geebo
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"Too bad that all the people who know how to run the country are driving taxicabs and cutting hair"
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Post by geebo on Nov 28, 2022 21:11:40 GMT -5
Works on my RMC-1L. Levels work in the analog domain and don't use the DSP. Hmmmm. I’ve tried changing settings whilst in DSD mode, which is automatically engaged. Doesn’t allow me to do much. I just tested it. Go into Setup > Speakers > Preset x > Levels then right arrow again. You'll get a test tone in the chosen speaker and you can adjust it's level up or down by 12dB. And it will affect the DSD channel levels.
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NicS
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Will the G4 upgrade help quell my RMC1-L frustrations...?
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Post by NicS on Nov 28, 2022 21:16:24 GMT -5
Hmmmm. I’ve tried changing settings whilst in DSD mode, which is automatically engaged. Doesn’t allow me to do much. I just tested it. Go into Setup > Speakers > Preset x > Levels then right arrow again. You'll get a test tone in the chosen speaker and you can adjust it's level up or down by 12dB. And it will affect the DSD channel levels. Ok. Groovy. I’ll take a crack at that when my RMC-1L gets back from service. Thanks for this. I was quite convinced it didn’t work. I have two speaker setups. One is configured for Stereo, one for multi-channel. I’ll try that out.
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NicS
Sensei
Will the G4 upgrade help quell my RMC1-L frustrations...?
Posts: 209
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Post by NicS on Nov 29, 2022 13:50:59 GMT -5
I did not think this was possible. DSD from SACD bypasses all level settings as far as I can tell. Works on my RMC-1L. Levels work in the analog domain and don't use the DSP. Level control is not persistent though. It resets on restart.
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geebo
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"Too bad that all the people who know how to run the country are driving taxicabs and cutting hair"
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Post by geebo on Nov 29, 2022 15:05:29 GMT -5
Works on my RMC-1L. Levels work in the analog domain and don't use the DSP. Level control is not persistent though. It resets on restart. Levels in Setup are indeed persistent. If you're using trims off the Main menu those aren't the ones I'm talking about. Setup > Speakers > Preset x > Levels. And each of the two presets can have their own Levels settings.
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NicS
Sensei
Will the G4 upgrade help quell my RMC1-L frustrations...?
Posts: 209
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Post by NicS on Nov 29, 2022 21:16:16 GMT -5
Level control is not persistent though. It resets on restart. Levels in Setup are indeed persistent. If you're using trims off the Main menu those aren't the ones I'm talking about. Setup > Speakers > Preset x > Levels. And each of the two presets can have their own Levels settings. When I get my RMC1-L back, I'll try this again.
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geebo
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"Too bad that all the people who know how to run the country are driving taxicabs and cutting hair"
Posts: 24,188
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Post by geebo on Nov 29, 2022 21:47:59 GMT -5
Levels in Setup are indeed persistent. If you're using trims off the Main menu those aren't the ones I'm talking about. Setup > Speakers > Preset x > Levels. And each of the two presets can have their own Levels settings. When I get my RMC1-L back, I'll try this again. Just be sure you go into Setup and not Main.
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turner
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Enjoy the music, not the gear.
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Post by turner on Sept 22, 2023 10:14:22 GMT -5
I play SACD’s because, in general, they sound better which I suspect is mostly to do with their mastering not the fact that they are in DSD format. “Mastering” covers any number of things, from who the mixer is to which tapes were used to how bad the original mastering was. This is especially relevant to early 80’s CD mixes that were simply horrible, with accentuated bass and overhyped dynamics. Versus mixes that were so flat and lacking in dynamics that they made great elevator music. Compared to the quality of the mastering, what format it is is next to irrelevant to me. So far I haven’t found one SACD that sounds worse than it’s CD or streamed version, a few are indistinguishable but most are superior, not always night and day but noticeable nonetheless. As a result I really don’t care about 16/44 or 24/96 or if it was mixed in PCM, all I care about is how it sounds. Cheers Gary THIS!!! I haven't bought a SACD in years because no one really cracked the code to rip SACD without very difficult ways using older hardware with the right firmware and I wish I could get files because I could easily play them back on multiple DACs that I have. The ones that I do have all sound fantastic. Because they are "catered" to audiophiles they are generally mixed very well. I also only have classical, soundtracks, jazz and classic rock on SACD. Anyone who hasn't listened to SACD, older non remastered CDs from the 90s (ones that were done right) are really missing out. Don't think of it as a format, so much as better mastering. I do CDs, Vinyl, SACD and have favorites in each format. I wouldn't want to limit myself to any one format.
