What are the Best Sacd's out there?

[spotlightkid]

i have about 15 sacds'.which sacd's that you have sound the best to you.out of the ones i have i would say-duke ellington/blues in orbit(mfsl) and jeff beck-wired(epic).tremedous sound on both.george martin's production on jeff beck's sacd is first rate.oh when will we get to hear the Beatles in the sacd format.

[Paul L.]

Bob Dylan Blonde On Blonde has never sounded as good as it does on the SACD, remixed from the original multitrack tapes by Michael Brauer. It is stereo, but has the best aspects of both the stereo and mono vinyl releases.

Alison Krauss Forget About It is great, mastered by Doug Sax.

Yo-Yo Ma's Solo is outstanding, as is his
Appalachian Journey with Edgar Meyer and Mark O'Connor. It has some guest appearances on it by James Taylor and Alison Krauss. Excellent performances and beautiful sound.

[rodney sherman]

I like the sound of this sacd. Manic Monday has a real high level of output at a high volume.It sounds like Im in the studio with the band.what I like the most is the sound of the drums.they hit in a real life like mater.I also love Boston on sacd I find it to be a lot better than the gold mastersound cd I have.:cool:

[Holy Zoo]

My favorites so far:

Al Di Meola - Elegant Gypsy
Return To Forever - Romantic Warrior
Duke Ellington & Count Basie - First Time: The Count Meets the Duke
Count Basie - Blues in Orbit

[Patrick M]

I'd just like to be able to go in a store and buy a SACD. I tried to do that today in the local Best Buy and didn't see any SACDs. They did have a bunch of DVD-As, but they were back in the DVD-V area. Also, no hyrbrid DVD/SACD players in this store.

I had seen KoB in there before, but not today. I talked to the owner of an independent store I frequent, and he's not planning on carrying any. So I'm stuck with mail order, custom ordering locally, or driving to ??? to find them. Frustrating.

Question: does anyone online discount Sony SACDs? Last time I checked a few online retailers, they were full price. All things being equal, I'd rather pay tax than shipping.

[Beowulff]

Patrick,

Go back to Best Buy. Don't bother asking any of the salepeople as they don't have a clue. Go to the very back corner of the store away from all the regular music sections. Ususally will be where they have their turntables at. They've set up a few boxed SACD players in the same area and have all the discs on a shelf or two right next to the palyers. I've seen this in three of their stores now. Why they've put them there is anybody's guess. One thing you should find is a very good selection of titles as nobody else can find them to purchase and they have good prices to boot.

[Drew]

Patrick,

Here in Columbus, the Best Buys have SACD's on the back wall of the store, near their audio components. I wouldn't have noticed this if I wasn't just browsing thru the store. I'd have expected them with the rest of the CD's and stuff. Actually I found one SACD in with the other CD's, Mike Oldfield's Tubular Bells.

I also noticed that the DVD-Audio's are in the same location with the DVD-Videos, which I think is pretty block-headed, because its an audio medium.

Hope this was of some help.

[Patrick M]

Thanks guys! Of course, I didn't bother asking a salesperson. I had seen KoB in the regular 'jazz' section before, so I assumed SACDs would be mixed in with the regular CDs.

Hmmmm...are they carrying the Sony DVD-V/SACD players in the stores you've seen? If so, are they mixed in with the other DVD-V players?

BTW, I didn't see one of those SACD kiosks either.

I agree re: DVD-As. They were placed horribly, with titles starting at the bottom of the display, just off the floor.

BBs are a mess now. They were laid out better before the 'upgrades.'

[Beowulff]

As I mentioned earlier, they had the SACD players in the back corner along with the software. It seemed strange to me that they wouldn't have them with the rest of the audio cd and dvd players area of the store. There wasn't a kisok though. The local Circuit City now has one, but title selection sucks.

