CrunchGear » SACD

SACD still kick’n, new player coming from Pioneer

Matt Burns — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 15:40:41 +0000

The optical music market is still alive, folks. Pioneer is releasing a new high-end player for your listening pleasure. Not only does the PDX-Z10 support SACDs, but also sports a USB port for DAP or iPod connectivity along with Bluetooth audio streaming support. The circuity within is sure to improve the crappy MP3 audio file too, although it probably will come nowhere close to the pristine sound of a SACD through this player.

Chances are SACD fans in the US will have to import this player from Japan if they want to get a hold of the latest from Pioneer. It will go on sale there at the end of may for 150,000 Yen or $1,510 USD. But come on, don’t you want Bluetooth audio streaming, eh?

Pioneer still knows how to kick it, makes new SACD player

Vince Veneziani — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 13:45:17 +0000

Talk about a minimalist design. The new Pioneer PD-D9 is a beautiful-looking SACD player that can play all your favorite SACDs like Frampton and The Police with ease, along with MP3 and WMA CDs, regular CDs and AM/FM radio.

Though Sony offers an inexpensive SACD player, Pioneer begs to differ. This PD-D9 will set you back over $1200. Worth it? Depends on how much its sleek design makes you swoon.

A new SACD and CD player from Pioneer [Akihabara News]

Sony’s XAV-W1 SACD Player: In-Car 5.1 Sound

Nicholas Deleon — Mon, 30 Jul 2007 17:00:28 +0000

Outside of a niche of audiophile snobs, Super Audio CD is relatively obscure. Even though few people know about the format and even fewer actively use it, Sony will roll out the XAV-W1, its first in-car SACD player… ever! It’s fully compatible with 5.1 sound systems and has a 7.1-inch WVGA screen, further future proofed with its compatibility with satellite radio, HD Radio and iPod controls. You’ll be able to view movies on the 7.1-inch screen, so don’t think it’s there just for show.

Like most after market radios, the XAV-W1 supports MP3 and WMA files. Unlike most after market players, however, this one is a little on the expensive side, retailing for $800 when it comes out in August. What is it with Sony and charging outlandishly high prices for its wares? In no way would I pay $600 to play a FPS and in no way am I prepared to pay $200 more just to listen to the rather limited SACD catalog.

Press Release [Sony via Akihabara News]

Kenwood Introduces Two Standalone SACD Players

Vince Veneziani — Wed, 11 Jul 2007 14:26:36 +0000

Though SACD isn’t the most popular format, it certainly has its fans. And that’s pretty much all you need to sell a product. The product and people who want to buy your product – it’s all quite simple. Kenwood’s X-Z7 and X-Z9 SACD players pack updated features and a lot of power.

Both players feature WMA and MP3 compatibility, meaning you can just burn a CD full of files and play it back through the system. There’s also a USB port for hooking up a DAP in case you run out of SACDs to listen to. A pair of matching 50W speakers are also included with each player, making these quite the deal. No word yet on pricing or US availability.

2 new SACD readers by Kenwood [Akihabara News]

The Case For High-End Audio: The Super Audio CD

Vince Veneziani — Mon, 19 Mar 2007 17:44:51 +0000

I’d say it’s a safe bet to say that most of us listen to music. We all enjoy our favorite artists and like to listen to music in the car, at work, or while just relaxing at home. But some of us are complete snobs and are picky about our music and audio. For those of you who share this trait, there’s the ostracized SACD and DVD-Audio formats. Exceptional quality and clarity, limited availability, and an inflated price are all a part of these two formats. Is it worth buying or investing in one of the two formats? It depends.

This past weekend I was rocking out for a good hour or two. I have plenty of audio equipment that I’m not even going to talk about aside from the basics. I use an iMac G5 (last edition) with M-Audio Studiophile AV40 monitors through an M-Audio FastTrack Pro digital I/O interface. This is used mostly for movies on the computer and digital audio like MP3s and FLAC. For the rest of my stuff, I use a Sony receiver that’s pretty decent and a Sony equalizer along with some Sony bookshelf speakers that have both subs and tweeters built-in.

Playstation 3 owners should take note that their PS3 will play SACDs. Just make sure you use a great sound setup with your unit.