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geebo
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"Too bad that all the people who know how to run the country are driving taxicabs and cutting hair"
Posts: 24,188
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Post by geebo on Sept 22, 2023 11:29:01 GMT -5
I play SACD’s because, in general, they sound better which I suspect is mostly to do with their mastering not the fact that they are in DSD format. “Mastering” covers any number of things, from who the mixer is to which tapes were used to how bad the original mastering was. This is especially relevant to early 80’s CD mixes that were simply horrible, with accentuated bass and overhyped dynamics. Versus mixes that were so flat and lacking in dynamics that they made great elevator music. Compared to the quality of the mastering, what format it is is next to irrelevant to me. So far I haven’t found one SACD that sounds worse than it’s CD or streamed version, a few are indistinguishable but most are superior, not always night and day but noticeable nonetheless. As a result I really don’t care about 16/44 or 24/96 or if it was mixed in PCM, all I care about is how it sounds. Cheers Gary THIS!!! I haven't bought a SACD in years because no one really cracked the code to rip SACD without very difficult ways using older hardware with the right firmware and I wish I could get files because I could easily play them back on multiple DACs that I have. The ones that I do have all sound fantastic. Because they are "catered" to audiophiles they are generally mixed very well. I also only have classical, soundtracks, jazz and classic rock on SACD. Anyone who hasn't listened to SACD, older non remastered CDs from the 90s (ones that were done right) are really missing out. Don't think of it as a format, so much as better mastering. I do CDs, Vinyl, SACD and have favorites in each format. I wouldn't want to limit myself to any one format. Ripping SACD's isn't as bad as I had thought. I bought a $30 Sony player on ebay and with some free software it works like a charm.
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KeithL
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Post by KeithL on Sept 26, 2023 14:52:12 GMT -5
Indeed... It has become a lot easier in the last several years. I've only ever done it a few times... but... The main catch is that computer drives don't play SACD (and nobody makes a computer drive that does). This was a big problem in the early days. In the early days the only way to RIP SACDs digitally was to modify specific older-generation PlayStations... This involved re-flashing the firmware - in a way that was irreversible - and somewhat risky... (Then, later, older PlayStation hardware that still worked became somewhat rare.) Then later Oppo players were found to be able to do it too... (only certain models). And, even better, by rebooting them to a USB stick (and they returned to normal when done after a reboot)... Now, more recently, it has turned out that quite a few newer players use a chip-set that can do this too... And, even better yet, many of them are older models, which can be found for very reasonable prices on eBay. (I think I paid $60 for the one I have.) For anyone who is interested... There are several websites and discussion threads devoted to the topic (just Google it)... Many of them list which player brands and models will work, provide detailed instructions, and even have links to the required software... The process is usually: - connect the player and your computer to your network - make up a USB stick with some software on it - plug the USB stick into the player and reboot the player (boot it to the USB stick) - run other software on your computer - insert the SACD disc you want to RIP into the player - have the software on your computer "tell the player to RIP the SACD and send it the file" - (you usually then have to run another program to split the resulting file into individual tracks and such) - (now that you have a digital file you can convert it into whatever format you like) It's not that complicated and, as already mentioned, you can find very detailed instructions if you look around a little bit. (Just Google "RIP SACD discs" or something like that.) Ripping SACD's isn't as bad as I had thought. I bought a $30 Sony player on ebay and with some free software it works like a charm.