[Drew]

I really don't know my SACD or DVD-Audio player models because I haven't taken the plunge into either formet (I'm getting weary of the format war and I think its going to get worse before it gets better), so I can't tell you which players Best-Buy has, but I've seen one model SACD player in their audio components section. I haven't looked recently, but for awhile Best Buy was selling a DVD-Audio player (I believe its was the Technics model), but it was in with the DVD-Video players in another corner of the store.

I agree, the person who decides what goes where in a Best Buy needs to join the ranks of the unemployed.

[FabFourFan]

Tonight I was at my local Best Buy and asked them where the SACD's were and where the DVD-A's were, and, man, what a mess!

They put the SACD's at the dead end of an aisle, where nobody could possibly notice them by just browsing. Real smart.
There was no kiosk, but they did have a 775 playing the Billy Joel multichannel disc using 5 teensy Sony speakers and a Sony (sub)woofer,
with a little volume control panel (otherwise, the electronics were hidden somewhere).

Needless to say, it sounded like a toy stereo in a boiler factory. :eek:

But the dumbest part is that when I tried to play Thriller (which was also in the 775), the setup did not work right for stereo!
All I could hear was what sounded like some very quiet fake-rear information coming from the back two speakers...
Just to be sure, I tried the Billy Joel again, but in stereo this time, and got the same no good result.

(I chased down the salesbaby and mentioned this to him, but he gave me a dirty look and said it was fine, and that was how it was supposed to work. Well, ok, then. :rolleyes: )

Anyway, so I switched it back to multichannel and flipped through the SACDs that were on display, next to the (sub)woofer.
At least they were cheap, so I bought a couple Jeff Beck's. :):)

As for the DVD-A's, they were in TWO completely different places, a 'bigger' bunch with the DVD-V's (makes no sense)
and a smaller bunch near the VCRs (makes even less sense)! And there were DTS CDs in both places, mixed right in. Just crazy.

Sadly, the DVD-A selection was really picked over - no Grateful Dead or Eagles, for example, and they cost more than the SACD's.
I was tempted by the new Bjork and the Phillip Glass, but passed, so that was a waste of time.

On the way home, I stopped at Tower and got a Floh De Cologne import CD reissue on sale (!) (so I don't have to play the 25-year-old vinyl any more),
the new George Harrison US CD single, the I AM SAM soundtrack CD, the Weavers at Carnegie Hall DAD, the Doobie Brothers DVD-A, etc. :):):):):)

There must be a lesson here somewhere, but I'm through typing for now!!

[Patrick M]

FFF -> I noticed the DTS CDs mixed in with the DVD-As as well. Another great idea.:mad:

I also saw that Harrison CD single. I think it was $2 or something, but I saw Astley's name on it and passed.

[cvila]

Willie Nelson - "Stardust"
If you're not familiar with this album, its Willie singing standards with relatively spare arrangements. It has been considered an audiophile classic for years, seeing reissues on CBS Mastersound vinyl and Classic Records vinyl. The SACD really nails it.

[MikeT]

There are quite a few great sounding SACDs that I have:

Santana - Caravanserai
Dave Brubeck - Time Out
Charles Mingus - Mingus Ah Um
Monk - Straight No Chaser
ANYTHING on the Audioquest label
All 3 Eric Bibb SACDs on Opus 3
Miles Davis - Miles Smiles
Miles Davis - Kind of Blue
Stevie Ray Vaughan - Texas Flood
Stevie Ray Vaughan - Couldn't Stand the Weather
Blood Sweat and Tears

Alot of the other SACDs I own (a total of 70) are all very good, and beat out their CD counterparts (with the exception of Aerosmith - "Just Push Play" - which has to be the worst SACD for sound quality).

[Beagle]

I'd just like to be able to go in a store and buy a SACD I hear you Patrick.

