# What is Sacd



## asere (Dec 7, 2011)

What equipment do you need?


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## hjones4841 (Jan 21, 2009)

SACD stands for Super Audio Compact Disc. It is (was) a high resolution audio playback disc that could have two or up to 5.1 audio channels. The sound is fantastic, but the format is essentially dead here in the U.S. Seems that customers prefer more readily available, but far inferior sound quality, MP3s. So SACD never caught on. Discs are still available from places like Amazon; some are imported with "imported" pricing.

For playback, a CD or DVD player that is compatible with SACD is required. Some players have built-in decoding that outputs 5.1 via analog RCA jacks. That requires a receiver with analog 5.1 inputs. Other players (DVD players with SACD compatibility) use HDMI outputs, but that requires a receiver that accepts and decodes the DSD format via HDMI that SACD outputs. Common optical and coax outputs on players don't have the required bandwidth for SACD.

As I said earlier, the format sounds fantastic with its high resolution encoding - I have a few titles that I playback with my Oppo '93 into my Denon AVR-A100 (Anniversary edition of the AVR-4311) via HDMI, but the discs can be hard to find. A local Best Buy had a few titles, but quit handling them about 3 years ago.


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## yoda13 (Feb 14, 2012)

^^^^
Everything that was said up there :T. If you like Pink Floyd, the Dark Side of the Moon SACD is nothing short of spectacular. Unfortunately, like mentioned above, it never really caught on which would maybe explain the rather obscure titles available (for me anyway). Also, and perhaps I'm putting my foot in my mouth here, but prices were (are) rather high compared to a simple MP3 download and in order to enjoy it, you actually have to sit down in your MLP and listen to the music.

While the Oppo are certainly more desirable, if you're on a budget, most Sony BD player will also read SACD. I have a very cheap Sony BDP-S370 ($100cnd) that reads them and sends the signal as multi channel through HDMI. It works really well for me. The "fat" PS3 can also do it but not the "slim" ones.


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## Kal Rubinson (Aug 3, 2006)

hjones4841 said:


> ........... but the discs can be hard to find. A local Best Buy had a few titles, but quit handling them about 3 years ago.


I agree with you in general but the discs are not hard to find on the Internet which is about the only place to shop these days. For a listing of SACDs, the best site is www.sa-cd.net and you can find them at most sites like Amazon, Arkiv, etc.


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## asere (Dec 7, 2011)

So as long as I get a dvd player that has a sacd logo then I can play sacd music with any avr? My avr is Denon 1611. Sacd is basically to be able to listen in 5.1 playback?


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## 86eldel68-deactivated (Nov 30, 2010)

> Sacd is basically to be able to listen in 5.1 playback?


As *hjones4841* stated in post #2, SACD is a format. It can contain from two up to 5.1 channels. You need either i) a player that can decode that format and output the resulting audio stream to your AVR, or ii) an AVR that can accept the raw (un-decoded) stream from your player and decode it.


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## asere (Dec 7, 2011)

eljay said:


> As *hjones4841* stated in post #2, SACD is a format. It can contain from two up to 5.1 channels. You need either i) a player that can decode that format and output the resulting audio stream to your AVR, or ii) an AVR that can accept the raw (un-decoded) stream from your player and decode it.


Can the player be connected to the avr with hdmi like I have it now or does it require a different connection? Also how can I find out if my avr accepts the raw stream to decode it?


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## yoda13 (Feb 14, 2012)

Your current connection should be fine. The player will do the decoding and send the decoded signal to your AVR (PCM).


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## tonyvdb (Sep 5, 2007)

SACD is awesome if its been recorded in 5.1. However I see little advantage over normal CD audio if the master is only 2 channels and has been mastered well.


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## 86eldel68-deactivated (Nov 30, 2010)

> Can the player be connected to the avr with hdmi ... Also how can I find out if my avr accepts the raw stream to decode it?


An HDMI connection is fine. And your AVR's owner's manual will tell you whether or not it will decode DSD audio. (This issue is moot of you get a player that does the decoding and sends the decoded audio to the AVR.)


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## asere (Dec 7, 2011)

yoda13 said:


> Your current connection should be fine. The player will do the decoding and send the decoded signal to your AVR (PCM).