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geebo
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"Too bad that all the people who know how to run the country are driving taxicabs and cutting hair"
Posts: 24,188
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Post by geebo on Sept 26, 2023 17:32:55 GMT -5
Indeed... It has become a lot easier in the last several years. I've only ever done it a few times... but... The main catch is that computer drives don't play SACD (and nobody makes a computer drive that does). This was a big problem in the early days. In the early days the only way to RIP SACDs digitally was to modify specific older-generation PlayStations... This involved re-flashing the firmware - in a way that was irreversible - and somewhat risky... (Then, later, older PlayStation hardware that still worked became somewhat rare.) Then later Oppo players were found to be able to do it too... (only certain models). And, even better, by rebooting them to a USB stick (and they returned to normal when done after a reboot)... Now, more recently, it has turned out that quite a few newer players use a chip-set that can do this too... And, even better yet, many of them are older models, which can be found for very reasonable prices on eBay. (I think I paid $60 for the one I have.) For anyone who is interested... There are several websites and discussion threads devoted to the topic (just Google it)... Many of them list which player brands and models will work, provide detailed instructions, and even have links to the required software... The process is usually: - connect the player and your computer to your network - make up a USB stick with some software on it - plug the USB stick into the player and reboot the player (boot it to the USB stick) - run other software on your computer - insert the SACD disc you want to RIP into the player - have the software on your computer "tell the player to RIP the SACD and send it the file" - (you usually then have to run another program to split the resulting file into individual tracks and such) - (now that you have a digital file you can convert it into whatever format you like) It's not that complicated and, as already mentioned, you can find very detailed instructions if you look around a little bit. (Just Google "RIP SACD discs" or something like that.) Ripping SACD's isn't as bad as I had thought. I bought a $30 Sony player on ebay and with some free software it works like a charm. This is the site I used. Everything one would need to know is in there. Helpful people over there, too. hifihaven.org/index.php?threads/rip-sacd-with-a-blu-ray-player.3652/
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Post by PaulBe on Oct 4, 2023 21:25:39 GMT -5
Indeed... It has become a lot easier in the last several years. I've only ever done it a few times... but... The main catch is that computer drives don't play SACD (and nobody makes a computer drive that does). This was a big problem in the early days. In the early days the only way to RIP SACDs digitally was to modify specific older-generation PlayStations... This involved re-flashing the firmware - in a way that was irreversible - and somewhat risky... (Then, later, older PlayStation hardware that still worked became somewhat rare.) Then later Oppo players were found to be able to do it too... (only certain models). And, even better, by rebooting them to a USB stick (and they returned to normal when done after a reboot)... Now, more recently, it has turned out that quite a few newer players use a chip-set that can do this too... And, even better yet, many of them are older models, which can be found for very reasonable prices on eBay. (I think I paid $60 for the one I have.) For anyone who is interested... There are several websites and discussion threads devoted to the topic (just Google it)... Many of them list which player brands and models will work, provide detailed instructions, and even have links to the required software... The process is usually: - connect the player and your computer to your network - make up a USB stick with some software on it - plug the USB stick into the player and reboot the player (boot it to the USB stick) - run other software on your computer - insert the SACD disc you want to RIP into the player - have the software on your computer "tell the player to RIP the SACD and send it the file" - (you usually then have to run another program to split the resulting file into individual tracks and such) - (now that you have a digital file you can convert it into whatever format you like) It's not that complicated and, as already mentioned, you can find very detailed instructions if you look around a little bit. (Just Google "RIP SACD discs" or something like that.) This is the site I used. Everything one would need to know is in there. Helpful people over there, too. hifihaven.org/index.php?threads/rip-sacd-with-a-blu-ray-player.3652/It does amaze me how much interest there is in ripping SACDs. 206 pages on that blog. I play the few non-hybrids that I have on disc.
