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SACD Renaissance?

What use is the SACD/DSD label on the CD if the base material used is PCM. According to my research, this is very (!) often the case beyond classical music.
I have examined many DSD files which then turned out to be nothing beyond 21 KHz -> PCM red book. For me, this is bullshit.
 
My understanding is that SACD makes the DAC's job simple - that is where its advantage, if any, lies. Assuming that exactly the same mastering is used for SACD and CD layers (a big assumption) I can detect a subtle benefit. The recorded acoustic, which matters a lot to me, is more present.

Of course, the real reason for SACD wasn't sonic so much as DRM-related, in that they are not easily rippable (I haven't managed yet, anyway). The supposed substantial improvement in sound quality was largely an invention of the marketing department...
 
Are any DSD files available by streaming? Can they even be handled by regular software? Can regular free-standing USB/Coax Dacs that we all use handle this stuff natively?

I have an Universal Marantz player. I think the only SACD I have is a dual layer DSOTM special edition.

The ripping of SACD seems like a right old game - more a hobby for the determined than a reasonable option for the common audiophile!
 
Some Blu Ray players will pass DSD through HDMI (no conversion to PCM); you then need a DAC that is DSD capable with HDMI inputs, of which there are quite a few.
 
Are any DSD files available by streaming? Can they even be handled by regular software? Can regular free-standing USB/Coax Dacs that we all use handle this stuff natively?

I have an Universal Marantz player. I think the only SACD I have is a dual layer DSOTM special edition.

The ripping of SACD seems like a right old game - more a hobby for the determined than a reasonable option for the common audiophile!
I have found nothing of interest available as a legal download in DSD to Europe (what I have found has been limited to the USA and/or Canada). Not found anything to stream either.
My dCS DAC handles DSD natively (and does a very good job of it too), but then it upsamples everything to DSD in the first place.
 
Are any DSD files available by streaming? Can they even be handled by regular software? Can regular free-standing USB/Coax Dacs that we all use handle this stuff natively?

I have an Universal Marantz player. I think the only SACD I have is a dual layer DSOTM special edition.

The ripping of SACD seems like a right old game - more a hobby for the determined than a reasonable option for the common audiophile!

There is quite a bit of software that will play ripped or downloaded DSD files.

Ripping is a bit of a project but with the latest software it's actually really simple once set up, little different than ripping a CD. There is a thread here with a bit more info.

https://pinkfishmedia.net/forum/threads/ripping-sacd.224252/#post-3584839

cheers

Chris
 
I am seeing more SACD choices on Amazon - Miles, Dire Straits, Cranberries, Gilberto, Stevie Ray Vaughn, etc.

As a huge fan, I am hoping for more!
But are they really worth the exorbitant prices? £45 + delivery for a "Best of..."! (Cranberries Stars @ amazon uk)
 
Some Blu Ray players will pass DSD through HDMI (no conversion to PCM); you then need a DAC that is DSD capable with HDMI inputs, of which there are quite a few.

I've got a Yamaha multi-format player - it will only output SACD via analogue processed with the onboard DAC.
 
What use is the SACD/DSD label on the CD if the base material used is PCM. According to my research, this is very (!) often the case beyond classical music.
I have examined many DSD files which then turned out to be nothing beyond 21 KHz -> PCM red book. For me, this is bullshit.

It's more audiophile? :D
 
I ripped all my SACD’s DSD layer 18 months ago. I now stream them with Roon to my DAC via DoP. Recently, I’ve started converting all DSD to PCM in Roon so that I can digitally attenuate the DAC output and equalise the volume control position between my digital and analogue sources.
 
SACDs, as well as CDs are still very popular in the far east. I am talking about playing these via good quality SACD/CD players, not streaming...
 
It's more audiophile? :D
If a high quality analog or hirez digital master is available, why wouldn't SACD capture that information? My understanding that music has been recorded in 24/96 PCM for some time. Can't a hirez PCM be encoded into a DSD SACD?

SACD remains as the only commercially available high resolution physical digital format.
 
A while ago I got a copy of Monk's Dream by the Thelonious Monk Quartet on SACD. The SACD layer was mastered from the original analogue tapes so it's unlikely it's been through a PCM conversion.

All I can say is that my socks have not been seen for quite some time.

Joe
 


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