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Name: Cardinal Fang
E-Mail:
Subject: So What's The Deal with SACD's you ask?
Date: Tuesday, June 4, 2002
Time: 3:29:41 PM
Remote Address: 67.28.85.193
Message ID: 26278
Parent ID: 0
Thread ID: 26278
Hello Everybody !
I started typing this yesterday in response to some of you asking about SACD's. I almost finished it but then I started partying and........well, you know. So anyway here you go.
Since quite a few of you have been asking about "What is a SACD disc?" I thought I would give you some of the basics and also some of my opinions about it. Some of you already know about my knowledge in audio from being around me in "real life" and also from some of your private e-mails that I've answered. In the past here at Gasland, I've contributed many "How To" posts on audio. (Though it HAS been a while) I think the last one I did about two years ago was entitled, "So What's The Deal With MP3's?" (some of you may remember that one?) It may even still be in the Archives here? Here now is yet another installment in our on going series entitled,
"SO WHAT'S THE DEAL WITH SACD's"
So what's the deal with SACD's? It stands for Super Audio CD. I'll try to keep this in layman's terms but I have to begin with some of the technical "gear head" stuff. (You can skip it if you don't need to know THAT much info)
TECHNICAL GEAR HEAD STUFF:
In a nutshell the new SACD's sound better because of the process that's used in encoding and decoding the discs. The information is read about four times faster than on a standard CD player. SACD uses a new way of encoding the audio too called Direct Stream Digital (or DSD) This allows the digitized sound to be amplified directly. The way your CD player and amp are doing it now involve taking the CD's 1bit signal and run it through several filters and modulators to encode that signal into 16 bits. The various filters and digital converters tend to distort the sound from the original source. It also automatically filters out a lot of the frequencies higher than 20 Khz. (because in theory we can't hear them) Now with most 3 chord Rock and Roll, this really isn't too big of a deal BUT with other stuff it can be. The SACD is supposed to have a flat frequency response of 100KHz. (Talk about OVERKILL) Even more impressive is the dynamic range. A SACD will do up to 120 dB's. (A CD will only do 96 dB's)
SACD's can also have "5.1", 6 channel sound. (like the sense around sound on your DVD player) Right now this won't really impact audio recordings (because most are 2 channel stereo) but maybe in the future they might start mixing in "Septo-phonic" sound? (You never know)
They also can have extra features like text, graphics, video available. So you could have bonus videos like on the Stripped album. You could even have lyrics with the text section and then patch that out to your TV so you can do like a Kareoke kind of thing.
One thing about all of this new and improved stuff though, the SACD will have LESS quantity of audio. In other words less time. At the moment I don't know how much shorter they will be. If a CD can store 74-80 minutes, I'm guessing a SACD will store 65-75 minutes? I haven't heard yet what the max time is but I do know that it IS shorter. It's the price you pay for higher quality sound.
WHAT DOES THIS MEAN TO ME? STUFF:
You CAN play your old CD's in a SACD deck & you CAN play your new SACD's in your old CD deck.
*NOTE* When you do play a SACD in your old CD player, in order for it to play it has to read the SACD as if it was an old CD and therefore you will NOT (repeat NOT) get any of the benefits of the new better sounding technology . So when you are playing these SACD discs on your OLD CD player, people are going to ignorantly say things like , "doesn't sound THAT much better to me". (It would be like watching a new COLOR video tape on your old BLACK & WHITE TV set, you are still going to see it in black & white, despite it being a new color video tape )
In the case of the Decca reissues, you will probably notice some improvement in it's sound BUT that would also have happend had they remixed it and released it on the current standard CD format. (that's because those 1986 mixes SUCKED to begin with) To get the maximum effect, you would have to have the SACD player. I think the cheapest SACD player costs about $250.
These SACD discs are going to cost more than regular CD's. There is already talk of them having an $18.99 list price. Trust me on this, they WILL cost more money. (I will elaborate more in my, "What's really fucking goin' on?" section later)
SACD's are also COPY PROTECTED. (That doesn't mean someday there won't be a crack for it)
which leads me to:
WHAT'S REALLY FUCKING GOIN' ON?:
There is no denying that SACD's are a superior audio media to the standard old CD's. My question is, "Will the average person really notice and apreciate the difference?" I'm talking about those of you who really don't notice any difference between a CD track and an MP3 track that's been ripped from AudioGalaxy? I'm talking about those of you who's sound system's only type of EQ are the two knobs labelled "bass" and "treble". :-)
Technology has radically evolved since the CD was invented by Philips & Sony in the early 1980's, that's for sure. Which leads me to my next point. Remember in the early 80's when Philips and Sony came out with the CD and it had a $14.99 list price? (When vinyl LP's listed for $9.99) They justified it at the time by claiming that the cost was needed to pay for all of the development of the CD process and also because of the cost of the CD manufacturing equipment etc. Do you remember that they ALSO SAID, "Don't worry, the price will COME DOWN in a few years." Of course it never did. Philips & Sony also have the patent on the "CD" and all of the other manufactures of CD's and CD players have to PAY Philips & Sony a licensing fee. (Side Note: Philips also has the patent on "VHS", Sony had the patent for "Beta". Talk about two companies making the BUCKS) Well here's the real deal; The CD patents are soon to expire and so Philips and Sony will lose the licensing revenues. A new version of the CD (as in SACD) will mean new licensing revenues for Sony and Philips. Like I said a little bit earlier, you WILL pay more money for a CD.
Again I want to state that SACD's are a far superior media than CD's, provided that you play them in a SACD player and NOT your old CD player.
What's in it for ABCKO and our buddy Al ? ABKCO's statement (I'm paraphrasing here) about how there hasn't been any major audio improvements in sound quality in the standard CD since 1986 when they first "remastered" the Stones albums is more or less true. But this is I.M.O. not the real reason why they are finally going to remaster the catalog. Because personally I don't think Allen Klein gives a rats ass about how good the CD's sound. (The last fifteen years proves that) The real reason is because you can NOT copy a protected SACD disc. (yet) That means that Klein won't lose any money from these new CD's being burned nor will he have to worry about any decent quality MP3's being ripped from the new reissue. If ABKCO is STILL getting $35.00 for each new copy of Hot Rocks it sells. How much do you think a higher quality SACD release will go for? $40 ? $45 ? $50......
One last thing is that all future albums will be released in the SACD format. They will totally faze out the current CD as we know it because you can play a SACD on your old CD player. The Record companys have been looking for a way to justify raising an albums list price by $3-$5 for a while now but due to the industries slumping album sales there was no way they could. NOW they have a reason. And just like in the 80's when you went out and rebought all of those CD albums you already owned on vinyl, you get to do it ALL OVER AGAIN with SACD's.
SACD SUMMERY:
Higher quality audio (If played on an SACD player)
Can play normal CD's and discs can be played on normal CD players
Less audio time per disc.
Can not be copied.
More expensive discs
That's about it. Schools Out (For Summer)
Now I Gotta Bail
Later, Cardinal Fang
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