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KeithL
Administrator
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Post by KeithL on Oct 5, 2023 10:40:52 GMT -5
Actually "the story of SACDs" is interesting... (even beyond the actual history of the DSD format and why it was developed) And bear in mind that there is a lot of history involved even in playing and ripping SACDs ... That BLOG may only be a few years old... but it is a continuation of a quest that has been going on since 1999 when SACDs came out... Ever since SACDs were introduced they've had a sort of cult following (intentionally started by Sony)... And, from the very beginning, there has been resentment that they required special players to play them... Then, when everyone discovered that ripping CDs on a computer was easy, they discovered that doing the same for SACDs was not... So, again, this frustrated many people, and encouraged others to try to find a way around the restrictions... Then, eventually, it was found that you could RIP an SACD on a specially modified PlayStation box... But that was still tricky, only worked on certain hardware, required an actual hardware investment, and required some technical ability to do successfully... It's probably fair to say that the discovery that many recent Blu-Ray players can now do it... And that many of the models that are able to do it can now be gotten on eBay for under $50... And the actual "release" of software that has already been "pre-customized" for specific player models... Has "sparked a sort of resurgence of interest"... Oppo gets credit for being the first really popular and somewhat affordable player to play SACDs in a long time too... Now, with Oppo gone, it's sort of back to "buy one of the few players that still plays SACDs", or "RIP your SACDs"... And, of course, now there are DSD downloads, which has gotten more people interested in DSD in general (and so SACDs)... (So, as with vinyl, "people are digging out those SACDs and playing them again.) A few more things worth noting: Many SACD versions of albums are mixed quite differently than the CD version... And, since SACDs were, and still are, marketed as "an audiophile product", the SACD versions often were actually better.... Hybrid SACDs include a standard Red Book CD audio layer as well as the DSD layer... But not all SACDs are Hybrid (some SACDs are DSD-only)... And, while the two layers on a given disc are usually the same, they may not be... And, when you RIP an SACD, "using the closest possible conversion settings", you end up with a 24/88k or 24/96k file... (which is higher resolution than the 16/44k copy on the Red Book CD layer of a Hybrid disc) And a lot of us still DO have a bunch of SACD discs (even though we may no longer have a player that can play them). And, finally, the whole topic is a sort of "last frontier for DIY"... Most of us really aren't going to build speakers... Or write a player program, or a sample rate converter program, or the code for a new streamer... And, unless you're really into it, vinyl is an expensive thing to get into... But ripping SACDs is something you can get into for a few bucks... (You might even say that "SACDs are like vinyl... without all the fuss and muss".... ) And, unlike with vinyl, you can actually get a perfect SACD rip on a player that costs $50... It does amaze me how much interest there is in ripping SACDs. 206 pages on that blog. I play the few non-hybrids that I have on disc.
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Post by PaulBe on Oct 6, 2023 9:13:10 GMT -5
Actually "the story of SACDs" is interesting... (even beyond the actual history of the DSD format and why it was developed) And bear in mind that there is a lot of history involved even in playing and ripping SACDs ... That BLOG may only be a few years old... but it is a continuation of a quest that has been going on since 1999 when SACDs came out... Ever since SACDs were introduced they've had a sort of cult following (intentionally started by Sony)... And, from the very beginning, there has been resentment that they required special players to play them... Then, when everyone discovered that ripping CDs on a computer was easy, they discovered that doing the same for SACDs was not... So, again, this frustrated many people, and encouraged others to try to find a way around the restrictions... Then, eventually, it was found that you could RIP an SACD on a specially modified PlayStation box... But that was still tricky, only worked on certain hardware, required an actual hardware investment, and required some technical ability to do successfully... It's probably fair to say that the discovery that many recent Blu-Ray players can now do it... And that many of the models that are able to do it can now be gotten on eBay for under $50... And the actual "release" of software that has already