Greg, I don't use the term "amazing" for any discs on any speakers, but I and others have recommended great music(classical by me)in excellent sound in the "Stunning" thread already mentioned. I'd mention a special bargain in this Stravinsky collection available for just a few dollars.


Yes, care taken in recording, mixing and mastering are the controlling factors rather than format, although on average it appears that more care has been taken in many(not all)SACDs. Done properly, the CD format has all the sampling rate and bit depth(44.1/16)needed for human ears and the available music. This was demonstrated about five years ago in a report I read in my AES Journal. SACDs and DVD-As of particularly good sound quality were "downgraded" to CD standards by passing them through 44.1/16 ADC/DAC conversion. In extensive double blind testing the sound remained equally excellent and could not be distinguished from the original.

Thank you, John.

John, I agree with your stance 100% that it's the recording, mixing and mastering that matters.

I admit that I just woke 10 minutes ago and am still fuzzy-brained, but I don't understand the above statement.

Simplistically, you're saying that higher-sampled discs and lower-sampled discs sound the same because in a listening test, they crippled the variable that existed in the higher-sampled music?

I enjoy the 20 or so SACDs and DVD-A discs I have. Not because of the higher sampling rates, but because they are true discrete multi-channel recordings AND they have been remastered with care.

Right, Mark; the sampling and bit rate of the SACDs and DVD-As were reduced to the CD standards and this had no audible effect on their sound quality.