In the world of video, there is an empirical difference between DVD, Blu-Ray, and 4K, a demonstrable difference to the human eye achieved with each higher level that earlier formats did not achieve. But eventually there will come a time when a level of video is reached where the human eye cannot detect the difference as it would exist on such a microscopic level, and while be technically “better”, it would not effectively be better.
With CD vs. SACD (and other higher level formats), there are people that argue that the latter are the Blu-Ray and 4Ks of the audio world in that there is a level of detail hearable detail and richness that CD cannot attain, and then there are those that say CD was already the “4K” of the audio world in that it allegedly reaches the highest level of detail the human ear can experience, and that new formats are going beyond what you can hear and are marketing superior remaster quality as higher audio fidelity.
So the question is not “is SACD technically better and more equivalent to something like 4K and Blu-Ray?”, because that’s tangibly true. The question is: can the human ear hear that difference, or are the superior mastering processes used for SACD releases making people think the format is better, when in fact a redbook CD would sound just as good if mastered in the same way?
Have experts weighed in on this? I hope I worded it right. Thanks for any polite answers.
Here’s something to ponder:
The vast majority of readers here think FLAC is a bit-by-bit conversion of a song on a CD. But CD’s 1,411 kbps, which represents 1 bit for ever hertz.
There’s actually 4.5x more bits coming off a cd, which does NOT have a file format, than the best audio Tidal offers.
That being said, when it comes to audiophile quality music in general, as long as you have at least CD quality audio (compressed file or off an actual CD)l, or off a streaming service)…
The equipment it’s being played on plays a much larger role in how good it sounds.
SACD, outside of the sound studio is more about the fidelity of the audio… that is, how close it comes to the original master recording.
For modern music, the song was probably recorded in SACD or comparable other format.
But for Vinyl records or analog tapes as the source material, an SACD copy would at least preserve the audio fidelity to a point it would sound like a perfect copy.