SACD Opinions: Gimmick? Like it? Don't? Why?

Ritteri: I have a very transparent, revealing high-end setup with a Wadia Transport, dCS upsampler and dac, Innersound monoblocks, and ML CLS IIz electrostats. Yes...there are stunning CD players......but SACD through a decent multichannel setup will knock your socks off. The sense of space in well made recordings is quite amazing.

Sean- I'm not fan o J.P.M., but his article makes me think
that we haven't heard the true potential of 24/192 PCM recording yet. Due to Sony/Philips' financial muscle, there's been more focus on SACd by hi end equipment makers.

I'm looking forward to Classic Records'24/192 releases next
month. Right now I'm enjoying redbook on my power dac.

I have a sacd-1 I do feel sacd sounds better it should it sample`s 56 times more than a cd filling in the voids giving it more detail and depth in the music. Here`s were I get into trouble my vinyl rig most definently is better, that`s just my 2 cent`s. David

Kana: I agree that "redbook" is capable of pretty darn good performance if EVERYTHING is done properly. Since that is rarely the case, we are left with something that is far from perfect. As such, taking steps to provide better performance is always welcome in my book, regardless of the format chosen.

If the sampling rate is stepped up, as Cylinderking mentions, there are less "holes" to fill in or "empty spaces" for the player itself to interpret. Taking that a step further, going to a higher sampling rate while minimizing or removing filtering from the signal path can create a FAR more realistic presentation. Not only is the recorded data spit out in a more flowing manner with less "guesswork" involved, there are less problems with in and out of band phase-shifts taking place. Since very few manufacturers are bold enough to build such a product, most redbook based systems suffer drastically. Once you hear the difference that such a design makes ( if well implimented ) in terms of liquidity, air and harmonic structure, you won't be going back to "mass produced" redbook machines any time soon.

SACD, on the other hand, addresses both of these problems ( sampling rate and filtering ) to some extent right off the bat. Since most machines designed to play SACD will conform to the majority of these standards, that gives it a head start / upper hand right off the bat. Less is open to interpretation of the machine / circuitry itself and the side effects of filtering have been further reduced. Having said that, i don't doubt that a "really tricked out" SACD player would sound really, really good. That is, if one could find a recording that was up to snuff to demo such a piece of gear. Sean
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Im not talking about "mass produced" "redbook" cdp's here. Im talking about the edge of the art units that bring "redbook" to a whole new level never thought possible only a few years back. Ive heard a handful of CDP and DAC/TRANSPORT combos that I feel put out sound that is just plain incredible. Im sorry but sampling rate and filtering doesnt automatically mean better sound. Like stated earlier, these newer formats may have a higher ceiling potential, but in reality its proven that redbook has yet to hit its ceiling of performance still. Burmeister,Linn,Wadia and a few others make players with enormous potential. Ive yet to hear a SACD player do anything that one of these players couldnt do for our ears sonically. Im sure down the road this will eventually change whenever that time may be.