My DVD player, a Sony, has Super Audio CD capability. I figure it's not uncommon at this point, as this is only a $100 player.
I'm just curious if anyone out there takes advantage of SACD, or DVD-Audio, and what discs they might be enjoying.
I have several of the Reiner/Chicago Symph. "Living Stereo" discs. For being 50 years old, these recordings sound amazing, even as normal CDs. In SACD mode, with some nice headphones, they are stunning (especially "Pictures at an Exhibition" and "Scheherezade").
Also, Gergiev's Tchaikovsky Symphonies (4-6) are not only among the best performances of those works in the last few decades, but on SACD are amazing to listen to. In quiet passages you can actually hear the clicks of woodwind keys and pages of music being gingerly turned on the stand. If the performance is good enough, it almost becomes an out of body experience--you are IN the concert hall, sitting in the 10th row.
I assume these are monaural recordings and have they been digitally enchanced. To do not know what SACD is so I might be missing the point hear. I recall conversations I have had regarding LPs, record albums, and the fact that some folks loved the sound quality better than on tapes or CDs. I remember when I bought my Rogers speakers many years ago and mated those with a Grado cartridge for my turntable. The music came alive much as you describe it in your post.
"SACD" is Super Audio CD. It's one of the competing successors to the normal ("Redbook") CD format. The music on an SACD has greatly enhanced resolution as well as dynamic and frequency range, and can be encoded in surround sound. Ironically, the enhanced technology allows SACDs to sound as natural and warm as an LP (with a good system).
You can buy the discs in any Best Buy, Borders, Barnes and Noble, etc. Most Sony DVD players (and some other brands) now support SACD, and the Playstation 3 does as well. Many standalone CD players support it, too. I'm not sure what the future is for this format, or if it's "winning" over DVD-Audio, but it's been around several years now and they're still releasing new SACD discs.
The recordings I mentioned are not digitally enhanced mono recordings...they're plain old stereo. They just sound great. anyway, Wikipedia has a big article about SACD. Check it out, your DVD player might even support it without you knowing.
