I have just bought the Sony DAV-SA30 system. I have no problem with playing
DVDs, CDs, VCDs, and MP3 CDs - they play with brilliant sound and quality.
However there is a problem when playing SACDs. I have 3 SACDs, 2 of them are
multichannel and 1 is just stereo (The Rolling Stones - Their Satanic
Majesties Request). When I play the Stones SACD it only plays through the
left and right speakers (and the sub), whereas the multichannel SACDs play
through all 6 speakers. That's rather disappointing. I did notice (from the
on-screen menu) that there are 2 audio settings for the Stones disc, these
were 1) "2ch" and 2) "CD" .

I chose 2) "CD" and then all 6 speakers had sound , but does that mean I was
listening to the ordinary CD layer or was I listening to the SACD layer
(it's a hybrid disc btw)?

Can anyone help?

CW wrote:
I have just bought the Sony DAV-SA30 system. I have no problem with playing
DVDs, CDs, VCDs, and MP3 CDs - they play with brilliant sound and quality.
However there is a problem when playing SACDs. I have 3 SACDs, 2 of them are
multichannel and 1 is just stereo (The Rolling Stones - Their Satanic
Majesties Request). When I play the Stones SACD it only plays through the
left and right speakers (and the sub), whereas the multichannel SACDs play
through all 6 speakers.

That's exactly what's supposed to happen. The Stones SACDs are
stereo-only...meaning there *is* only a left and right front channel .
You're getting subwoofer output because your player or receiver is
redirecting the bass from the two-channel mix to the sub.

If you want to synthesize 'surround' from the Stones SACD layer, run the
analog output to the analog CD/DVD in of your receiver, and apply Dolby
Pro Logic II (assuming your receiver offers that DSP).

--

-S.

"They've got God on their side. All we've got is science and reason."
-- Dawn Hulsey, Talent Director