You wrote: "SACD is dying and will soon be dead, to be replaced by Audio Only Blue Ray which is much more satisfactory." Will there be audio only Blue Ray recorders? Why is it more satisfactory then SACD?
PS: One reason I buy SACD is I have a high level of confidence the source is likely to be high quality. That was the problem back in the early CD era. For instance, I knew what I was getting when I bought a MFSL vinyl. It was remastered from the original recording tapes.
Digital mastering has been the norm for quite some time now, and so recent CD's are just fine. However, I can find no SACD or new vinyl of Olivia Newton John's Olivia, which was recorded analog. Only regular CD's are available, and are listed as 'imported'.
I KNOW my MFSL vinyl was remastered from the original recording tapes. Accordingly, I wish to re-record it to the highest level possible. Specifically, for an audiophile, the music quality is right up there with my SACD Michael Jackson Thriller. A high standard indeed, IMHO!
Well first of all the CD has a greater band width than an LP, so the CD Red book standard is more than adequate.
However if you have a good analog master tape, with noise reduction there is a theoretical advantage to higher bit and sampling rates.
The problem is not the CD, but incompetent mix and mastering engineers from the pop culture. This is not an issue with the vast majority of classical CDs, which are superbly produced.
The problem with SACD is that it is not PCM based. It uses a process called Direct Stream Digital encoding. This is a form of pulse density modulation encoding. This was developed as a sop to the loony audiophile brigade, who do not believe you can create a sine wave from ones and zeros. Well you certainly can!
SACD discs have to be pressed and can not be laser burnt.
The next problem is that it is hugely expensive for the producers, and until recently no processing could take place in DSD code. This processing is unbelievably complex and expensive. No consumer products can process DSD, only decode it.
So this means that for level management, bass management and delay etc, you have to convert DSD to PCM, and therefore loose the theoretical advantage. Not only that SACD devices have to have both LPCM and LPCM decoders, which adds to expense and complication.
There is another problem though to SACD conversion to PCM. The speaker layout for Dolby Digital 5.1 and SACD are different. SACD suports up to five channels and a sub. However the surround channels for SACD are specified to be at the rear of the room spaced, not at the side position for Dolby and DTS spec. However when DSD is converted to PCM, the surround information gets sent to the surround and not the rear backs as it should be. This is a highly adverse effect.
So that means you have to convert DSD to analog in the player, and present it to the receiver or pre pro at the analog multichannel external inputs. Then you have no speaker leveling or bass management etc. Also classical SACDs do not have a sub channel, so there is no LFE output.
So to hear a multichannel SACD correctly you have to have a lot of DIY skills, as there is no commercial product to play them back correctly! What I have done is provide analog channel balancing and analog bass management just for SACD. I'm probably one of very few people on the planet who can listen to SACD correctly and as the artists and recording engineers intended.
The next issue is that SACD players have never achieved critical market penetration. The upshot is that SACDs are a money loosing proposition for the record companies and they are tired of it. Added to which SACD (DSD) can not accompany video.
So it all adds up to a dead ringer of a clunker system, that should never have seen the light of day.
Now we have Blue Ray, that can provide 7.1 channels of loss less audio via loss less compression codecs, and support bit and sampling rates to please any passing bat.
Since it is PCM based signal processing is now a mature technology that can easily do any required processing.
Since it can be coupled to video, one disc format can do A/V and audio only. Since it hitches to what is becoming a very popular and common home format, players to play the discs will be plentiful
Just this evening I watched my first opera in BD with DTS HD 7.1 master audio. It was Tannhauser from the FestspielHaus, Baden Baden, on Arthaus Music BD.
I was totally astonished. It was way beyond DVD and SACD. The smooth rich, detailed sound with colossal dynamic range was amazing. However what was truly unbelievable, was that I was not listening in my room but the opera house. The distance perspective was uncannily correct. As soon as the conductor came on the audience was all round me and right away I had the illusion of being in a huge space.
I never thought I would live to see the day were such a feat was possible. On this rig that you will see in my signature, it was at least 90% or more of being there. Just incredible!