been "pre-customized" for specific player models... Has "sparked a sort of resurgence of interest"... Oppo gets credit for being the first really popular and somewhat affordable player to play SACDs in a long time too... Now, with Oppo gone, it's sort of back to "buy one of the few players that still plays SACDs", or "RIP your SACDs"... And, of course, now there are DSD downloads, which has gotten more people interested in DSD in general (and so SACDs)... (So, as with vinyl, "people are digging out those SACDs and playing them again.) A few more things worth noting: Many SACD versions of albums are mixed quite differently than the CD version... And, since SACDs were, and still are, marketed as "an audiophile product", the SACD versions often were actually better.... Hybrid SACDs include a standard Red Book CD audio layer as well as the DSD layer... But not all SACDs are Hybrid (some SACDs are DSD-only)... And, while the two layers on a given disc are usually the same, they may not be... And, when you RIP an SACD, "using the closest possible conversion settings", you end up with a 24/88k or 24/96k file... (which is higher resolution than the 16/44k copy on the Red Book CD layer of a Hybrid disc) And a lot of us still DO have a bunch of SACD discs (even though we may no longer have a player that can play them). And, finally, the whole topic is a sort of "last frontier for DIY"... Most of us really aren't going to build speakers... Or write a player program, or a sample rate converter program, or the code for a new streamer... And, unless you're really into it, vinyl is an expensive thing to get into... But ripping SACDs is something you can get into for a few bucks... (You might even say that "SACDs are like vinyl... without all the fuss and muss".... ) And, unlike with vinyl, you can actually get a perfect SACD rip on a player that costs $50... It does amaze me how much interest there is in ripping SACDs. 206 pages on that blog. I play the few non-hybrids that I have on disc. SACDs are still being produced. I think Sony will support playback. Here is a Blu-ray player that plays SACDs and costs $118. www.crutchfield.com/p_158BDP6700/Sony-BDP-S6700.htmlSony has two more models under $300 that play 4K and SACDs. As long as SACDs are made, SACD players will be made. Some inexpensive. Some not inexpensive. A lot of young people - think not so wealthy people - like and buy vinyl. Back when I had my first job as a teenager, I made a little over a dollar an hour. LPs were $4-5. Kids today make $15/hour. A new 180gm LP costs far less than $75. My first Garrard turntable cost about $200 with the cartridge (Empire 6xx IIRC) in 1968. Today, turntables with built-in phono preamps, USB outs, mounted cartridges, and Bluetooth start at a little over $200. There are a lot of them. One more thing - I never have to reboot my turntable. I'd rather build speakers. There are a lot of DIY speaker blogs. Lot of support for DIY speakers in the audio community - from beginner level to expert. DIY speaker building is the last audio 'frontier'. My Subs are DIY. My 7 base channels are bi-amp DIY. I could not afford to buy more than 2 channel stereo, at the same quality, for the cost of my 7.2 DIY. The crossovers are DSP. The crossovers have a startup time like my processor. I never have to reboot the DSP crossovers.
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KeithL
Administrator
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Post by KeithL on Oct 6, 2023 10:51:20 GMT -5
Unfortunately, as far as building speakers, I am "woodworking challenged".... When I was younger I built some speakers... but they never got past being raw chipboard. (You might enjoy building those cabinets... I'd end up paying someone to build and finish them for me.) The other thing is that at least some drivers are extremely expensive on the DIY parts market. This is especially true for certain parts... like folded ribbon tweeters and some of the more expensive dome tweeters... and some crossover components. (I doubt you could buy the drivers for a pair of B2's for less than what we charge for a complete pair of the speakers.) Incidentally, if you're into building speakers, you should definitely check out THIS site: www.zaphaudio.com/Back on the subject of SACDs.... Yes, they still sell SACDs, but not very many. There is also another significant limitation that anyone thinking about going that way needs to know about. As per the standard... a player that plays an SACD DISC is not allowed to provide a full-quality digital output of the DSD audio via an insecure connection. This is a copy protection restriction and it applies to SACD DISCS but NOT DSD files (so it does not apply to DSD downloads or rips). What this basically says is that an SACD player cannot give you a direct output of the DSD content on a disc via Coax, or Optical, or USB.
