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Are Sony SACD Machine Owners Crazy??

I am sorry about the "tabloid" title..but another
post I did got little response on what, I think, is a real
question. Ie:.. many people have stated that the playback
of standard format cd's (16/44) on these SACD machines is
very good...indeed beyond things like Levinson..etc. The
question is ..in this age of "upsampling" 24/96..and beyond, how can these one bit/bit-stream (in "redbook" format) units
be so good? This is asking the owners of the model 1, 777,
9000..etc. Sony players..how can this be so. I had owned
the Xa-7es at one time, and thought that the excellent
playback was the FET analog stage...these new SACD machines
are all using OP-AMPS....not very "high-end". The concern
I have is that while we all hope for a format that will give
us analog sound in a digital format, the near-term concern
is what any unit...SCAD or DVD-A will do with my collection
of standard CD's?
whatjd
lakefrontroad
302 posts
 
I own a Resolution Audio 55 and a SCD-1. I don't think that the SCD-1 is as good as the RA55. I do think that it's bass biased response is very good. I listen to both. I have decided to sell my RA55, but I intend to have the Sony upgraded by an aftermarket shop. Then the open sounding sound stage and detailing may be the same.

I have extremely mixed views about SACD recordings. I find them fairly dark and closed sounding. Yes, they seem to have greater detail, but at the cost of the soundstaging.

Bill E.
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drubin
3,267 posts
 
I wonder if that's SACD per se or just the sound of the Sony units. Art Dudley in Listener has commented that he hears almost no difference between the SACD playback of the several units he's reviewed, but I find it hard to imagine that there would not be a large difference, just as there is between CD players. When (if) we start seeing more high-end SACD players, I suspect we will hear a different SACD sound.

Sorry for the topic drift ...
chriskh
26 posts
 
If you cannot hear the difference between CD's and SACD's, please do not spent too much money on expensive equipment. Completely take off your shopping list, speaker cables and IC's and forget power conditioners. Their have been several post addressing this issue. It is not up for debate, SACD sounds substantially better, period, end of discussion. I have read that some people say there is no difference. They either have never truley listened to SACD CD comparison (which makes them a liar!) or they have no music listening ability. Every comparison that I have done makes the music simply comes alive! This is not an option this is fact. The only problem with SACD is that all music is not recorded in SACD.
jadem6's avatar
jadem6
1,074 posts
 
Yes we are all "nuts"! I personally hear voices that tell me to kill people. I hope these new drugs will help, what? Shut up man... I'm talking! Oh hell, I think I'll just go enjoy my SCD-1 and wonder why people think I'm nuts when there the ones with standard cd players.
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drubin
3,267 posts
 
What prompted those last two posts? Out of left field...
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