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SACD & other Formats

I'm a vinyl guy and have invested lots of money in my TT rig and listen primarily to vinyl because it can sound so much better than digital.

I want to buy a CDP that will satisfy and understand a well mastered CD can sound good as well. I abandoned red book play back 10 yrs back because it was very frustrating finding satisfaction. Too many poorly mastered CDs that could not communicate the music. Have things improved? I know you can get better digital sound for less $$, but has the quality of mastering improved?

Looking through stores online I see SACDs are getting a lot of new mastering attention, gold CDs are available, XRCDs, etc. Is SACD the direction to look? are the current SACD issues of titles living up to the marketing hype/price? sonically? the key is in the software, availability and mastering.
128x128musichead

Showing 4 responses by lowrider57

lowrider57's avatar
lowrider57
5,397 posts
 
The digital recording and mastering technology has improved to a much higher level since you were buying CDs (especially Redbook). However, there have been many negatives along the way; have you heard of the "Loudness Wars?" This came about due to all the kids using ipods and wearing earbuds; the record labels decided to compress the music so it could all be heard loudly thru ipods.

So, after 2000 we have superior digital technology, but most CDs are mastered with high compression resulting in poor dynamic range. Classical and Jazz are the exception and can compete in SQ with high-end vinyl. In recent years, many artist have grown tired of having their albums ruined by the label and the engineers, so they are now remastering their work. Some of it is quite good.

As far as SACD, there are limited recordings compared to Redbook, but a few record labels are committed to the format. But to get the most out of these formats, good hardware is essential.
lowrider57's avatar
lowrider57
5,397 posts
 
Although I'm all-in with Redbook (ARC CD 3 mk II), it's been said by many members and reviewers that it's hard to find a standalone CD/SACD deck that plays both formats equally at high quality SQ. The one that is always recommended is the ModWright Sony XA-5400ES fully modded.

It's more common to buy the deck for your preferred format; ie, ARC builds Redbook only. There's lots of chatter here about getting the best SACD playback, but it's often from a deck that excels in reproducing the SACD layer over the CD layer.
lowrider57's avatar
lowrider57
5,397 posts
 
More of the classical labels have become committed to Hybrid SACD, so they will be here for a while. As for rock/pop, we all know the cd is dying a slow death.
lowrider57's avatar
lowrider57
5,397 posts
 
Haven't heard the Cambridge Audio Azur 752BD, but it's marketed as a home theater deck. That tells me it's built to be all purpose, but not specialize in any one format. I don't think this is the path to take for superior sound.

Zd's list raises my pulse when I think of how good audio can sound, although the decks listed also include CD/SACD models unless video is a necessary option for you.
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