So during this rocked-out weekend, I decided it’d be a worthy investment to buy a Sony SCD-CE595 SACD (Super Audio CD) Player. It was only $150 at Best Buy, I needed a new component CD player for my system, it has a 5-disc changed, and of course, it plays SACDs. I snatched it up and had to drive to two other Best Buys before I was able to find a few SACDs to purchase. The price of an SACD I’ve found to average around $15 both online and in stores. I decided to go with Peter Gabriel’s “Shaking The Tree” and Ryan Adams’ “Rock N Roll” — both excellent CDs with great production and two of my favorite artists. I also took the liberty to order two more SACDs off CDUniverse as well: Pink Floyd’s “Dark Side of the Moon: 30th Anniversary Edition” and The Police’s “Synchronicity”.

I got home, set it all up, positioned myself, and threw in the Peter Gabriel SACD I bought. Literally, right off the bat, you can tell the difference in quality. The highs sound clearer, the bass resonates deeper, and so much more. Ryan Adams’ “Rock N Roll” sounds like the band is right in front of me practicing studio sessions. Guitars sound so unreal, you’ll be blown away. Truth be told, the only way to experience it properly is to give it a listen yourself.

When the day was done, I had spent about $200 total for a SACD player and 4 CDs. Not too bad at all. But should you give a damn and try it out for yourself? It depends. If you’re someone who is passionate about music and has a decent, $400+ component audio system already (not a home theater in a box!), then it might be worth a shot. Just make sure you browse over sites like CD Universe and Sony Music to see what artists have SACDs available.

Like I said, catalogs are limited and you might not find everything you’re looking for. Because the format is so niche, not many artists are putting their music out on SACD. Genesis just announced that 14 of their albums will be re-mastered and re-released on SACD, so there are some exceptions.

Personally, I’d say if you need to buy a new CD player for your component system or if you appreciate the quality and production of certain artists, SACD is the way to go. I’ve heard DVD-Audio before and it’s pretty similar, but I haven’t spent enough time with it yet to pass judgment. Before buying an SACD player, you should look for the following:

Music – Do the bands or artists you listen to have SACDs available? How much will they cost you? Are they readily available or will you have to wait a month or two to receive it?

Cost – Do you really want to shell out $150 – $500 for a player? The choice is yours of course and everyone has a different budget range. The $150 Sony I got sounds fine and looks great, but the titles will start killing me after awhile.

Equipment – Are you going to integrate the SACD player into your existing setup or are you buying all new equipment? To take full advantage of the clarity of SACDs, you need the right gadgets. A receiver, equalizer, and decent pair of speakers or 5.1 setup will get you going in the right direction.

Though not everyone is going to rush out an buy SACDs after this, I hope a few of you readers will consider it. High-quality audio is truly an amazing sound to hear through one’s ears and once you start, you don’t want to regress back to lossy formats. Playstation 3 owners should seriously consider buying a SACD or two to check the sound out for themselves. Just know that although the format has only a small fan-base and virtually no popularity, it’s far from dying. SACD is not going to become the next Betamax, it’s just a niche format for picky people when you break it down… I hope.

PS3’s SACD Abilities Not So SACD

Josh Goldman — Thu, 25 Jan 2007 15:37:16 +0000

Much like the current battle between Blu-ray and HD DVD, there was once a struggle for supremacy in the field of high-fidelity audio formats: Super Audio CD vs. DVD-Audio. Actually, “struggle” is overplaying things a bit since neither really took off to any great extent. And, according to a post from CNET’s David Carnoy on Crave, it looks like Sony may have accidentally on purpose sealed the fate of SACD, which it created.

It seems even though the PlayStation 3 has the ability to playback the discs, it falls short in the output department, with no multichannel analog audio connection to handle the multichannel tracks. Carnoy goes on to explain although Sony may someday enable an HDMI out to digitally handle SACD audio, you’d still need an HDMI-equipped A/V receiver to, well, receive it.

Marantz SA-7S1 SACD Player

Blake Robinson — Fri, 25 Aug 2006 18:35:51 +0000

Marantz, makers of many things expensive, has announced the SA-7S1, a super Super Audio CD player. It sports a built-in anti-vibration technology to provide shake free playback of your SACDs and CDs. This is a totally useful feature, because I’m sure you’re all well aware how much CD players vibrate.

It will be available in Japan this October. The price tag is set at $6200 because, as you can see, it’s made of solid gold–alright really it’s just colored gold, but for that price, it should be made of gold.

Marantz SA-7S1 SACD Player: People Use SACDs? [Gizmodo]