Can't hear the difference between SACD and CD

[owen_meany]

My system:

- Onkyo SR705 Receiver

- Monitor Audio RS6 speakers (+ center + surrounds)

- PS3

- Dell computer with ripped CDs

 

I bought a few SACD's to see if I could hear the difference. Last night i listened to the Beethoven 9th Symphony (Karajan/Berlin) and Dark Side of the Moon.

 

I listened to both the SACD and the CD tracks. I couldn't tell the difference. In fact, I preferred the CD track when listening to the Beethoven 9th. The surround effect was cool on DSOTM, but the sound quality didn't seem that different. Perhaps the bass was a bit deeper.

 

The PS3 is feeding the receiver via HDMI (if that matters), and I have it set to output all frequencies.

 

Is my system just not good enough to resolve the difference? Is it me? I guess I assumed the difference would be dramatic.

 

oh, I realize the PS3 is converting to PCM. But I assumed high res PCM would still sound noticeably better than the CD.

[bleedink]

Are you sure that you have a unit that can play the SACD layer? If you don't hear the difference it could be that you are only able to access the CD layer. I also believe that in MC mode the PS3 downsamples to DTS which is 1.5mbps (or somewhere thereabout). This could be part of the reason you are not hearing a difference. FWIW DSOTM is a pretty darn good SACD to listen to. To my ears there were clear differences but YMMV of course.

[owen_meany]

Are you sure that you have a unit that can play the SACD layer? If you don't hear the difference it could be that you are only able to access the CD layer. I also believe that in MC mode the PS3 downsamples to DTS which is 1.5mbps (or somewhere thereabout). This could be part of the reason you are not hearing a difference. FWIW DSOTM is a pretty darn good SACD to listen to. To my ears there were clear differences but YMMV of course.

 

Yup. I have the older 80GB model. and I haven't updated the firmware, so I should be able to copy it (i'll test this soon).

 

when I open a disc, I see 2 options: SACD and CD.

 

Btw, what's MC mode? I did a quick google search and came up empty.

[Matias]

Isn't your PS3 sending the PCM data over the HDMI to the receiver?

I thought only SACD players and PS3 could decode SACD's DSD inside it and output it through the analog outs.

[owen_meany]

OK. I did round 2 this evening. I DO hear the difference now. I just had to turn the volume up some more (which on a side note is one of the issues I have with my system. it only sounds good at higher volumes).

 

Since I have the CD as well, I started playing DSOTM simultaneously (CD on my Meridian 506 and SACD on the PS3) and switched back and forth between the sources to hear the difference. Vocals was where the difference was most noticeable. At times the CD could sound a tad shrilly, whereas the SACD was smooth as silk.

 

However, the soundstage is wider on the CD. But this may be the Meridian shining and not the SACD vs CD issue.

[The Computer Audiophile]

Hi Owen - There are many variables to consider when attempting such a comparison. Some include the original source material was it PCM or DSD, are the two albums from the same master, does your equipment perform better at certain sample rates, does your equipment upsample all incoming digital to a certain frequency, does your receiver have a Direct mode where it won't mess with the two channel digital stream or is it always processed, is the SACD multi-channel going through extra processing, etc...

 

This is only the start. These comparisons are only misleading for the person doing them :~)