SACD--Super Audio CD

I can't say I'm an audiophile either, but I was intrigued by the multi-channel audio. Clearly when you think about it, it should open up a world of new possibilities. I have an original PS3 which supports SACD (I seem to recall that newer models do not, in an effort to save costs on less critical features; check for the logo on top of the PS3 if you have one). So I went and bought two SACD titles, Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon and Orff's Carmina Burana. Interestingly, both are "hybrid" discs that should play (albeit in stereo) on "any" CD player. This makes buying the discs a little more worthwhile as you can still listen to them in the car or at the beach, for instance.

These are some of the best rated SACD recordings available, based on my (limited) research. Obviously they sound very good, but somehow I expected a little more I think. Maybe I expected that the mix would resort to "cheap tricks" and abuse the multi-channel capabilities (like some tracks make "creative" uses of stereo). Perhaps in the end it's better that they kept it subtle. Certainly it will stand the test of time better.

I'd like to stress again that I'm no expert in classical music or even classics, I just happen to like some of the works. My audio set-up is not a big budget affair designed to take full advantage of superior recordings. Heck, even the room in question is far from ideal for sound, so don't read too much in my report, but I would agree that you probably do need very good quality equipment in a good environment, and perhaps a few A/B comparisons (not to mention a good set of ears, which I don't claim to have!) to really notice the difference.

But as others have said, if all you're missing is a few cables and a recording to test it, it's definitely worth it. For what it's worth, I would consider buying more SACDs for the types of recordings that I think would benefit from the format. Maybe you'll enjoy the results a lot more than I did, or maybe not, but at least you'll know for sure and will have spent a few hours tweaking your set-up some more, and isn't that half the fun?

I love SACD and DVD-A and I don't have a $20K system. Higher resolution is higher resolution--you CAN hear the difference, but you have to be willing to listen. With the preponderance of MP3, people are less and less able to hear the difference between good, accurate reproduction and compressed sound, in my view.

I also think it's unfair to call SACD an orphaned format. While it isn't a mainstream-iTunes-top40-MuchMusic medium, a steady stream of SACD's are released every month--the majority of which are classical. Though it's much easier to purchase on the internet than the paltry selection at your typical retail music store.

If you do take the plunge--and you can get a taste using 5 cheap cables, but cabling does make a difference--since the signal is NOT digital, but analog, so better cables equals better sound, (though there is always a point of diminishing returns, I think)--remember that there are SACD's that can only be played on an SACD player, while "hybrid" discs can be played on both an SACD player and a regular CD player. Neither are necessarily surround sound or multichannel, though. Only "multichannel" SACD's are.