has anyone ever compared the same recording on CD and SACD?
can differences between them, if any, be heard?

i've never listened to a SACD, much less done comparisons.

I've been wanting to do this comparison also, but got sidetracked by redoing all my equipment first. I bought 2 SACD's. They sound very good, but I don't have the regular CD to compare with. One of these days, maybe. It also probably depends a lot on the recording quality of both.

JB:

Thanks for the headsup on this SACD. Although I love organ music, I'd never heard of Cameron Carpenter until now. I watched his performance on YouTube (from the included DVD I expect) & was very impressed. I've never seen footwork like that.

I ordered the SACD+DVD from Amazon.com for less than $25 CAN shipped to Canada. Being a Telarc recording, the sound no doubt will be very good.

Of my small collection of recent SACD purchases (about a dozen so far), I find that the overall quality has been superb. Whether it is the '1 bit DSD Format' that is used ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_Audio_CD ) or the extra care taken while engineering & mixing for this fine audiophile format, I don't know; however; so far, I've been very impressed with SACDs.

TAM

I ordered the CD this morning, as well. Can't remember how I came across it, but I remember watching a program about Cameron Carpenter. Don't know if someone posted a link to it here, or what?

J.B.

I've got a few to choose from. I'll give them some comparative listens this weekend.

Elton John
Death Cab For Cutie
Beck
Bob Dylan
Rolling Stones
Aimee Mann
Peter Gabriel
The Who

If you're interested in music rather than just showmanship, a better example of highlights for the organ, played as written and in excellent sound is available here .

Although SACDs don't necessarily sound better than CDs(it's been shown that converting excellent-sounding SACDs to the CD standard made no audible difference), many do because of superior recording, mixing or mastering(even on hybrid discs the mastering for the layers isn't necessarily done equally).

Thanks John, for two things.

1. Your selections are always guaranteed to exactly as you describe them. I'm not a fan of the organ sound but I'll be ordering this one to try it out as a new experience.

2. When I opened the link and read the title, I came close to spitting out my coffee from suppressing a giggle.

in case some of you haven't seen "the making of" of Carpenter's "Revolutionary" album, here's some interesting reading and some photos too:
http://www.rotarywoofer.com/telarc/telarc%20carpenter%20recording.html

i just ordered Revolutionary on SACD, and "An Organ Blaster Sampler".

it is while reading about the Thigpen Rotary sub that i saw a link to Carpenter's recording.

sadly, i will not hear "all" the music on this album as my sub goes down to only 11-12 Hz.

a couple of days ago i received the SACD of Cameron Carpenter: Revolutionary.
i start at -10 dB re. Reference Level/Multi Channel:5.1 and, as time goes, i increase the gain,half dB by half dB, until the moment where the music is so all pervasive and crystal clear and enveloping and oh so beautiful, that it is like the grandest spectacles of nature, like Aurora Borealis, and you find yourself bathed in extraordinary music that envelops you, invades you, and takes you away... to bliss and ecstasy.


if you have the SACD, and you'd like to try the immersion (it's good for your health), use multi channel in, and a 5.1 system with many hundreds of watts available, and a Volume of +4 db over Reference Level.

then, tell us what you think. i, for one, will love reading your comments about it.

Edit: i think that the M80's are truly great speakers; their sound quality is extraordinary, to my ears. it's easy to see or hear, with sound like that i heard playing this SACD.

My SACD must be coming by Pony Express; however, my M3s & brackets should be here tomorrow if all goes well...

TAM