Thread Closed What Are You Listening To?

[LG]

Wow another Ayreon, Primal Fear and Saxon fan in the house...I have every album by all three bands...at least I think I do MP.

Just played Midnight Oil's self titled debut album...a little rough around the edges compared to their later records, but still it was good.

Hep, the SACD version of Gaucho I got from my buddy Craig is awesome...the depth the texture the shimmer of the percussion is easily the equal of a top level turntable/cartridge setup with one Major advantage, no noise at all, not one clip pop or sound out of place. I have owned numerous vinyl albums of the highest quality available and still have a couple that survived the trials and tribulations of a long life, but they are not as good as an SACD or DVD-A properly remastered digital recording. One major difference I noticed right away between my regular Remastered Gaucho and the SACD version was the volume, on my 7.1 system the SACD was 10db's louder, without any distortion whatsoever, due to Craig's masterful transfer along with the original quality no doubt.

 

[Craig in Indy]

Craig:

How do you find the sound of a typical SACD played in stereo mode compares to that of a typical CD played on either a CD player or on your SACD player? How does the SACD played in stereo mode compare to vinyl played on your turntable?

SACDs, like any other source, can vary widely in their quality. I have some I've been disappointed with, and others that will just knock you over. Even at their worst, though, I think I hear a little added clarity - it's easier to identify individual instruments and voices when things would otherwise start to get a little muddy.

As far as playing a CD on the SACD player, I don't think it brings anything new or better to the party than the CD player and D/A converter I have. After all, it's just using its regular redbook CD reading circuitry reading the regular redbook CD files. Nothing about that process involves the DSD files or their decoding. I almost never play CDs in the SACD player just because I don't hear an advantage to doing so.

And comparing the SACDs to vinyl is kind of tough as again so much of it depends on the software. I can say that on one particular audiophile album I have of a Swedish choir singing Christmas songs, that they sound virtually identical except for the SACD's absence of surface noise.

At their best (and that Swedish choir album is one of those), I think SACDs can sound noticeably better than the best CDs I've heard, though the differences sometimes are small and can be hard to describe. Sometimes all I can fall back on is to say that at their best they sound more "real." Kind of lame, I know, but I don't know how else to describe it.

 

[snakes&ladders]

I know these girls and they do JAM, wonderful lot of babes they are. You into Crud at all? Their new disc is amazing!

No I don't know Crud.....thanx for the heads up

 

[snakes&ladders]

By blackglove at 2009-11-30

By blackglove at 2009-11-30

By blackglove at 2009-11-30

 

[Hepcat]

Lord Grendel:

....the SACD version of Gaucho I got from my buddy Craig is awesome...

You know you're making me want to get that Marantz SACD player sooner rather than later.

One major difference I noticed right away between my regular Remastered Gaucho and the SACD version was the volume, on my 7.1 system the SACD was 10db's louder, without any distortion whatsoever....

Did you also compare the stereo only layer of the SACD with the CD?

Craig:

Even at their worst, though, I think I hear a little added clarity - it's easier to identify individual instruments and voices when things would otherwise start to get a little muddy.

Intersting, interesting! I really get off on separation of that sort. I'm not a fan of the "wall of sound" approach to mastering.

 

[Craig in Indy]

Not to continue taking this thread off topic, but I feel the need to restate that the version of Gaucho LG listened to was from the CD layer of the SACD, and not one of the SACD layers. I'm very glad to hear that it sounds good, and I'm not surprised that they did such a good CD remastering for this hybrid disc. But all the credit for the sound he heard has to go to that CD remastering and not to the DSD process. I don't even know if DSD files are rippable. Everyone talks about the built-in DRM properties of SACDs as being pretty bullet-proof.

 

[METALPRIEST]

 

[METALPRIEST]

 

[LG]

Not to continue taking this thread off topic, but I feel the need to restate that the version of Gaucho LG listened to was from the CD layer of the SACD, and not one of the SACD layers. I'm very glad to hear that it sounds good, and I'm not surprised that they did such a good CD remastering for this hybrid disc. But all the credit for the sound he heard has to go to that CD remastering and not to the DSD process. I don't even know if DSD files are rippable. Everyone talks about the built-in DRM properties of SACDs as being pretty bullet-proof.

It's the same for the "Let It Bleed" CD layer Craig, it sounds Infinitely better than the regular pressing. I do have Scheherazde by Rimsky-Korsakov on SACD so I'll give it a listen later.

Back on topic, played Elton John's "Madman Across the Water" with my morning coffee.

 

[Magic]

What are you listening to vol. 2?

Chapter 2, what are you listening to:

My dog bark


Better Than Ezra ~ Paper Empire CD