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SACD vs. Redbook and other formats

There have been several discussions about the quality of SACD vs. Redbook and other formats. I had the thought that it would be interesting to start a list of specific SACDs that are being used as the basis for comments.

One question that I have is if people are comparing the Redbook and SACD layers on a hybrid disk. It seems that this would be a more fair comparision than using different disks that were produced at different times.

I have CDs that sound as good as my SACDs, but I have yet to find a hybrid disk where the Redbook is superior to the SACD layer.

If you're talking about different recordings with different producers it's an apples and oranges discussion to some extent. I've found the SACD recording quality to be of more consistent quality, but some of my best are Redbook CDs.

A few weeks ago I burned some songs to a disk for my father-in-law that came from my Apple Lossless files. The songs that came from a Redbook sounded excellent, but the ones that were burned from the Redbook layer of a hybrid SACD sounded terrible. I finally put the SACD on to verify the comparison and it wasn't close. The SACD was Hello Mr. Paganini by Feng Ning. Based on this unintended comparison, the Redbook layer is no match on that recording.

SACDs that are reproductions of previous Redbook CDs have mixed results depending on where in the process the SACDs come from.

Give us your comparison/opinion along with the specific recordings that support it.
mceljo
richardfinegold
196 posts
 
I have a few discs by Jordi Savall that were originally released on rebook and then remixes a d rereleased on sacd. One of these is the Bach Brandenburg Concertos, and it is the one in which I have made the
Greatest number of comparisons.
I hear very slight differences between the original rebook release and the rebook layer of the dual disc. The sacd version has greater clarity, ambience and separation of instruments. Bach's many contrapuntal lines
Are easier to follow and yet sound more fully integrated with each other
In sacd.
pettyofficer
462 posts
 
I have Dianna Krall's "The Look Of Love" on SACD and
Advanced Resolution Surround Sound (96kHz/24-bit) multi-
Channel MLP. MLP Downmixed to 2 Channel the closest thing
that I have ever heard to Vinyl from a silver Disk! SACD
no comparison. Really gonna miss MLP Disks/Recordings when
Downloads replace the Silver Disks. Are MLP High Rez.
multi-channel Recordings even Downloadable? It is really
going to suck to have to give up the best sounding Silver
Disk Format to Downloading. Don't know about Blue-Ray
Audio.
cathode
72 posts
 
The Beethoven symphony cycle on LSO Live (Haitink, 2006) is an SACD hybrid set. Probably the highest quality classical recording I own. The 16/44.1 layer is very good, but the SACD layer has smoother high frequencies (violins, oboe) and better transient attack (tympani). It's not night/day but the difference is definitely there.
richardfinegold
196 posts
 
I have recently purchased Claudio Abbado and the Lucerne Festival Orchestra performing the complete Mahler canon on Blu Ray. The sound is might impressive but I think I prefer SACD and DVD-A and some High Rez downloads.
It isn't apples to apples however, since I don't have these recordings in any other format.
mrtennis
3,295 posts
 
while this comment is tangential to the original topic, it should be considered.

while the sacd layer may emit better sound quality than the hybrid layer when played on an sacd player, i think having a dual format digital source is a disadvantage.

i have heard better sound from a cd-only source in many cases than listening to an sacd layer played on an sacd player.

thus , one may be able to find , say a dac and transport providing superior sound to an sacd player playing the dscd layer.

having a tube in the digital front end is often an advantage.

there are very few sacd players that have a tube gain stage or buffer stage.

thus, the hardware may be more important than the software in many instances.

naturally, a fine digital front end cannot compensate for poor recordings.
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