I would say SACD is to CD = to DVD is to Blu-Ray. There is just more information recorded on the higher format. If you have a very good resolving system, you will hear it. Every SACD I have sounds more real to me than the CD counterpart. And the single layer SACD sounds even more real than the regular SACD. I wouldn’t be spending so much money on the single layer SACD if it wasn’t so. $60 a pop.
Someone needs to give Jimmy Page a little nudge and a push in the direction of DSD 
I don’t have enough SACD’s to make a fair comparison to regular CD’s. But of the ones I have, they don’t sound quite as good as plan old CDs. They are however hybird SACD’s, so maybe I need to try some single layer ones. One of the advantages of the DMP, and the reason I bought it, was how good it makes CD’s sound. The icing on the cake though, is going to a used CD store and walking away with a half a dozen of CD’s for under $30, that sound like SACD’s.
I have a fair number of DSF downloads from HDTracks. Like everything in audio it varies. My experience is that DSD can be too polite. Given that, the DSD of “Nashville Skyline” is sublime in every way!
Same here re sacd’s. I find them to be sublime over DMP/DS.
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@manganzon81 That WYWH SACD sounds very nice. I was lucky to grab one back when it was initially released. I’m also looking forward to the AP Animals SACD (stereo and surround!), as well as the new version of DSOTM.
It seems to me the AP Dark Side of the Moon is just a re press from the SACD Remaster in 2003 no?
I already have the 2003 Dark Side SACD so I dont see the point in getting that. Animals will definitely get. Dont think thats ever been on SACD before.
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Yes, apparently it is. For some reason I mistakenly thought it was going to be a different version. Now I can’t remember why. You’re right, I don’t need a third copy. Especially for $35!
That 2003 Dark Side Of The Moon is a Doug Sax mastering, no need for any other versions.
James Guthrie mastered it too. The AP description says Guthrie re mastered which is why I’m pretty sure its the 2003 re master they are using for this new release. There’s no way he did it again in 2018 in stereo and surround right? The job was done!
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Can somebody point me in the direction of exactly which SACD version to buy as the definitive copy of DSOTM.
@Brodric I believe the only SACD version is the 2003 hybrid, until the AP release this year. It looks like the AP version is going to be a rerelease of the 2003 disc. Depending on what the 2003’s go for, it might be worth waiting for the AP (possibly nicer package like WYWH?). I’ll bet it’s not hard to find a 2003 for cheap.
This is the 2003 USA SACD on Capitol:
There is also a Europe/UK 2003 SACD on EMI:
I was at CES last week and took an extended listen to the new Technics SL-G700, it plays both SACD and the new MQA CD’s. In direct comparison the MQA CD crushed the CD layer an a matching SACD. Most likely a dead format right out of the gate … but it shows CD potentially still has legs. The few labels that are available are half the cost of SACD’s in Japan. I bought one to play with.
I was told any CD player with a digital output could extract the MQA layer into a MQA capable DAC. I tried via my DMP but unfortunately the DS DAC could not play the MQA layer via I2S, Coax or fiber. I suspect the DS DAC only decodes MQA via streaming on the bridge card.
Perhaps Paul could enlighten us on the matter.
Do you mean to say that there is an “MQA CD” version of Dark Side of the Moon? If so, Discogs does not list it among the 814 versions identified there. If there is such a version and if it sounded better than the CD layer of the 2003 SACD on the Technics SL-G700, I would not conclude anything about format superiority from that demo. The CD layer of the 2003 Dark Side of the Moon SACD is known to be sonically problematic/challenged. See:
Thanks @bootzilla for the link. Interesting read that made me realize I’ve never listened to the CD layer. It also told me I was not alone when my first copy developed cracks at the center of the disc. What is your go to CD version of DSOTM?
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This is 100% correct. The MQA chip is a feature on the Bridge II card and not the DSD DAC internals.
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My Oppo UDP-205 decodes MQA CDs. I have a couple from a Japanese label. They include the MQA CD and standard CD for comparison. I prefer the MQA.
I haven’t spun DSOTM in a long time, but when I do I listen to the two-channel SACD layer of the 2003 Capitol USA SACD. I have yet to hear a CD version that beats it. Prior to 2003, there was a CD version that was highly sought after, but I do not think I have it and I do not recall which one it is.
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