This cuts you off from a lot of the options you might have hoped to use when playing actual SACD discs - especially in a two-channel system. (And this is why you may find that those digital outputs are muted when you play an SACD but not when you play a CD.) They are allowed to give you a digital output signal from those "insecure" outputs that has been converted to PCM. And they are allowed to offer a direct DSD output via HDMI (an HDMI output is "secure" because HDMI is encrypted).(There may have been a few players in the past that violated this restriction but I doubt that a Sony player would since it's their format.) You will also find that most or all SACD disc players will not play an ISO image that has been ripped from an SACD disc (for example from a USB stick). Several Oppo models did this in the past... but the capability was removed in subsequent firmware updates... You can also play SACD ISO files in some software players... including FooBar2000... which can also convert an ISO image into separate DSD files which you CAN then play. (Incidentally, if you want to play and convert SACD ISOs and such in FooBar2000, you'll need this plugin: sourceforge.net/projects/sacddecoder/ ) Not to be overly cynical... but most low cost turntables aren't very good... (Whereas, while the quality of the equipment you subsequently play it on may vary, a properly done digital disc RIP will be "perfect".) It's also worth mentioning that, if you RIP a multi-channel SACD, you will get multi-channel DSD files, which can then be converted into multi-channel FLAC or WAV files. (If the disc has both Stereo and Surround copies of the content then you will get a separate set of files for each.) .................................... SACDs are still being produced. I think Sony will support playback. Here is a Blu-ray player that plays SACDs and costs $118. www.crutchfield.com/p_158BDP6700/Sony-BDP-S6700.htmlSony has two more models under $300 that play 4K and SACDs. As long as SACDs are made, SACD players will be made. Some inexpensive. Some not inexpensive. A lot of young people - think not so wealthy people - like and buy vinyl. Back when I had my first job as a teenager, I made a little over a dollar an hour. LPs were $4-5. Kids today make $15/hour. A new 180gm LP costs far less than $75. My first Garrard turntable cost about $200 with the cartridge (Empire 6xx IIRC) in 1968. Today, turntables with built-in phono preamps, USB outs, mounted cartridges, and Bluetooth start at a little over $200. There are a lot of them. One more thing - I never have to reboot my turntable. I'd rather build speakers. There are a lot of DIY speaker blogs. Lot of support for DIY speakers in the audio community - from beginner level to expert. DIY speaker building is the last audio 'frontier'. My Subs are DIY. My 7 base channels are bi-amp DIY. I could not afford to buy more than 2 channel stereo, at the same quality, for the cost of my 7.2 DIY. The crossovers are DSP. The crossovers have a startup time like my processor. I never have to reboot the DSP crossovers.
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Post by PaulBe on Oct 6, 2023 12:44:20 GMT -5
Unfortunately, as far as building speakers, I am "woodworking challenged".... When I was younger I built some speakers... but they never got past being raw chipboard. (You might enjoy building those cabinets... I'd end up paying someone to build and finish them for me.) The other thing is that at least some drivers are extremely expensive on the DIY parts market. This is especially true for certain parts... like folded ribbon tweeters and some of the more expensive dome tweeters... and some crossover components. (I doubt you could buy the drivers for a pair of B2's for less than what we charge for a complete pair of the speakers.) Incidentally, if you're into building speakers, you should definitely check out THIS site: www.zaphaudio.com/Back on the subject of SACDs.... Yes, they still sell SACDs, but not very many. There is also another significant limitation that anyone thinking about going that way needs to know about. As per the standard... a player that plays an SACD DISC is not allowed to provide a full-quality digital output of the DSD audio via an insecure connection. This is a copy protection restriction and it applies to SACD DISCS but NOT DSD files (so it does not apply to DSD downloads or rips). What this basically says is that an SACD player cannot give you a direct output of the DSD content on a disc via Coax, or Optical, or USB.
