6 replies to this topic

[blacklikesunday]

i've decided to get into some SACD and i have some basic questions relating to them.

first up, can all blu-ray players play these discs?
i ask because i was looking at a samsung player but in the 'playable disc type' section it doesn't mention SACD.

i've only looked on ebay for these discs so far, is there a good place in australia to buy them from?

they seem to vary in price, don't they? i'm going to buy dark side of the moon for $20.00. however the wish you were here disc is $35.00. plus all the queen albums i've seen are around the $53.00 mark.

do i have to look out for, and only buy 'hybrid' SACD?

do the discs play in stereo or surround sound?

thanks.

Edited by black~the~sky, 28 April 2012 - 04:26 PM.

[cooksta]

Not really the correct section of the forum for sacd's, would be better posted in the multichannel section of the Home Theatre area.

To answer your questions. All bluray players do not play sacd. Some do (and from low prices) such as the current Sony's x80 series and the Pioneers 140 model and up. If they dont mention sacd compatibility in the specs then dont buy it.

Universal players also play most formats including sacd. Check spec's. Denon,Oppo, Marantz, Cambridge Audio are just a few makers of universal players.

i buy sacd from Amazon (uk and US) and prices can be very high for rare discs. Also Acoustic Sounds is a great resource.

Hybrid sacd's are sacd's that have a redbook cd layer as well as the sacd layer so they will play on a standard cd player. The cd player will not play the sacd layer though. Non hybrid sacd's thus only have the sacd layer and are unplayable in a cd player.

Sacd can be either 5.1 or 2 channel stereo only and even mono output to 2 channel with older albums. They can also have both 5.1sacd, 2 channel sacd and 2 channel cd on the 1 disc. Have a read of wikipedia re sacd http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sacd

Pink Floyd sounds awesome on sacd made for 5.1
You can buy sacd from JB's,range not that good and they mix them in amongst the normal cd's so you have to search for them. They usually have Dire Straits "Brother in Arms" and Pink Floyd DSOTM in stock.

Edited by cooksta, 28 April 2012 - 07:06 PM.

[cwt]

black~the~sky, on 28 April 2012 - 04:25 PM, said:

i've decided to get into some SACD and i have some basic questions relating to them.

first up, can all blu-ray players play these discs?
i ask because i was looking at a samsung player but in the 'playable disc type' section it doesn't mention SACD.

i've only looked on ebay for these discs so far, is there a good place in australia to buy them from?

they seem to vary in price, don't they? i'm going to buy dark side of the moon for $20.00. however the wish you were here disc is $35.00. plus all the queen albums i've seen are around the $53.00 mark.

do i have to look out for, and only buy 'hybrid' SACD?

do the discs play in stereo or surround sound?

thanks.

Hi black the sky ;best to ask questions in the 2ch and multichannel ht forums . Forget brands like samsung pana;lg - only bd Discs vay in price as some are rarer  and out of print . You need a specialised universal like an oppo or a bd player with sacd like a sony .Many other ce's like cambridge; denon out there Some discs are 2 channel others multichannel .or hybrid with a cd layer ..

Use sacd net for info and bargains @ amazon and elsewhere

http://www.amazon.co...ix=sacd,aps,388

http://store.acousti...s.com/index.cfm

http://www.sa-cd.net/

[blacklikesunday]

thanks for that, thanks for the links too.
i wasn't all that sure where i should've put this thread, i chose this forum as i noticed SACDs have been mentioned in it before.

[Dork(original)]

For good value see here

http://www.dtvforum....0

Paul.

[Quark]

Agree with all the comments above and would add that SACD doesn't always mean good mastering.  For example, the Queen SHM SACDs are mediocre/poor (based on the same masters as the 2011 CD remasters by Bob Ludwig, who must be a deaf old **** nowadays) - dynamic range compression, big treble boost, bass emasculated.  I've got a couple if you want some cheap - but still a waste of money.  The DVD-As are much, much better.

Also another good source for new releases is ImportsCDS.com - they usually have discounts lower than Amazon on pre-orders and their postage is much more reasonable (but slower) than Acoustic Sounds, albeit the packaging is basic.

If you want to research what's been mastered well versus the chaff, do a search over here - some mighty usual information if you want to go digging for the best version of an album in any format.

Edited by Quark, 28 April 2012 - 11:05 PM.

[Skid_MacMarx]

The "SHM" SACDs are aimed at High End audiophiles, they are quite expensive, a $50 price tag.
I only have a few Warner Miles Davis SHM-SACDs and the SQ is top notch.
Hybrid only implies that the SACD has a CD layer (and those discs can be played on conventional CD players).
If you decide to buy Japanese SACDs, I would recommend CDJapan.. they are reliable and the packaging is first class.
http://www.cdjapan.c...SACD/index.html