Please post your thoughts and comments on the UK release SACD.
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I voted a 7 on this one.
I have every SACD by Depeche Mode from "Black Celebration" up to "Playing The Angel" except for "Songs Of Faith & Devotion" which I heard was not a good mix and I was never able to acquire this disc.
I really like the music here and mix isn't bad but it's too bright and hard sounding for my ears.
C'mon.....two more votes to go!
I've never heard the actual SACD, but have heard at least a DTS rip of every DM mix. The early period mixes are decent, and the middle period, such as SOFAD, are not very good at all. I don't feel whoever was doing these got the music right until the last two albums, for which I do love the retail 5.1 mixes.
I have not voted on this since I can't claim to have heard the actual SACD itself.
I can assure you that you've missed nothing by not hearing the SACD versions - the DTS-DVD discs simply sound far better.
They are not as - well, it's kinda hard to explain, really. I was going to say "harsh", but that's not really it - it's more than that & not quite that at the same time.
The DTS-DVD sounds warmer, more analogue-y - less abrasive than the SACD does.
Everyone I have ever done a version-for-version blind test (using "Ultra", but for no real reason other than it's the nearest one to hand) prefers the sound of the DTS-DVD over the SACD.
I think this is because of the ultrasonic crap in the DSD stream, and the better your gear, the more likely you will hear the difference.
I've posted this before, but here it is again. Have a good look at the 2 versions here and I think that with certain types of ADC (IE those that have poor filter design on the DAC stage) alias the ultrasonic crap that is a trademark of DSD down into the audible range - you can clearly see the noise shaping.
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But bottom line for DM fans is that you wind up chasing all their sacd's to complete the collection. To my untrained ears, the sacd's definitely sound better than either the DTS or DD 5.1 mixes.