I was glad, and intrigued, to read Lionel Goodfield’s - Moon/Simaudio representative - comments from the August '16 edition of Stereophile magazine; where he said, “Without getting into specifics, there exists both hardware and software to easily extract an ISO file from an SACD disc and then create DSD files (in DST or DSF format) on a computer…”
I would appreciate insight/opinions from anyone familiar with this process; which hardware software? how is it implemented? what are the results? I have SACDs stashed away that I never get to listen to anymore, and I would love to convert them to DSD files.
To the best of my knowledge, the only way to do this is with an older Sony PS3 with outdated firmware installed. These are getting harder to come by and command a premium price. Although the process has many steps, it’s not terribly difficult. If you have the hardware, time, patience, and (importantly) the storage space for giant ISO files, this may be a good option for you.
According to the quote by Lionel Goodfield in the aforementioned latest edition of Stereophile, there is indeed hardware/software that allows you to “easily extract an ISO file from an SACD disc and then create DSD files (in DST or DSF format) on a computer.” So, this must be something much more recent than the SonyPS3 method (note that he says it’s done on a computer). Even Michael Fremer wasn’t familiar with this. I really want to learn more…anyone??
There are a couple of different programs available to extract the tracks from an ISO file as DSD. But for getting the ISO image off the SACD, as far as I’ve ever heard the old P3 method is the only one. I’ve been keeping an eye on this for a long time. A guy on CA was working on a project that did not require a P3 but it seems to be going nowhere (no progress in a year or more). I have no idea what Mr. Goodfield was referring to as far as extracting the ISO image.
You can also do it on a commercial workstation, Sonoma is the name that comes to mind. Obviously this is out of reach for most of us since these workstations are quite expensive and that would be it’s primary (only?) use for us. There are also folks who rip your SACD to an ISO file, probably on a PS3, for a fee. Never pursued it, but have been on the outlook for a PS3 at an estate or garage sale, so far no luck. The real trick is reading the SACD on a computer to rip it, no such thing as an SACD drive.
There are more ways of creating an sacd iso other than using a PS3. There is software available now to hack a number of different Blu-Ray players to extract the contents of a sacd. There is a guy here in the U.K. who is developing a computer drive which will also do the job, I’m not sure but I think it’s the same guy who developed the PS3 software these may actually be available I’m not sure, I’ve not followed the subject for a while so things have no doubt progressed. For extracting DSD files from an I.S.O. it’s a very easy process Sonore who produce the Micro Rendu have some software you should be able to get here http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=129913.0 or from there website (free). To be honest sacd iso’s are relatively easy to find on the web so you don’t need to go to the trouble of doing them yourself. I belong to a blog which I unfortunately can’t mention here, they have over 2000 rips, most of which reappear on a well known Russian Tracker. I personally extract the DSD files from these convert to DOP and burn to a DVD which can be played on the PWT so you can already play your SACD’s, my Nad M50 can also be fooled into playing DSD when packaged as DOP. I hope I’ve not broken any posting rules here as in some respects we are talking about piracy.
I have had all my sacds ripped by Ari Margolis at www.goldeneardigital.com. He is a great kid here in Denver and a joy to work with. I met him at the Rocky Mountain Audio Show back in 2015. At $5.00 a sacd for a 2 track dsd file or $7.50 for multitrack (if you want) and discounts for quantity its a great deal. Just supply him with a SSD and your sacds and he does the rest. You get beautiful hi res files on your music server. I have gotten brave lately and bought a few rare out of print sacds, had Ari rip them and put them back on the used market!
That sounds a pretty good deal, if you interested in the blog I mentioned could possibly forward you an invite, but would need an email address. They are up to 2564 rips.
Thanks guys. If there really is no “easy” way to do this, I find the response written by Lionel Goodfield, a bit misleading and self-serving, especially since it was in response to a comment made by Michael Fremer in his review of a Simaudio product.
colokoch said
I have gotten brave lately and bought a few rare out of print sacds, had Ari rip them and put them back on the used market!
Please do not do this. Legality aside (it is illegal) it is a crass, disrespectful practice. If you rip physical media you are obligated to keep the original. If you pass on the original physical disc, delete the ripped file.
The RIAA has stated that it has no objection to people ripping recordings they own to MP3, etc. for use in multiple devices, but you need to own the physical copy (or have purchased the download). We do not know the position of the 10% of the music industry that are not members of the RIAA, but my bet is they feel the same.
colokoch said
I have had all my sacds ripped by Ari Margolis at www.goldeneardigital.com. He is a great kid here in Denver and a joy to work with. I met him at the Rocky Mountain Audio Show back in 2015. At $5.00 a sacd for a 2 track dsd file or $7.50 for multitrack (if you want) and discounts for quantity its a great deal. Just supply him with a SSD and your sacds and he does the rest. You get beautiful hi res files on your music server. I have gotten brave lately and bought a few rare out of print sacds, had Ari rip them and put them back on the used market!
After reading this post, I contacted Ari and shipped him 100 SACDs that were just sitting on my rack, along with a hard drive. Anyway, he ripped them within 2 weeks and shipped them back to me. I am quite pleased with the quality of his work. All of the metadata including album covers was there.
And I will keep my SACDs because I take the copyright laws seriously.
Does anyone know if the new PSaudio transport will play sacd iso’s. I’m curious with it using an OPPO disc drive? Thanks in advance if anyone can answer this for me.
