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Post by Priapulus on Sept 15, 2014 10:07:08 GMT -5
1) When I watch the Apple Festival concerts on my Apple TV, they are in 3/2 & LFE. This helps me realize that listening to music in surround sound is very realistic; I like it and see it as the way of the future. So SACD, with it high definition sound and surround channels ought to be the wave of the future. I've been considering buying the OPPO player and some SACD discs. But... I bought a 4 track phonograph record decoder, batamax vcr, and other stillborn technologies. Is SACD dead; I've read things on the internet and here that suggest it is?
2) How does the OPPO send SACD output to the XMC-1: HDMI and/or 7.1 RCA's?
3) If SACD is dead, are the 7.1 inputs on the XMC-1 obsolete?
4) If I were to buy a few SACDs, to blow my mind, what would they be:
- Pink Floyd's album The Dark Side of the Moon (1973)? - The Who's rock opera Tommy (1969)? - Something classical?
Sincerely /b
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Post by ÈlTwo on Sept 15, 2014 10:11:00 GMT -5
Oppo to XMC-1 for SACD (DSD direct) via HDMI. You could do 7.1 RCAs if you want the Oppo to decode instead of the XMC-1.
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Post by jmilton on Sept 15, 2014 10:16:02 GMT -5
1) When I watch the Apple Festival concerts on my Apple TV, they are in 3/2 & LFE. This helps me realize that listening to music in surround sound is very realistic; I like it and see it as the way of the future. So SACD, with it high definition sound and surround channels ought to be the wave of the future. I've been considering buying the OPPO player and some SACD discs. But... I bought a 4 track phonograph record decoder, batamax vcr, and other stillborn technologies. Is SACD dead; I've read things on the internet and here that suggest it is?
2) How does the OPPO send SACD output to the XMC-1: HDMI and/or 7.1 RCA's?
3) If SACD is dead, are the 7.1 inputs on the XMC-1 obsolete?
Sincerely /b
"The reports of my death have been highly exaggerated."- SACD Read here: www.sa-cd.net/faq -There are over 10,000 titles on SACD currently. ALSO of note: This site is reviewing Blu-ray Audio discs now, as well.
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Post by rogersch on Sept 15, 2014 10:28:13 GMT -5
Oppo to XMC-1 for SACD (DSD direct) via HDMI. You could do 7.1 RCAs if you want the Oppo to decode instead of the XMC-1. As said before in other topics. The Oppo can decode the DSD format to multi-channel PCM and then you can sent multi PCM via HDMI to the XMC-1.
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geebo
Emo VIPs
"Too bad that all the people who know how to run the country are driving taxicabs and cutting hair"
Posts: 24,181
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Post by geebo on Sept 15, 2014 10:42:48 GMT -5
Some good examples are Pink Floyd DSTOM and WYWH, and Dire Straits' Brothers in Arms. But there a lots of good examples and I'm sure you'll get a few suggestions.
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Post by Bonzo on Sept 15, 2014 11:27:14 GMT -5
Completely and utterly dead? No. Very small almost insignificant trickle, yes. I think most future hi-rez is going to come the way of downloads. But for the physical side for things, Blu-ray Audio will be the prominent physical format.
Most of what I've heard on SACD, DVD-A, Blu-ray audio, and home made DVD-R 24/96 L-PCM is definitely an improvement. I probably have about 30 discs now or so (and I'd love to have more).
Biggest "holy crap" moment was The Grateful Dead's Workingman's Dead DVD-A. It was totally redone to sound as if it's a live recording, and wow does it sound fantastic.
I really enjoy the 3 Doobie Brothers discs I have (SACD), as well as the Rolling Stones (SACD), Plant & Krauss (DVD-R L-PCM), Lang Lang (SACD), and of course, the new Zep remasters (DVD-R L-PCM). I own Pink Floyd's DSOTM but have never even opened it (not my favorite album). Wish You Were Here on the other hand is awesome, love it.
I'd say I've heard the least improvements with Peter Gabriel, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Eric Clapton stuff. Improvements, yes, but more of the kind you have to listen for than being totally obvious.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Sept 15, 2014 11:34:40 GMT -5
"Is SACD disc format dead?"
Depends on who you ask. The biggest problem with SACD is promotion. In two of the premier record stores in Nashville not one of the employees had heard of SACD when I asked them if they had any. Hello? Is this really the 21st century? "You work in a premier record store and you have never heard even once about SACD?" I am in Savannh, GA as I am typing this. The major record store here is Graveface Records. On Sat. I went there. The guy behind the desk had never heard of SACD either, and asked me a lot of questions about it. Wow! It seems to me that the major problem is with promotion of this format. How can people buy this format if they do not even know that it exist? Those that have heard usually become converts to some extent. But not if they have never heard of the format! As in anything, it is hard to sell without promotion.
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Post by Bonzo on Sept 15, 2014 11:52:41 GMT -5
"Is SACD disc format dead?"Depends on who you ask. The biggest problem with SACD is promotion. In two of the premier record stores in Nashville not one of the employees had heard of SACD when I asked them if they had any. Hello? Is this really the 21st century? "You work in a premier record store and you have never heard even once about SACD?" I am in Savannh, GA as I am typing this. The major record store here is Graveface Records. On Sat. I went there. The guy behind the desk had never heard of SACD either, and asked me a lot of questions about it. Wow! It seems to me that the major problem is with promotion of this format. How can people buy this format if they do not even know that it exist? Those that have heard usually become converts to some extent. But not if they have never heard of the format! As in anything, it is hard to sell without promotion. Yep. I found it crazy that years ago when SACD and DVD-A were in their hay day (early 2000's), not one single high end stereo store in my area sold players that would play them. Only CD and vinyl. Now if there ever were places to sell those devices, and allow people to "hear" the differences, wouldn't you think a high end stereo store would be the place to go? I certainly did, and always found it very odd and disappointing they didn't. I think the other big problem was that this time period coincided with the iPod. Convenience trumped SQ. What little advertising there was went in one ear and out the other. The iPod was the only thing people wanted to know about. A big bummer.
