As much as I want to LOVE SACD, I must admit one thing:Quality is nothing short of...

Javier_Huerta · 04-24-2003, 07:29 PM

absolutely uneven on these "first" (ahem; for me) releases.

Let's see what I got.

Pink Floyd - DSOTM: Heck, I bought my player just to listen to this one single album, so I really don't care if everything else released on SACD sucks.

Orff - Carmina Burana: This one made my day. Even my (semi-deaf) dad thought it was the best recording he had ever heard in his life, period. It sounds so amazingly real, it's my new reference disc.

Toto IV: Here it all starts going downhill. What was the mastering guy thinking? All he had to do was take the MoFi UltraDisc II and use it as a reference. The sound is so shrill and bright it even sounds a bit worse than the standard CD! (IMHO).

The Police 25th Anniversary Remasters: OMG. What were these people thinking? I compared them to the Message in a Box set. The SACDs sound tinny, shrill, bright, with excessive ammounts of treble and weird (bloated, perhaps?) bass. My girlfriend (who is nothing of an audiophile herself) detected immediately that something was wrong with the SACD. I thought she was bluffing, until she told me "this disc (the SACD) sounds so tiny... as if Sting had a little kid's voice". Yep. the Message in a Box remaster, done 10 years ago, sounds better than these SACDs.

So, what's going on in here? Do you think engineers must first get the hang of how to master / re-master stuff in SACD? Will someone tell us someday that the problem was something like the jitter issue on early CDs? Or do people simply are mastering SACDs with lots of treble so people will think they really sound different than normal CDs?

Ack.... I wanted the Police masters to sound so good.

Rachael B · 04-24-2003, 10:16 PM

Javier, what do you play these discs on? Players vary considerably. I'd point out that most of the Police's career wasn't particularly well recorded till close to the end. I'd also point out that, IMO, Universal labels are consistently releasing weaker discs than other labels. I'm gonna buy something on one of their jazz labels in the not too distant future and find out if they do atleast a little better there. Be suspicious of Universal releases, based on what they've done so far.

Here's some really good sounding discs to try:

Alison Krauss NEW FAVORITE hybrid/M/C
Joe Satriani STRANGE BEAUTIFUL MUSIC M/C
Rolling Stones LET IT BLEED hybrid stereo
The Zombies Greatest Hits hybrid stereo
Monty Alexander MONTY MEETS SLY & ROBBIE hybrid M/C
Junior Wells COME ON IN THIS HOUSE hybrid M/C
Jorma Kaukonen BLUE COUNTRY HEART M/C
Anthony Wilson Trio - OUR GANG hybrid stereo
James Taylor...pick your fav

See what your player can do with these.... Best wishes!

Javier_Huerta · 04-24-2003, 11:31 PM

Hey Rachel! You might not remember me, but I still want to thank you for your *excellent* LD player recommendations.

I'm playing them on a Sony DVP-NS900V player (I got it for half price, since, apparently, a new model is coming soon). I researched a lot before getting it, since I was about to buy the $249 Sony (I think it's the 777). Apparently, its one of the best mid-fi players (or so I've been told).

I use a Pioneer THX amplifier, and Definitive Technology speakers all around.

The thing that bothers me about the SACD releases, though, is that a well mastered CD can sometimes beat them. That's not fair. I spent a lot of money on SACD, and I want it to shine! OTOH, after listening to what a good SACD sounds like (the Telarc Carmina Burana disc - it's an AMAZING disc) I don't think I'll ever go back to CD (software permitting, of course).

Philip Hamm · 04-25-2003, 07:14 AM

Are you using bass management? If so it's probably converting the analog signal to PCM then back to analog. That could degrade the sound on SACD. Meanwhile, CDs are being bass managed based on the original PCM.

I have very few SACDs but they all sound wonderful on my system.

anthony_b · 04-25-2003, 07:24 AM

Javier, It's not your system. It's like anything else, some recordings just sound better or worse than others. For example the two channel "kind of blue" by Miles Davis is mediocre to say the least, but then I'll throw in James Taylor or the Rolling Stones and it's a whole new ballgame

**HTF Ads**

Javier_Huerta · 04-25-2003, 07:41 AM

Phillip: No, the Pioneer (can't remember the model) can't do bass management on the analogue inputs (thank God!). Besides, a couple of my SACDs sound simply out of this world to me, so it's a software thing, like Anthony said.

Lewis Besze · 04-25-2003, 11:33 PM

Javier,
Philip meant the Sony player,which probaly do "downconvert" to PCM from DSD.
Didn't you have Martin Logan speakers?
Did you dumped those for the Def Techs?

Rachael B · 04-26-2003, 01:17 AM

Javier, si, I remember. I'm glad I could be of help on the LD scene. That's my bag baby! I haven't heard the 900 but it has a good reputation. Did you look at the 775 audio only 5-disc changer perhaps? The XA777 is the really nice ES single-disc, audio only player. You'd like it! I haven't heard that Carmina Burana disc but I have a bunch of Telarc discs and it's a label that never disappoints me. A couple of the discs I recommended to you are by Telarc.

I also hope SACD hangs on as a format. I'm getting while the getting is good, as far as discs go. SACD is a great format but I even question Sony's commitment to their own bleeding format. Their hardware suppourt has lessened and they refuse to give the people the hybrid discs they want. I've come to suspect Sony might be more intrested in the industrial DSD market than the consumer end. I, too, hope the format lasts and gets even better. It's hard to have confidence with Sony leading the way. Best wishes!

ReggieW · 04-26-2003, 02:32 PM

My experience has been somewhat different with the Police SACD's. I find they sound significantly better than the "Message in a Box" collection from ten years ago. I don't think these albums were well recorded in the first place, so I would not expect stunning fidelity on any format just better refinement - which the SACD's do accomplish imho (even though they are far from reference quality). I have a Sony SCD-C222es. The only two Police titles I don't have yet are "Regatta De Blanc" and "Outlandos D' Amour."

-Reg

Javier_Huerta · 04-26-2003, 11:08 PM

Lewis: I wouldn't get rid of my ML's for *anything*.

T