My current connection with hdmi should be fine but as long as the player supports sacd right?


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## asere (Dec 7, 2011)

Nevermind, I just red on the manual it does not support sacd.


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## 86eldel68-deactivated (Nov 30, 2010)

In that case, just buy a player that does and you're good to go. One option: A gently-used OPPO DV-980H.


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## Glen B (Jun 11, 2013)

SACDs are not that difficult to find. Acoustic Sounds, Music Direct, and CD Universe all have hundreds of titles. Acoustic Sounds alone has approximately 1,699 titles. 

http://store.acousticsounds.com/cat/4/SACD

http://www.musicdirect.com/c-511-sa...sortdirection=ASC&perpage=24&GenreFilterID=0&

http://www.cduniverse.com/browsecat.asp?style=music&cat=2703


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## asere (Dec 7, 2011)

Does anyone know if there is a SACD bluray player that is inexpensive other than OPPO?


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## yoda13 (Feb 14, 2012)

asere said:


> Does anyone know if there is a SACD bluray player that is inexpensive other than OPPO?


Any Sony players or early fat PS3s. I have a 2010 Sony BDP-S370 and it works just fine.


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## koyaan (Mar 2, 2010)

Glen B said:


> SACDs are not that difficult to find. Acoustic Sounds, Music Direct, and CD Universe all have hundreds of titles. Acoustic Sounds alone has approximately 1,699 titles.
> 
> http://store.acousticsounds.com/cat/4/SACD
> 
> ...


Amazon also has a lot of SACDs. SACD's have never been very common for pop music, though some titles are available.. There are a lot of Classical titles and a good many Jazz titles available. Even 2 ch SACDs do sound a lot better than CDs.


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## WooferHound (Dec 8, 2010)

--- From Wikipedia ---

Comparison with CD

In September 2007 the Audio Engineering Society published the results of a year-long trial, in which a range of subjects including professional recording engineers were asked to discern the difference between SACD and compact disc audio (44.1 kHz/16 bit) under double blind test conditions. Out of 554 trials, there were 276 correct answers, a 49.8 % success rate corresponding almost exactly to the 50 % that would have been expected by chance guessing alone. The authors commented:

Now, it is very difficult to use negative results to prove the inaudibility of any given phenomenon or process. There is always the remote possibility that a different system or more finely attuned pair of ears would reveal a difference. But we have gathered enough data, using sufficiently varied and capable systems and listeners, to state that the burden of proof has now shifted. Further claims that careful 16/44.1 encoding audibly degrades high resolution signals must be supported by properly controlled double-blind tests.

Following criticism that the original published results of the study were not sufficiently detailed, the AES published a list of the audio equipment and recordings used during the tests.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_Audio_CD


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## Kal Rubinson (Aug 3, 2006)

WooferHound said:


> --- From Wikipedia ---
> 
> Comparison with CD
> 
> ...


Not an accurate encapsulation of the study.


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## AudiocRaver (Jun 6, 2012)

One way to look at the "can we hear the difference" question: Recordings being tracked / mixed / mastered with SACD or DVD-A or BluRay LPCM in mind might be handled differently in those earlier stages in ways that are audible. No real reference to compare to, of course. But someone who listens to a lot of SACD recordings might find that as a class they sound "better" at least pertly for reasons other than the delivery media's speed & resolution.


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## koyaan (Mar 2, 2010)

AudiocRaver said:


> One way to look at the "can we hear the difference" question: Recordings being tracked / mixed / mastered with SACD or DVD-A or BluRay LPCM in mind might be handled differently in those earlier stages in ways that are audible. No real reference to compare to, of course. But someone who listens to a lot of SACD recordings might find that as a class they sound "better" at least pertly for reasons other than the delivery media's speed & resolution.


That could be a large part of the difference.
The fact that a recording is on SACD doesn't mean it will sound great. I once purchased an SACD of Elgars Sym.#2 by Richard Hickock and the BBC National Symphony of Wales on Chandos and it was one of the worst recordings , Sonicaly, that I'd ever listened to. On the other hand , I have the Paavo Jarvi/Cincinnati Symphony recording of Symphony Fantastic on both CD and SACD and, while both are very fine, to me at least the SACD sounds much better.


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