Hello again.

I have an extensive regular CD collection, an inherited vinyl collection and a tape collection from my youth. I am running a topping DX7 Dac for interfacing my laptop to my system, my bt TV box/samsung frame TV - it switches inputs automatically, so really useful.

My current CD player is a Marantz CD 63 mkII which I recently refurbished and play through it’s own DAC chip - it sounds really good, possibly better than the topping. When I auditioned some speakers recently, I got to hear an oppo player, that seemed to handle blueray, sacd etc. It sounded better, or as good as my old marantz.

So what options are there that offer: cd, blu-ray, dvd-audio, dvd-video, sacd ? Is SACD even worth it as a format to get into?

I love my physical media, having spent a lot of time in my teens looking through the photo booklets that came with the ministry of sound ibiza annuals and dreaming of clubbing, while listening to taped radio one essential mixes. I just tend to pull a CD out of the rack and listen to the whole album and I am transported to a time and place.

With CDs being so cheap via ebay, or my local charity shops, I have been buying the albums I stole via napster/LAN sharing in university (some guy wrote a program that linked all the student’s music, so we could swap and discover at a blistering rate for the time). I am just not sure if it is worth ‘upgrading’ to the SACD versions of some of the classics.

Thanks for the input :)

  • ElectronicVices@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    1 year ago

    As someone who has been into SACDs since launch I can’t say it’s a good fit for everyone but I continue to add to my library. The good thing is that Analogue Productions and MFSL put out some quality remasters on Hybrid SACD, also Sony/Universal out of Japan & Hong Kong, as well as several Classical & Jazz labels.

    The bad is decoding the SACD layer requires using the analog outputs of an SACD compatible player, one of the Sony/Reavon/Magnetar UHD players over HDMI, an I2S SACD transport & compatible DAC, or finding a used unit that has one or more of the aforementioned connectivity options. Ripping an SACD isn’t straightforward, new titles are $25-$50, and limited releases often skyrocket in price secondhand.

    If you can put up with the hurdles and aren’t looking for modern pop artists on DSD/SACD, then there could be some motivation to get into SACD.