SACD player, Opinion? (1 Viewer)

[KeithH]

Tan, no problem. I think you will enjoy the Celine Dion SACD.

 

[Rachael B]

Tan, you should go visit:
www.acousticsounds.com
There are some nice easy listening/jazz type stuff. DO NOT MISS Jacintha!!!! You will like her albums if you want some easy jazz. LUSH LIFE is my fav, but AUTUMN LEAVES ain't chopped liver! Her voice may ake you forget about Celine Dion?
Spyro Gyra's IN MODERN TIMES is nice smooth jazz you might like.
Manfredo Fest's JUST JOBIM is really nice. His piano leads a four pieco combo doing instrumental versions of Jobim's great tunes. Aguas De Marco, Wave, Girl From Ipanema, Quiet Nights, and more. I really like this one!
Claire Martin's TAKE MY HEART is nice. She's an English song stylist. She does a beautiful reindition of Nick Drake's Riverman. She does a slow tempo version of the Beatles' Help that's nice. She also coves tuns by Elvis Costello and Dan Hicks very well. She's not what I would call a great singer but an intresting performer.
Beck & Ryerson's ALTO is nice easy listening featuring guitar, flute, and percussion only. It's almost too laid back for me. For you...?
Crutchfield has Oscar Peterson, Ray Brown & Milt Jackson's THE VERY TALL BAND, LIVE AT THE BLUE NOTE on sale for $19.99. It's a Telarc label hybrid that usually costs more. In fact all the discs I've suggested are hybrids. All non-Sony SACD's are hybrids as far as I know.
If there's a country SACD, I don't know about it? Best wishes!

 

[KeithH]

Rachael, I found your post instructive. Great info. there. Thanks for sharing!

 

[Rachael B]

Thanks Keith! Tan, I came back to tell you to get Willie Nelson's STARDUST. There is one counrty SACD and it sounds good too. I have it. Best wishes cats!

 

[KeithH]

Rachael, I am not a country fan, but I am going to get the Willie Nelson SACD. Everyone seems to like it. It sounds incredible, so I'm told.

 

[TanD]

Thanks Rachael for your suggestion.

I received the 555ES this afternoon, a very nice build player. I haven't have a chance to go out and buy SACD yet.

I have it hook up with 9 connections total, 6 analog out, 2 analog out, and optical out.

I play around with the player speaker setting, in 2 channel SACD (using the Sony SACD sampler) if i use 2 speaker Direct i found it even give me a little better bass (from my L&R) than 2 speaker + SW using 6 channel ext in on my receiver (is this normal?)(i found it is hard to beleive). and i compare it use the 2 channel analog out to a left right input of my receiver (using CD input) and in 2 speaker direct mode (use my receiver's bass management) now the bass is what i used to get on music with sub on. I found this short coming do me a good favor, because using my cd player i have to switch the sub on and off all the time with different type of music (have to go to many key press). now i with just one key press switch between CD and Ext input I can choose and match the music with sub or no sub (Using Ext In for true bypass). I think I am fix on multichannel. I end up using all in Direct mode (2 channel or multichannel).

On CD performance i feel that use the optical out give me a little more detail and clarity than the analog out. (may be because my receiver in puredirect mode it use 4 dacs per channel for the L & R).

Can any one comment on the 555 ES bass management?

 

[TanD]

Ok, Sorry I have to take back some of the statement above post regarding the 555ES bass management.

I play with it more this morning with it and i find out the sub out on the sony is 8db below and the center is 3db below of the receiver universal setting (for DD, DTS etc..)

I found out that the EXT input channel level can be set independently from any other source (i was think pure bypass meaning no adjustment on this) that's great.

I used a RS SPL meter and set the Denon 5800 at certain volume and calibrate with the internal test tone of the Sony(leave channel level on the Sony as default setting) and calibrate all the speaker with the same level using channel level adjustment on the receiver for EXT input.

after those adjustment, i compare the ext input using SACD 2 channel play back with 2 Speaker + Sub setting to the L & R input with Direct setting (using my receiver bass management) I find out the music and sub level is vertually the same.

Using the EXT input only, and compare the 2 Channel SACD playback with Direct and 2 speaker + SW, now the direct give less bass (as i expect).

After all the setting I finally put the setting back to Direct for everything. Like I said in the above post with sub using L & R input, without sub use EXT input (for 2 Channel SACD or CD playback).

Now I finally have all the right channel level for multichannel SACD play back, and it it wonderful.

 

[tony randall]

Rachel,

I agree with you completely. People will open up their wallets more if Sony would release hybrids. Kind of frustrating to pay $20 and the darn thing won't play in the car.

 

[Rachael B]

Tony, have you noticed that Sony always seems to start out with a totally unrealistic marketing plan? MD for 3x what cassettes cost or the like...! First they say SACD will only be stereo, then that won't do! Now it's multi-channel with hardly any discs available. They are daft! Nearly half my SACD collection are non-Sony hybrids. It's going to keep going that way too. Sony is obviously a synonym for Nipponese baloney.... Best wishes!