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Post by drtrey3 on Sept 15, 2014 11:54:29 GMT -5
I really enjoy my sacd discs! Some of the best sounding recent purchases include Come Away With Me by Norah Jones. The wife likes this one too, which is nice. Every Breath You Take is good for when I am in a Police mood. I think I have all the Elton John sacds, and they are really wonderful sounding! Shelby Lynne's Just A Little Lovin is achingly beautiful! And the Floyd discs are great.
I have bought a couple of mofi sacds that were not head and shoulders better. Pretenders II and 6 and 12 String Guitar by Leo Kotke come to mind.
Trey
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Post by MaisterK on Sept 15, 2014 12:06:23 GMT -5
There are hundreds of SACD out there. Expensive though, maybe this is the reason they are not so popular. The right price would make them the first choice for everybody.
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Post by Bonzo on Sept 15, 2014 12:15:54 GMT -5
There are hundreds of SACD out there. Expensive though, maybe this is the reason they are not so popular. I think they are expensive because they are rare and fewer companies make them. It doesn't have to be this way though. When the Stones re-released their entire catalog in the early 2000's, the external packaging looked like it was "all CD," and they were priced at CD prices. But in actuality, inside, they were all hybrid SACD/CD disks. Talk about lack of marketing. No sticker on front no nothing. How dumb was that. Well, not for owners of an Emotiva ERC player. Sorry, had to say it. And this is where Oppo comes in.
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Jack
Minor Hero
Posts: 75
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Post by Jack on Sept 15, 2014 12:25:22 GMT -5
I have my OPPO playing through the 7.1 analog inputs of my UMC-1. My favorite SACD disk is an AIX 24/96 recording of Stravinsky's Firebird and Ravel's Bolero. It really sounds great.
jack
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Post by The Mad Norseman on Sept 15, 2014 12:42:57 GMT -5
But what does the SACD format offer that Blu-ray Audio (BRA) can't do at least just as well? To me, Blue-ray Audio seems like the way to go because Blu-ray players have become far more common that those capable of SACD playback, and the Blu-ray format is capable of reproducing uncompressed sound of the highest definition. So what I'd like to see is everything re-released on Blu-ray Audio - remastered (*uncompressed*) from the original source recording material, and go from there.
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Post by ÈlTwo on Sept 15, 2014 13:49:02 GMT -5
Oppo to XMC-1 for SACD (DSD direct) via HDMI. You could do 7.1 RCAs if you want the Oppo to decode instead of the XMC-1. As said before in other topics. The Oppo can decode the DSD format to multi-channel PCM and then you can sent multi PCM via HDMI to the XMC-1. Why not just have the XMC-1 decode the DSD?
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Post by Priapulus on Sept 15, 2014 14:06:17 GMT -5
As said before in other topics. The Oppo can decode the DSD format to multi-channel PCM and then you can sent multi PCM via HDMI to the XMC-1. Why not just have the XMC-1 decode the DSD?
I believe there is decoding/anti-pirate/rights encryption hassles with SACDs. Which makes me wonder if the DSD/PCM is forced degraded? /b
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Post by yves on Sept 15, 2014 14:13:14 GMT -5
Both the DSOTM Immersion Box Set and WYWH Immersion Box Set contain a Blu-ray disc. Once you've heard them, you'll want to use the SACD discs as beer coasters.
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Post by garbulky on Sept 15, 2014 14:15:16 GMT -5
The whole HDMI output thing cuts out most of the dedicated two channel DAC market right out. And yes I know SACD's are surround but you get my drift. People that REALLY care about music and get into the more niche stuff like SACD's usually get dedicated DAC's and SACD is more geared towards processors. There's a disconnect here. That's why i think the DSD downloads have more chance as you can output it over SPDIF.
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Post by drtrey3 on Sept 15, 2014 14:39:14 GMT -5
Yves, I have a few Blu-ray audio discs, not enough though! But I still really enjoy my sacds. What is it you hear that makes you prefer the blu-rays?
Trey
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Post by rogersch on Sept 15, 2014 14:43:40 GMT -5
As said before in other topics. The Oppo can decode the DSD format to multi-channel PCM and then you can sent multi PCM via HDMI to the XMC-1. Why not just have the XMC-1 decode the DSD? Then you loose the opportunity of Bass Management, EQ and in the future DIRAC room correction as this can only be applied to PCM decoded signals and not DSD.
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Post by Gary Cook on Sept 15, 2014 18:47:08 GMT -5
Most of my SACD collection is hybrid, so that I can play the stereo layer on the ERC-3 or the multi channel layer on the 103. I have yet to find an SACD stereo layer that isn't far superior to their relative CD's. For example the stereo layer on the Brothers in Arms hybrid SACD is just stupendous, way better sounding than any of the other copies of the same material (my ears, my equipment, my room of course). To me that's a sign of the careful mastering that went into the multi channel layer also finding its way into the stereo layer. Multiple hearings of similar has further convinced me that mastering has far more effect on the sound quality than how it is presented, CD, SACD, BD etc.
Cheers Gary
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