Sacd over hdmi

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Good morning,
Just wondering if anyone knows if a marantz 7012 will play nice with sacd’s played Through a Sony x700 blue ray player
Thanks

 

[Rob_z]

I have that exact combination and SACDs play just fine.

 

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Thats great news!! I had called marantz tech support about this and they said yes but didnt seem very confident at all in their answer. Ive also heard that if you play sacd’s without compatible equipment then you will only get one layer of audio data from the cd and not the dsd layer.
Ive never played a Sacd, whats your opinion on sound quality?

 

[lovinthehd]

I'm fairly recently collecting SACD, particularly multi-ch. I think the sound quality is hard to compare to other mix/masters, tho, as the provenance often simply isn't there. I do use hdmi altho I also have analog capability (Oppo 203-Denon 4520). I also use a variety of other Sony bluray players (S5100, S6700) via hdmi in other rooms with other avrs (Onkyo RC370 and Denon 3808) without issue.

FWIW calling customer service for something like this usually isn't nearly as good as simply using the manual for the avr/bluray player.....

 

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Yes i agree, tech support is iffy at best, but the manual is a bit unclear as to supporting sacd. I reads that dsd is supported thru usb but says nothing about thru hdmi

 

[lovinthehd]

Yes i agree, tech support is iffy at best, but the manual is a bit unclear as to supporting sacd. I reads that dsd is supported thru usb but says nothing about thru hdmi

Was just looking thru the Marantz manual, they mention dsd compatibility in many ways but you have a point that it doesn't spell out via hdmi (seems they're assuming you know hdmi can handle pretty much any protocol) as it does usb. Better to ask this forum than a customer service rep, tho

 

[PENG]

Thats great news!! I had called marantz tech support about this and they said yes but didnt seem very confident at all in their answer. Ive also heard that if you play sacd’s without compatible equipment then you will only get one layer of audio data from the cd and not the dsd layer.
Ive never played a Sacd, whats your opinion on sound quality?

D&M customer supports typically just repeat what they read from the owner's manual so I am not surprised if they are not always confident in slightly technical questions. the SR7012, even the 7011 can definitely play the DSD layer of a SACD, even in 5.1. As for sound quality of SACD, it depends much more on the recording quality than the format itself. I have CDs that have much better sound quality of some of my SACDs. If recorded/mastered the same way, then to me they sound the same, though psychologically I know the SACD version should be a little better. I am also comfortable to say there are more SACDs recorded in top quality than CDs so in that sense the odds are in favor of SACDs.

 

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PENG,
Thanks for the info, its very appreciated. Im have good audio equipment now and im kinda sick of the hit or miss quality i get from itune, so im just starting to get into trying to get some quality audio.
I hate the junk in-junk out cycle that im in. Im found a copy of “dark side of the moon” on sacd 5.1 on ebay. Looking forward to delivery of that!

 

[lovinthehd]

PENG,
Thanks for the info, its very appreciated. Im have good audio equipment now and im kinda sick of the hit or miss quality i get from itune, so im just starting to get into trying to get some quality audio.
I hate the junk in-junk out cycle that im in. Im found a copy of “dark side of the moon” on sacd 5.1 on ebay. Looking forward to delivery of that!

That's a good disc, was the first one I bought, too. What did it cost? Last I looked they were getting pretty expensive....

 

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I paid $42 for it, its supposed to be in good condition . I saw a few new unopened in original package for like $400.....thats a little crazy in my opinion

 

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Was just looking thru the Marantz manual, they mention dsd compatibility in many ways but you have a point that it doesn't spell out via hdmi (seems they're assuming you know hdmi can handle pretty much any protocol) as it does usb. Better to ask this forum than a customer service rep, tho

I agree, Not sure why i didnt just come here first. Silly me thinking they would know tech stuff about their products lol. Although i *don’t *have complaints about the avr itself, great peice of equipment imo

 

[lovinthehd]

I paid $42 for it, its supposed to be in good condition . I saw a few new unopened in original package for like $400.....thats a little crazy in my opinion

Not as bad as the $60 I think I saw last....I got mine for $20 two years ago (used also, but it was pristine).

 

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thats cheap. They’ve definitely gone up. But im happy with 40 bucks. Thats 1 movie with popcorn

 

[lovinthehd]

thats cheap. They’ve definitely gone up. But im happy with 40 bucks. Thats 1 movie with popcorn

Now I know I haven't been to a theater in 4 or so years....but they aren't really that expensive are they? Or is that IMAX with real food and luxurious chairs or something?

 

[PENG]

I agree, Not sure why i didnt just come here first. Silly me thinking they would know tech stuff about their products lol. Although i have complaints about the avr itself, great peice of equipment imo

Keep in mind sacd uses sampling rate of 2.8224 MHz, so the DSD format is DSD64. The SR7011/12 can handle 5.6 MHz or DSD128, so instead of buying disc you can buy downloadable DSD files. I found no benefits of disc and have not used any of my 3 sacd player for a long time, because it is much more convenient to play the digital files via the usb port, streaming, or via my usb dacs.

 

[lovinthehd]

Keep in mind sacd uses sampling rate of 2.8224 MHz, so the DSD format is DSD64. The SR7011/12 can handle 5.6 MHz or DSD128, so instead of buying disc you can buy downloadable DSD files. I found not benefits of disc and have not used any of my 3 sacd player for a long time, because it is much more convenient to play the digital files via the usb port, streaming, or via my usb dacs.

I wish I could download such....last I tried it kept dropping out due my poor internet access. Might be time to try again as the ISP workman said he found a loose wire and my dropouts have been reduced since. What are your favorite sources for such?

 

[PENG]

I wish I could download such....last I tried it kept dropping out due my poor internet access. Might be time to try again as the ISP workman said he found a loose wire and my dropouts have been reduced since. What are your favorite sources for such?

Usually hdtracks.com

 

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Now I know I haven't been to a theater in 4 or so years....but they aren't really that expensive are they? Or is that IMAX with real food and luxurious chairs or something?

It was an exaggeration but only slightly, imax movie, popcorn and soda....probably $35

 

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Keep in mind sacd uses sampling rate of 2.8224 MHz, so the DSD format is DSD64. The SR7011/12 can handle 5.6 MHz or DSD128, so instead of buying disc you can buy downloadable DSD files. I found not benefits of disc and have not used any of my 3 sacd player for a long time, because it is much more convenient to play the digital files via the usb port, streaming, or via my usb dacs.

Good info PENG , thank you! Where are you download dsd file? HD tracks?

 

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Just saw your reply to lovinthehd.