unknown some put out more powerful sound than others. I always thought CD was CD and should be no difference from one store bought copy to the next."

You need to make sure that you are getting 2 of exactly the same CD's. Your experience sounds like you may have one original recording and the other a remaster.
zd542
5,339 posts
 
The best sound quality with vinyl is when the recording and playback is all analog. If you have a modern digital recording on vinyl, it sounds like better digital, but not as good as an all analog recording. At least to me.
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