Is the SACD Format Flawed?

Like redbook...not all sacd's are created equal. That said, a well recorded sacd played on a good sacd player is fantastic.

I'm not playing around with sacd's at this time as I only own a Pioneer 563A sacd player which to my ear is no better than a good redbook player...hardly worth the extra costs of the discs.

I did own a Sony XA-777es sacd player at one time though...playing well recorded sacds on that player was truly a thrill...problem was, there were not enough sacds on the market to keep me happy when I owned that player.

It won't cost much to find out if the experts are right but I suggest you do some research first so as not to pick up one of the many stinkers out there for your first test.

Dave

Every reviewer twit has to find something wrong with whatever he's reviewing in order for his "golden ears" to be validated. They also have their own agendas for various reasons.
Believe your own ears

Their is nothing wrong with the DSD way of mastering a cd. Some cd's are just recorded better than others. I love my Nickle Creek sacd's but then I have other SACD's that are not so good. The only flaw so to speak is that it does not allow you to play the disk using a digital output.

In my opinion, SACD was the best CD format ever. Unfortunately, Sony marketed it about as well as Pioneer marketed Laserdisc.
Get ready for a long, CD technology drought!
-Unless you consider compression schemes & the IPod to be advances...........

As another already posted, so much is dependent on the engineering of the recording. And I'd have a tendency to agree with Eldartford about the overhype.

That aside, I think there's potentially much more music in the redbook format than some to many are willing to admit.

I get more overall musical enjoyment out of my redbook cds than with the 15 or so SACDs I've owned. I would not buy another SACD unless it were the only format available for a given performance.

On another note, it is undisputed that the Mark Levinson Live Recordings at Red Rose Music Vol. one SACD is one of the better SACD recordings.

This SACD should give you a pretty good idea of the potential of SACD at least in 2-channel.

-IMO