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Trebdp83
Audioholic Spartan
The Sony UBP-X800 plays multi channel SACDs. Before playback of a hybrid disc, one must go to the Setup menu and select Music Settings. Then, one selects the CD or SACD layer to be played back. If the SACD layer is selected, one moves down to the Super Audio CD Playback Channel selections to pick between DSD 2ch or DSD Multi. These selections cannot be changed on the fly. If the CD layer has been played and the listener wants to compare the DSD 2ch or DSD Multi versions, they must go into the Setup menu and make the changes. They must also reinsert the disc for the change to occur or the CD layer will continue to play. Track names are available in the SACD layer but not in the CD layer. SACDs were confusing for the average music buyer because they may have thought that Super Audio CD simply meant that the CD had great sound. “Perhaps these are better than my Telarc CDs.” You simply have to check the specs. “John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman” on SACD contains DSD Mono and Stereo as well as a CD layer that also has Mono and Stereo options. James Taylor’s “JT“ SACD contains Stereo and Multi Channel DSD but no CD layer so no playback in a CD player. Cyndi Lauper’s “She’s So Unusual” SACD is Stereo only with no CD layer for a CD player. Barbra Streisand’s “The Movie Album” is a complete hybrid SACD with a CD layer and DSD Stereo and Multi Channel in the SACD layer. It also had a sticker on the cover to show all of that information. See, it was all a mess.