 

[Joe Cole]

Alison Krauss has 3 SACDs out now. I have her Forget About it one. They are hard to find so far(to me anyway). This album is better than the Cd version(it is a stereo hybrid)but not by a whole lot. It is more open and has better detail. I don't think the original recording is all that good.
If you like Jazz at the Pawnshop, try Lars Erstrand's Trio & Quartet with quests. He is the vibrophone player from Jazz. This is a hybrid multichannel sacd and it is a DSD recording. As good as Jazz is this is much better and shows what the format is and might be capable of on in the near future.
The vibs on the sacd Jazz are so much better than the cd version. But this Opus3(label) recording is several levels better than Jazz. Super clear and crisp. This is the sound I have been looking for ever seen digital came out.
I have the XA777ES Sony and love it. The CD section is so much better than my old CD player it is worth the 2K just for it. And then there is SACD....
I am unable to enjoy multichannel yet. Hopefully by May I will.
I have a Beethoven: String Quartets, Opp. 130 & 133 SACD coming today that is suppose to be fine as well. DSD recorded.
Jacintha's Autumn leaves is indeed sweet. She has the best diction I personally have heard on an album. This is an analog recording using a 30ips machine. It coverts to SACD just about perfect. I am unsure how much better a direct DSD recording is, but it seems to be a little better than perfect high speed tape.
Rachael, I will seek out her Lush Life album now.

 

[John Tillman]

Another country SACD coming up is J Cash, at Folsum Prison, within the next couple of weeks.

Great info on Jacintha. I've seen her SACD's at Tower but passed due to ignorance.

I hope to pick up a Redbook (Blue Note) recording by Norah Jones this week called Come away with me Jazz/country/soul flavor. Anyone familiar?

 

[KeithH]

John said:

Great info on Jacintha. I've seen her SACD's at Tower but passed due to ignorance.

That describes me with this SACD perfectly. I had it in my hand at a Tower Records store on Saturday, however, I was just not familiar enough with it at the time to spend $25. Based on all the positive feedback I have read around the web about this SACD since, I feel dumb.

 

[Joe Cole]

Keith, I first bought one of Jacintha's SACDs because of what one of the beta testers for the Outlaw 950 said about the trac where she is singing sans music listening to head phones and you can hear music from the head phones. I had to hear that and you can. Cool. But I don't think it has any thing to do with the 950. I am using an old Rotel surround pre/amp until my Krell upgrade comes(when will that be?).
Her voice is amazing. I'd take elocution lessions from her if it was possible.

 

[KeithH]

Joe, next time I see the Jacintha SACD at a Tower Records, I am definitely picking it up. That's it. I've made an executive decision.

 

[Rachael B]

Guys, I'm so impressed with JACINTHA that I got her gold CD too, HERE'S TO BEN-A VOCAL TRIBUTE TO BEN WEBSTER too. She should be a major star! The Look Of Love, Danny Boy, Stardust, Geogia On My Mind, whew! Another great album! Maybe it will be put on SACD too? I want to see more celebrity boxing. Jacintha vs. Tiffany or Pink or Celine Dion. Damn! I can't wait till another Jacintha album comes out. Best wishes cats!

 

[Joe Cole]

Rachael,
It is on SACD now. http://www.elusivedisc.com/ has it. I think I many have seen it at Tower.

 

[KeithH]

Good point, Joe. Amazon has it too.

 

[Joe Cole]

If anyone here likes classical music here is a highly recommend SACD:
beethoven: The string Quartets 7 Op. 130 and Op. 133 By a group called The Lindsays on ASV digital label CD DCA 9117
The dynamics are violent, the tone quality exquisite, their playing about perfect. It is like have a quartet in the living room. Really The dynamic range is breath taking. Violent is accurate.

 

[Rachael B]

Joe, I ordered a couple of new SACD's last night from Acoustic Sounds. I'm getting Laura Nyro's last album and Peter Tosh's LEGALIZE IT, and the Chuck Mangione disc. Keith I had them throw in the Isley Brothers too. I'm really on the edge of my seat waiting for King Crimson's IN THE COURT OF THE CRIMSON KING on SACD. What a wild, unique sounding album...! Joe, the Jacintha song "sans Music", musta' been DANNY BOY, si?

I was also on amazon.com looking at SACD's and a question arose. Have Madonna and Vanessa Williams been in print on SACD and gone out? Anybody know the answer to that? Best wishes, guyz!

 

[John Tillman]

I'm really on the edge of my seat waiting for King Crimson's IN THE COURT OF THE CRIMSON KING on SACD. What a wild, unique sounding album...!

I was just listening to my radio dj saying he will spin this LP Saturday at 4pm est. I'm not familiar with them so I'm going to try and tune in. If anyone else is interested, you can listen on the web at www.wfuv.com