SACD Question

[soesbeout]

How does an SACD sound when played on a regular cd player then passed through a QS systhesizer,RM or phase matrix? Is there any noticeable separation front to rear.

Thanks

Ken

 

[cupboy]

How does an SACD sound when played on a regular cd player then passed through a QS systhesizer,RM or phase matrix? Is there any noticeable separation front to rear.

Thanks

Ken

same as a regular cd

 

[soesbeout]

I asked the question because I don't own a SACD player and have not bought any CDs yet ,but before I waste my money buying them I was wanting to know how they might sound run through my QRX 7500 or another X series reciever.

Ken

 

[solaris]

You will get nothing different out of a hybrid SACD if played on a regular CD player. All the extra info is on a SACD layer and only SACD players will read that layer.

 

[Cai Campbell]

I believe the question is referring to playing the hi-rez stereo SACD layer through a quadraphonic decoder. It would not make sense to compare decoding ability of the redbook layer of SACD to a regular redbook CD. It goes without saying that you're going to get the same results in this instance.

I have not tried this with SACDs, but I have experimented with playing CDs with and without upsampling through both a Tate and QSD-1 decoder. In my experience, the upsampled versions offer better quadraphonic synthesis. The separation is better and there are fewer decoding artifacts (pumping, breathing, etc.)

I have also played DAD discs (24/96 PCM stereo) through both a Tate and QSD-1 decoder. Although I did not compare directly with their CD counterparts, I must say that the enhanced resolution of the material performed quite remarkably through the decoders.

I would surmise that hi-rez stereo SACD would perform equally well in this regard, perhaps even better.

 

[bmoura]

I believe the question is referring to playing the hi-rez stereo SACD layer through a quadraphonic decoder. It would not make sense to compare decoding ability of the redbook layer of SACD to a regular redbook CD. It goes without saying that you're going to get the same results in this instance.

I have not tried this with SACDs, but I have experimented with playing CDs with and without upsampling through both a Tate and QSD-1 decoder. In my experience, the upsampled versions offer better quadraphonic synthesis. The separation is better and there are fewer decoding artifacts (pumping, breathing, etc.)

I have also played DAD discs (24/96 PCM stereo) through both a Tate and QSD-1 decoder. Although I did not compare directly with their CD counterparts, I must say that the enhanced resolution of the material performed quite remarkably through the decoders.

I would surmise that hi-rez stereo SACD would perform equally well in this regard, perhaps even better.

Narcopolo, I am anxious to hear the details of your own experiments and learn why you came to the conclusion that CDs and hi-rez SACDs sound the same through a quadraphonic decoder.

That would make sense since the SACD Stereo layer often has more detail than the conventional CD layer.

 

[Guy Robinson]

Well maybe he should answer but I believe he is trying to do the CD layer. Perhaps he is assuming that the CD layer on a SACD hybrid is better than a regular CD because it is sourced (in most cases) from the DSD master?

 

[solaris]

Well I think he was thinking that the SACD info was like quad decoding or Pro Logic, in that it was the decoder that got the info out of the stereo track.

 

[Guy Robinson]

Well I think he was thinking that the SACD info was like quad decoding or Pro Logic, in that it was the decoder that got the info out of the stereo track.

Well in that case I guess it doesn't "sound" because a regular CD player can't see the SACD layer.

 

[soesbeout]

So for the purpose of disscusion, your saying a standard cd player will not see the extra layer on a hybrid cd to separate them at the source,or will it take all the information unseparated and send it onto a decoder.What prevents a standard CD player from not seeing all the information unseparated?.Unless the laser reading the cd is different in sacd player.It would seem to me that the layer is extracted whole and separated inside sacd player.? Is that how the players are different.?

Ken

 

[Quadzilla]

So for the purpose of disscusion, your saying a standard cd player will not see the extra layer on a hybrid cd to separate them at the source,or will it take all the information unseparated and send it onto a decoder.What prevents a standard CD player from not seeing all the information unseparated?.Unless the laser reading the cd is different in sacd player.It would seem to me that the layer is extracted whole and separated inside sacd player.? Is that how the players are different.?

Ken

Let me take a shot at this. Think of it this way ... a Redbook (non-SACD) CD player will just not see the SACD information. It is totally invisible to the player, even if it does exist on the disk. Even if it DID see it, there is no 'decoding' information as such. Think of the multichannel information as just part of a computer program. It is either there, or it isn't. It is just digital code. Quadraphonic 'decoding' involved analogue signals in real time, a CD is nothing more than a collection of instructions to a computer ... and some of those instructions tell the player which speaker gets the sound. You can also think of putting a MAC disk into a PC ... the data is there, but the computer does not recognize it. How did that work for ya? Mike.

 

[Cai Campbell]

Wow, I guess my assumption about what was being asked was way off the mark! @:

 

[soesbeout]

OK I get it, the hydrid cd layer is invisable to a standard cd player.But a QS encoded cd has the instructions that a demodulator can see.Is that the case.I know this stuff might seem low tech to you guys but sacd is very new to me and helps my learning curve.

Thanks

Ken