This cuts you off from a lot of the options you might have hoped to use when playing actual SACD discs - especially in a two-channel system. (And this is why you may find that those digital outputs are muted when you play an SACD but not when you play a CD.) They are allowed to give you a digital output signal from those "insecure" outputs that has been converted to PCM. And they are allowed to offer a direct DSD output via HDMI (an HDMI output is "secure" because HDMI is encrypted).(There may have been a few players in the past that violated this restriction but I doubt that a Sony player would since it's their format.) You will also find that most or all SACD disc players will not play an ISO image that has been ripped from an SACD disc (for example from a USB stick). Several Oppo models did this in the past... but the capability was removed in subsequent firmware updates... You can also play SACD ISO files in some software players... including FooBar2000... which can also convert an ISO image into separate DSD files which you CAN then play. (Incidentally, if you want to play and convert SACD ISOs and such in FooBar2000, you'll need this plugin: sourceforge.net/projects/sacddecoder/ ) Not to be overly cynical... but most low cost turntables aren't very good... (Whereas, while the quality of the equipment you subsequently play it on may vary, a properly done digital disc RIP will be "perfect".) It's also worth mentioning that, if you RIP a multi-channel SACD, you will get multi-channel DSD files, which can then be converted into multi-channel FLAC or WAV files. (If the disc has both Stereo and Surround copies of the content then you will get a separate set of files for each.) SACDs are still being produced. I think Sony will support playback. Here is a Blu-ray player that plays SACDs and costs $118. www.crutchfield.com/p_158BDP6700/Sony-BDP-S6700.htmlSony has two more models under $300 that play 4K and SACDs. As long as SACDs are made, SACD players will be made. Some inexpensive. Some not inexpensive. A lot of young people - think not so wealthy people - like and buy vinyl. Back when I had my first job as a teenager, I made a little over a dollar an hour. LPs were $4-5. Kids today make $15/hour. A new 180gm LP costs far less than $75. My first Garrard turntable cost about $200 with the cartridge (Empire 6xx IIRC) in 1968. Today, turntables with built-in phono preamps, USB outs, mounted cartridges, and Bluetooth start at a little over $200. There are a lot of them. One more thing - I never have to reboot my turntable. I'd rather build speakers. There are a lot of DIY speaker blogs. Lot of support for DIY speakers in the audio community - from beginner level to expert. DIY speaker building is the last audio 'frontier'. My Subs are DIY. My 7 base channels are bi-amp DIY. I could not afford to buy more than 2 channel stereo, at the same quality, for the cost of my 7.2 DIY. The crossovers are DSP. The crossovers have a startup time like my processor. I never have to reboot the DSP crossovers. Looks like the last entry at Zaph's site is from 2010. Been there before. Some good basic info, but dated. Looks like a dead site. For the price, Emotiva's B2 looks hard to beat. Good reason to not DIY if the B2 type of speaker is what someone wants. I like Emotiva's use of the folded ribbon tweeters. I did use a pair of the ESS Heils in a previous speaker setup. Today's $200 turntable is probably better than my $200 Garrard from 1968, and has more features. No one buys a $200 turntable expecting SOTA performance. They buy it for the fun of playing and ripping LPs. An extensive and well kept LP collection deserves a very good turntable. Very good turntables are obviously much more than $200. My turntable setup cost more than my RMC-1L. It's kind of obscene. It is what it is. Looking forward to playing my ordered LP copy of DSOTM 50th - first LP bought in almost 40 years. Back to the original topic - "It does amaze me how much interest there is in ripping SACDs. 206 pages on that blog. I play the few non-hybrids that I have on disc." If SACDs were really that much better, the format would have sold much better. And, Sony wouldn't have had to form and play to a 'cult'. SACD is just dying a long and painful death. All these hacks to rip SACD is just a 'stick it to Sony' kind of thing. They deserve it. I'll stay mostly with Blu-ray audio formats for Hi-rez.
