Mono SACD - why?

[dachshund1]

I'm just not getting this. Why are mono albums being re-released in SACD? I listen to a lot of jazz, and after getting my first SACD player, I bought a couple of mono recordings "by accident." I understand if the sound quality is improved in some way, but I don't hear any difference between my old CD and the new SACD. A couple of examples are "Saxophone Colossus" by Sonny Rollins and "Relaxin' with the Miles Davis Quintet."

I apologize if this is an old topic here. I would appreciate any comments. I'm tempted to say that this is a rip-off, but it's also possible that I'm not tuned in to the difference in quality.

 

[markw]

Well,

Some things simply don't exist in multi channel format. To try to "mix" a mono recording into multi channels is, IMNSHO, a tremendous waset of time. I've got some records that were "electronicaly enhanced for stereo" and the sound absoposilutely sucks.

And, some people will buy anything simply because it says SACD thinking they will get better sound, regardless if the original mono master is almost 50 years old. FWIW, I've heard some pretty smashing redbook CD's in my time.

 

[3beanlimit]

Kind of a funny story.

I've a great friend who I talked into buying a universal player after he heard Dark Side of the Moon on my system.

I had to travel out of town and hook it up for him and show him how to use it. He also picked up a couple of DVD-A's that day that were also multi channel.

I get The Animals Retrospective SA-CD...give it a listen and freak out....I give him a call and tell him he has to get this one. (Both of us are Animals fans..) He gets it...gives it a spin.....sends it back as faulty and gets a new one. It does the same thing. I get a phone message from him that he needs some help with this Animals SACD..

I give him a call and ask what the problem is.....He says....the sound only comes out of two speakers....

I did my best to not bust out laughing as I know he probably doesn't have a clue that the thing couldn't be multi channel in the first place....Soo...I explain that not all hi rez recordings are multi channel...and that this one, most of it is in mono anyway.....I ask him to give this one a spin when he can focus on the sound quality of it and then give me a call back.

He was thrilled with the sound compared to anything else he owned by them and I was finally able to give him the perspective of what hi rez ment.

Anyway..thanks for letting me ramble.

regards...

-3beanlimit-