SACD recommendation
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"Edmund" wrote in message ...
On Sat, 17 Dec 2011 03:30:51 +0000, Audio Empire wrote:
On Fri, 16 Dec 2011 09:07:23 -0800, Ed Presson wrote (in article
):
My Sony SCD-C2000ES SACD changer has decided to read only SACDs, and
balks on CDs (skips, stops dead, or won't read at all). It looks like
I can ship it off to Sony for repair for a minimum fee of $119 (goes up
if there is abuse or moisture damage), or I can start looking for a
replacement.
The Oppo BDP-95 seems like a well-built option-it's gotten good
reviews. Does anyone have experience using the BDP-95 as a CD/SACD
player in a standard stereo system? Is the user-interface clumsy
without a video screen? Are there more attractive options?
I'd appreciate your comments and advice.
Ed Presson
I don't know if this is important to you or not, Ed, but for what it's
worth, the ESS "SabreDAC" (the best sounding IC-based DAC on the market,
BTW) used in the BDP-95 doesn't actually "decode" SACD. What it does is
take SACD data in from the disc transport and CONVERT it to Linear Pulse
Code Modulation (PCM).
According to the manual that is only an option, one can select to
convert it or play the native DSD stream.
I do not know what the bit rate of the converted
PCM is but if it's 16-bit, 44.1 KHz as some writers have suggested,
Could that maybe be Phony writers who suggested that?
then
there's no sense in playing the SACD layer at all, you might as well
just listen to the CD layer on all of your SACDs and by extension,
there's no reason to buy new SACDs since the player converts the SACD
data into regular CD data anyway.
The specs from the BDP95 in CD format and SACD format differ from
20kHz in CD format and 50 kHz in SACD format.
How do they do that?
Your Sony has a real single-bit DSD (SACD) processor in it and it
actually processes the SACD data directly and correctly, rather than
down-converting it the way some players do. In fact, Sony players
actually convert regular CDs to DSD (SACD) data before converting them
to audio - probably a better solution. Now, I don't know if all
non-Sony SACD players such as those from Marantz do what the
OPPO/SabreDAC combo do, but if real SACD playback is your goal, then be
careful what you buy.
And make sure it isn't phony again, because it will break down shortly
after the warranty expires
Edmund
________________________________
Oppo replied to a query from me with the following information:
"SACD is either sent direct as DSD or as a PCM conversion (24-bit/88.2KHz)
depending on the SACD setting under Audio Format Setup. If SACD is set to
DSD, then the player will not do any decoding and will simply convert DSD
into analog.
If SACD is set to PCM, then the player will convert DSD into 24-bit/88.2KHz
PCM."
The Oppo BDP-95 Users Manual also suggests (about the SACD to PCM option):
"You may also want to select this option if you prefer the sound quality of
the DSD-to-PCM conversion."
I don't know a lot about the conversion techniques, but I would have thought
that the straight DSD to analog would have provided the most accurate analog
signal. What advantage might the DSD-to-PCM conversion provide this
listener?
I have not yet done any A/B comparisons. I doubt that I'd hear the
differences, frankly, with my aging ears.
I would be curious about the possible differences between the two conversion
approaches, if anyone could provide an explanation.
Thanks,
Ed
I
Ed Presson
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