There are NO SACD's in stock at the record shops where I am. I have to order them and wait a month to get them. Funny, lots of DVD-A titles in stock but you can't find a DVD-A player in the city, whereas there are SCAD players but no titles to be found. Perhaps because a Sony SCAD titl sells for $36.00 in Canada, so nobody bothers to stock them. I got a player at Xmas, included with it was "Kind Of Blue". It sounds great, but that's the only one I've heard. I'll be able to get a bead on what's up with SACD with some more titles.

SACD does have amazing dynamics. I was recording a MD copy and thought I had tons of headroom but when Miles trumpet came in on "So What", it redded like crazy on the trumpet contrasts. It jumped at least 7db on the meter.

[guy incognito]

Originally posted by Drew
Here in Columbus, the Best Buys have SACD's on the back wall of the store, near their audio components. I wouldn't have noticed this if I wasn't just browsing thru the store. I'd have expected them with the rest of the CD's and stuff. Actually I found one SACD in with the other CD's, Mike Oldfield's Tubular Bells.

I also noticed that the DVD-Audio's are in the same location with the DVD-Videos, which I think is pretty block-headed, because its an audio medium.


I don't think they'd want to mix SACDs in with the regular CDs, because then they'd get non-audiophiles mistaking the former for the latter and subsequent angry returns when people took them home and couldn't play them on their CD Walkman.

For similar reasons, I agree that it's a bad idea to mix DVD-Audio discs with DVD-Video ones, because there again, you'll have non-audiophile customers for whom DVD=movies returning the titles en masse when they don't find any video footage.

[Drew]

I don't think they should be thrown in with the rest of the CD's, but a separate section close to where the rest of the audio media is would be nice. I remember when CD's came onto the market and they had their own section at the end of the same aisle as the vinyl. At least in the stores that I was shopping in back in the day.

[Beagle]

I am of the opinion that they (SCAD and DVD-A) should be placed in with the regular stock CD's. My reasons:

1) So that anyone can find the format they want in alphabetical order

2) So everyone can see what's available, and be informed and make their choice when a new format is offered. Of course, this is based on the assumption that the majority of buyers would at least question the different packaging and 50% increase in price if they were under the impressing that a high-rez format was a regular CD!

3)Simple promotion. More people will see them and at worst, be curious.

4) If they are filed separately from the regular CD's, then if I have to ask, the odds are the "clerk" will not know what I am talking about, especially if you shop on weekends when the manager is away.

[Paul L.]

I agree that SACDs should be in an easier to find spot at Best Buy. The local Circuit City has them pretty well situated.

But they MUST be kept away from regular CDs. 99% of the public has no idea that SACDs exist. The tiny warning that says Playable on SACD player only, that's not going to be noticed. So your average customer is going to buy the SACD by mistake, get home, not be able to play it, and come back to the store angry. The store won't want to refund the money but just exchange it for the same title, same format. Then there will be heated arguments, etc etc etc, and maybe the store manager will refund the money, and have to send it back as defective (or maybe re-shrinkwrap it). No retailer needs those kinds of problems.

[Dave]

FabFourFan,

You hit the nail on the head in regards to everything sounding like crap when played via stereo on a surround system.

I'm holding off until some rocket scientist type invents the surround sound pre-amp that plays as well as my Classe' in stereo.

SACD does have great potential but alas it totally depends who's at the mastering helm as to how good it will be.:rolleyes:

[Bill S]

My local Tower Records has the DVD-Audio and SACD discs in the Classical (!?) section. I think I'm the only one in town who knows they carry them. But I like the fact that they are separated from the CDs - that way I can find all the discs in the same place.

[Matt]

I was at Best Buy the other day (good place to buy kitchen appliances and standard CD's, but not a good place for audio gear or computers for that matter). They actually had a display for DVD-A and SACD, players and discs, and Paul's right on the money; the DVD-A's and SACD's were kept well away from the CD's, and they supposedly plan to keep it that way.

Meanwhile, over at my local Border's, they did stock DVD-A, but they just mixed it in with CD's AND DVD's, depending on the title.