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Post by PaulBe on Oct 14, 2023 16:40:58 GMT -5
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Post by aswiss on Jan 7, 2024 17:40:13 GMT -5
But regarding this article, its for DVD Sales! an outdated Format with 576p or less resolution - which looks really bad on todays 4k UHD TVs.
I sorted them out 9 years ago - when Bluray took over. I first bought HD-DVD, but this Toshiba Format did no survive either.
Same Story happened to a lot of techniques (Betamax, VHS, Video2000, LaserDisc etc.). CD will maybe last some longer, but regarding the large studios the have no interest in selling physical medias anymore. Not sure, but I think Disney annouced lately to quit production.
This is all about generating money, keep the users with their streaming platforms to generate monthly income.
SACD are a really niche product, with small sales, and will hopefully reside on the market. Streaming took over everything, which creates dependencies to consumers. as long you pay your monthly rate fine. as soon as you stop - no longer music.
That's why I took care of all my CD, LP, Blurays etc. ripped them to my NAS which made me independent from streaming, once the internet blackout arrives ;-)
I use my oppo203 to play Multi Channel DSD over my RMC-1 - for the large amount of Stereo DSD - Roon does the Job over my Streamer/DAC and then Analog OUT to the AMP.
But to be honest, you need a very good setup to make differences hearable - for my I also stopped buying new SACD, unless its a real MCH Format. Pure Audio Blurays, sometimes even with HiRes or Atmos are not even close to to the sound quality for me.
Thats the way how the market works - I'm happy as long Emotiva supports the playback of DSD.
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Post by bayderll on Mar 25, 2024 15:26:33 GMT -5
Engineering Reality - It's just another format.
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Post by bayderll on Mar 25, 2024 15:35:55 GMT -5
You're asking the question in reverse.... (Playing audio in DSD imposes several limitations that you avoid by using PCM.)
PCM is the audio industry standard format and virtually all audio gear supports PCM. Only a small minority of audio gear supports DSD and only a small minority of disc players can play SACDs. DSD is a relatively obscure format which was originally developed specifically for SACDs - but is now also used for a few download files. (The XMC-1 and the RMC-1 and family can play both PCM and DSD... although we're currently working through a few issues with playing DSD on the RMC-1.)
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Old post 2020
Just trying to have da option of playing both DSD & PMC on my gear: Magnetar UPD 900 >XCM 1 > XPA 3 > 2 x Arcam P1 mono Blocks. > King Cobra XLR throughout > Vienna Acoustic Baby Grands & Waltz.
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Post by fbczar on Mar 25, 2024 20:15:10 GMT -5
You're asking the question in reverse.... (Playing audio in DSD imposes several limitations that you avoid by using PCM.) PCM is the audio industry standard format and virtually all audio gear supports PCM. Only a small minority of audio gear supports DSD and only a small minority of disc players can play SACDs. DSD is a relatively obscure format which was originally developed specifically for SACDs - but is now also used for a few download files. (The XMC-1 and the RMC-1 and family can play both PCM and DSD... although we're currently working through a few issues with playing DSD on the RMC-1.) =============================== Old post 2020 Just trying to have da option of playing both DSD & PMC on my gear: Magnetar UPD 900 >XCM 1 > XPA 3 > 2 x Arcam P1 mono Blocks. > King Cobra XLR throughout > Vienna Acoustic Baby Grands & Waltz. The RMC-1 and XMC-2 will not play DSD over USB and likely never will. However, the new G4 processors are rumored to be capable of DSD over USB. Of course, the RMC-1 and XMC-2 will play SACD's. Many DSD recordings are spectacularly good. From my perspective the big advantage of PCM is that you can use it with Dirac while DSD is a no go with Dirac. Without Dirac considered, on my system, most of my DSD over USB and SACD recordings sound better to me than PCM, but with Dirac PCM is hard to beat. Of course, the differences in equipment necessary to play each format does make legitimate, definitive comparisons difficult at best. If the G4 processors can play DSD over USB comparisons will be much easier.
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