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Question about SACD (1 Viewer)

Ashford Little

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Aug 14, 2001
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While the world and I wait for more combi-players, I thought that I might purchase some SACD's. But are ALL SACD's capable of being played on a DVD/CD player in stereo mode?

I plan on upgrading in the future, but for now I'd at least like to acquire some of the SACD's that I might like to have and enjoy them in stereo mode.

Thx,
 

Malcolm R

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Try the "Music" section of the forum. Lots of SACD conversations going on there.
 

KeithH

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Ashford, the specs. for the SACD format mandate that all discs have a discrete stereo SACD track. However, SACD tracks can only be played on SACD players. The SACD format is backwards-compatible with the CD format, and some SACDs have CD layers. Discs with SACD and CD layers are referred to as hybrid discs, and the CD layers on these discs can generally be played on DVD and CD players (playback problems have been observed with hybrid discs on some DVD players). All record labels producing SACDs, except for Sony Music, are producing hybrid discs. Sony Music is still producing single-layer SACDs that have no CD tracks. For a list of record labels producing SACDs as well a list of available titles, go to www.highfidelityreview.com .
 

Ashford Little

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Thanks for your reply Keith. Let me summarize to make sure I understand.

1) An SACD player can play both SACD's and CD's.
2) All SACD discs have at least an SACD stereo track, with the multi-channel SACD's having both a stereo and multi-channel SACD track.
3) A hybrid SACD contains both SACD and PCM code.
4) All of Sony's SACD's do not contain PCM code therefore they require an SACD player to play.

When you say that SACD is backwards compatible with CD's I'm confused. To me, this would imply that all SACD's can be played on a CD player, but only in stereo mode.

Where did I go wrong?

Thanks,
 

Marty M

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I have a nice "spousal acceptance" story. I just purchased the Sony 755, and of course, my wife couldn't figure out why I needed to replace a DVD player that was working just fine. Anyway, I hooked it all up and played James Taylor's Hourglass SACD. After about 5 cuts my wife asked if there was a catalog that listed all the SACDs that are available. She thought some classical music would sound nice.

Any classical suggestions would be appreciated. I am a real "newbie" as far as classical music is concerned. My only knowledge is Beethoven's 5th and 9th Symphonies, and some Aaron Copland.
 

Mike Broadman

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Any classical suggestions would be appreciated
There are so many. For the composers you mentioned:

All on Sony, single-layer
- George Szell / Cleveland Orchestra performing the 3rd (Eroica)
- Bruno Walter / Columbia Symph Orch performing Beethoven's 5th and Schubert's 8th ("unfinished")
- Bruno Walter Beethoven's 6th
- Copland conducting a program of his own music

Some of my favorites off the top of my head:

Sony:
Mendelssohn (George Szell)
Brahm's 4th (Walter)
Isaac Stern performing concertos by Mendelssohn and Tchaikovsky
Mozart Simphonia (multi-channel)
Murray Perahia- Bach keyboard concertos
Glenn Gould- Bach Goldberg Variations

Telarc:
Mahler's 5th Symph (if you're feeling adventurous), multi-channel
Lang Lang- piano (stereo only)

San Francisco Symphony:
Mahler's 6th Symph (if you're feeling really adventurous)


NP: Peter Gabriel, Up
 

Ashford Little

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Thanks to all for the clarification. But here's another question. Since I don't currently have an SACD player, but might like to acquire some SACD's that I could listen to in PCM, how can you tell if a SACD is a dual layer disc when shopping online?
 

Ashford Little

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Thanks Mike, but a quick check with Amazon.com shows that all the ones I saw were of the Sony label. That's a shame since there are some good selections to choose from. What is a good source to see all the SACD's available and that you can order from?

Thanks again,

Ashford
 

Marty M

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Mike,

Thanks for the suggestions on classical music. Have you ordered from both internet companies you listed above? Does one have better service? I have surfed both sites, but have not placed an order yet. They seem to have the best selection of non-Sony SACDs.
 

Sheldon

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I just bought a Sony SACD Player and I haven't hooked it up yet but I have a question.I will hook up the 5 interconnects as normal but by doing so and setting my Receiver to Pro-Logic or one of the other modes that would essentially divide the signal into 5.1 parts (the speakers plus sub) giving me the SACD effect why would I need to also hook up a digital cable??
 

KeithH

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Marty, that's a great story. My fiancee is on board with SACD. I have given her many demos, and she has always been impressed. However, she only has a boombox, so she loves how CDs sound on my systems too. :)
 

Mike Broadman

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Marty, I've only ordered from elusivedisc and had no problems. I've had a couple of orders delayed, but that just comes with the experience of ordering from these small dealers. Their customer service is excellent- very personal and honest.

I've heard all good things about acousticsounds, too. I just haven't tried them yet.

Sony SACDs can be found at Best Buy and Circuit City. Best Buy has them for $16.99, the cheapest for which you can find them. They are also starting to stock titles by Telarc. Tower Records has a better selection: I've seen Sony, Telarc, Channel, and Delos. Not a lot of stuff, but it's probably the best major B&M supplier of SACD. However, their prices for Sony discs are a little more than Best Buy.

I've gotten all of my Sony stuff, a couple of Telarcs and one Channel from Best Buy and Tower and the rest from elusivedisc.

Sheldon,
I am confused by your post.

If you connect using 6 RCA cables into your receiver's "5.1" input, that takes care of everything. You probably do not want to just use two cables and then turn on Pro-Logic or some other kind of processing program on the receiver.
 

Rachael B

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Sheldon, the 5.1 input does not allow processing modes like PL. The player does whatever processing is to be done unless you use a bass manager like Outlaw's betwen the player and input. The 5.1 input is a by-pass input. Best wishes!
 

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