Newb Needs Help Playing SACD

[EIPtuningR32]

So I have recently discovered the god like sound quality of SACD rips in FLAC form. I have downloaded multiple SACD albums in FLAC format. I have Foobar2000 running with foo_input_sacd installed. For some reason, i can not play this Marantz sound quality test album i downloaded. It is a .nrg file, but it wont play in VLC or Foobar2000. I am in the process of downloading DaemonTools to mount the file to, hoping it will play then.... but i dont know. Any ideas? Help?

 

[EIPtuningR32]

does anyone have any ideas?

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

So I have recently discovered the god like sound quality of SACD rips in FLAC form. I have downloaded multiple SACD albums in FLAC format. I have Foobar2000 running with foo_input_sacd installed. For some reason, i can not play this Marantz sound quality test album i downloaded. It is a .nrg file, but it wont play in VLC or Foobar2000. I am in the process of downloading DaemonTools to mount the file to, hoping it will play then.... but i dont know. Any ideas? Help?

You just admitted you performing copyright infringement
Foobar2000 would able to play HD Flacs, no matter where you got them

 

[EIPtuningR32]

I figured it out. For future reference I downloaded Daemon Tools Lite and mounted a virtual DT drive and mounted the .nrg file to it. I then dragged the virtual drive from my computer into Foobar2000 and it plays. The average bitrate is only 1411kbps which is minuscule in comparison to some of my FLAC SACD files from Pink Floyd which have an average bit rate of over 9000 kbps.

 

[EIPtuningR32]

You just admitted you performing copyright infringement
Foobar2000 would able to play HD Flacs, no matter where you got them

i own the SACD's themselves and uploaded a FLAC rip to my Western Digital Cloud so i can download and play them from any spot in my apartment.

its cheaper than buying a SACD player for each room.

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

I am curious though - which speakers do you play so you heard the difference from 1411kbps to 9000 kbps ??

 

[EIPtuningR32]

I am curious though - which speakers do you play so you heard the difference from 1411kbps to 9000 kbps ??

brace yourself...... Acoustic Authority A-3780's.


i swear i can hear it. the 9000 kbps sounds like each noise was individually recorded.

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

brace yourself...... Acoustic Authority A-3780's.


i swear i can hear it. the 9000 kbps sounds like each noise was individually recorded.

I believe you, I'm sure you hear every noise (and anything else )
Then you are out of the college come here and can recommend you some decent speakers

 

[EIPtuningR32]

I believe you, I'm sure you hear every noise (and anything else )
Then you are out of the college come here and can recommend you some decent speakers

i mean, i am not completely sound deaf. Being a musician and having done multiple recording/editing sessions, i do have a small ear for audible sound imperfections throughout the tonal range of some recordings.

I would LOVE to listen to a good DSD recording through a true, high quality setup though. I am sure i would be blown away.

 

[Grador]

Slight (or more than slight...) derail, I didn't think there was any possible way to rip an SACD for many reasons pertaining to hardware. Has this been overcome?

Now something I know HASN'T been overcome is the inability for any software player to play DSD. Given that those files you have are FLACs, you might as well be using DVD-A given that they must have been converted to PCM.

 

[EIPtuningR32]

Slight (or more than slight...) derail, I didn't think there was any possible way to rip an SACD for many reasons pertaining to hardware. Has this been overcome?

Now something I know HASN'T been overcome is the inability for any software player to play DSD. Given that those files you have are FLACs, you might as well be using DVD-A given that they must have been converted to PCM.

not true, the Korg Soundgate software plays raw DSD files. as for SACD, usually the files are 24-bit/96kHz .wav format. But they can be in FLAC. Another popular version is .iso/.nrg (disk image file.)

As for ripping straight from the SACD, the PS3 has yet another awesome hidden feature, it is an SACD player. In being an SACD player, you can rip SACD's to your computer via a PS3.... its a pretty handy gaming system

 

[Grador]

not true, the Korg Soundgate software plays raw DSD files. as for SACD, usually the files are 24-bit/96kHz .wav format. But they can be in FLAC. Another popular version is .iso/.nrg (disk image file.)

As for ripping straight from the SACD, the PS3 has yet another awesome hidden feature, it is an SACD player. In being an SACD player, you can rip SACD's to your computer via a PS3.... its a pretty handy gaming system

I stand corrected, but i still hold that if you're converting to PCM you might as well use DVD-A. With the lack of...resampling? (i don't know what you would call conversion of DSD to PCM, it's not technically resampling)... it would probably yield greater quality.

Edit: the statement above does not apply if you are in fact doing a 1:1 DSD rip, only if you are making a FLAC or wav

 

[EIPtuningR32]

I stand corrected, but i still hold that if you're converting to PCM you might as well use DVD-A. With the lack of...resampling? (i don't know what you would call conversion of DSD to PCM, it's not technically resampling)... it would probably yield greater quality.

Edit: the statement above does not apply if you are in fact doing a 1:1 DSD rip, only if you are making a FLAC or wav

I dont understand what the whole DVD-A vs. SACD and DSD vs. PCM thing is about. As for converting DSD to PCM, they are very similar in quality. I dont know why one would convert a pure DSD file to PCM.

I have not read up on any of the above subjects enough to fully understand nor voice an opinion on how they interconnect and why there is discrepancy between what to use.

 

[Grador]

I'll keep this short, if you want more information feel free to ask. DSD and higher bitrate PCM are supposedly very similar in quality. The problem is that there is loss in conversion, numbers get estimated, noise gets added etc.

 

[EIPtuningR32]

The point of converting being to burn them to a disk or for a more accessible file?

 

[Grador]

The point of converting being to burn them to a disk or for a more accessible file?

More accessible file, as up until it was pointed out to me in this thread I was under the impression nothing played DSD, the piece of software pointed out is (obviously) the only software I am aware of that will play DSD music. PCM on the other hand can be played by basically everything.