Paul, I don't own any PS Audio equipment, and because I already own a good DAC, and use nearfield studio monitors to listen to my music, it is unlikely I will soon own PS Audio's excellent equipment. However, if I was in the market tomorrow, I'd buy PS Audio purely based by the trust you build with your videos. You are very humble about your achievements; a real human in a sometimes aggressive business world.

I love SACD, they sound really good to me

What an amazing explanation of this issue, thanks Paul

SACD is quite popular in Hong Kong. About 1/3 of the local language album will end up with a SACD version a few months after the release of the CD (of course this is to milk you again). Some higher grade but rare SACD only has the SACD layer which they claim has better audio performance. SACD can be ripped using modded PS3 and some older gen universal players with a specific chip.

Thank you Paul for another great tutorial.

Bravo to Jerry in San Diego. The question is perfectly stated and gets to the root of what I've been wondering for at least 10 years.

Love these segments. Thanks for all the posts.

dCS is the company that makes very highend DACs and transports that can do SACD. Also, TEAC's highend brand Esoteric has dacs and transports that do sacd.

I just want to make 2 points here. First, the conversion of the DSD data on an SACD in a transport a digital-to-digital process and it can be accomplished at a very high quality level for export. Not only DCS but Accuphase and others have done it well. The fundamental reason that (real) HDMI is rarely used in high-end equipment is that licensing costs are uncomfortably high for small DAC companies to encumber. One that does is NAD. Second, despite Sony/Philips' copy protection intentions, it is easy to rip the DSD files from an SACD, put them on one's server and play them back using many digital file players. These can be connected to a large variety of DACs via S/PDIF (using DoP), USB and/or Ethernet. This is the reason that DSD files are available for download from numerous legal Internet sellers and in multichannel, too.

That was truly excellent. Thank you.

i use a Bryston BDA-3 with my oppo 103D and its just outstanding!!

Sacd is still far and away the best digital format to my ears.

Thank you for this interesting video. I have a Sony Blu Ray player that reads SACD’s. It only has digital outputs (HDMI & coaxial) and it displays what bandwidth it runs on together with track number and time. I have it hooked to my NAD M33 via coaxial output and it displays 2.88 Mbit/second at 1 bit for SACD. Normal CD’s are 44.1 at 16 bit. I didn’t know the story behind the Sony license part but now I know this it makes sense this player supports SACD.

@6:03 "...raw, unprotected data stream" = Fatherhood!

This is almost scary! Almost every episode bring up the problems/questions I face at the moment. I was wondering why I didn’t get any sound...

I love SACDs, awesome quality!!!

I bought a Sony SCD CSE595 player 15 years ago and just realized what it is. The last couple days I've done a lot of research on it and most say it has a pretty good DAC. Not like I need a better one being it's the only digital thing I have hooked up to my system. There is a lot of CD's out there but they do cost like 3 times the average CD.

Paul is accurate in saying that you've probably never heard the true fidelity of your SACD's because even dedicated SACD players in many cases converted the DSD to PCM. No I'm not getting paid for that comment...

I also have noticed Sony has removed the SACD symbol from their mass market BD players and it can now only be had in their more expensive BD players. I only have the Sony mass market SACD bluray player. But I can tell you this. Man, that SACD mix of Captain Fantastic in 5.1 sounds good!! It's a whole new listening experience! But according to Paul, even that Sony transponder isn't worth much compared to the audiophile ones. So Scotty, Beam Me Up!! Or maybe I'll just listen to Blonde on Blonde in 5.1 again and cry in my green tea!

Very interesting. Thanks.

Time already told the other way actually, more and more DACs are capable to decode SACD and even DSD128,DSD256 or even higher... instead of less and less. :)

1:01 he's looking for dCS (Digital Conversion Systems, LTD) .. they're the cream of the crop when it comes to DACs..

I have an Arcam SACD player outputing through digital coax to a Stellar GCD. The GCD shows 44.1k on red book cds and 88.1k on SACD. I don't know if that is a true SACD but it is double the red book resolution and I can hear the difference in detail.

DCM! The kx12 is still fantasic with a technics sa-ax6

Hey Paul can you do an interview with Ari Margolis, he's an audiophile and musician in Denver. He owns Golden Ear Digital which provides a service of converting people's cds into wav or flac and sacds into iso dsd.

If you want to "get your feet wet" with SACDs before jumping in and committing to an expensive, audiophile-level system you can easily do that today with any of Sony's higher-end, consumer-level 4K UHD Blu-ray players: UPB-X1100ES ($600), UPB-X800M2 ($360) or UPB-X700 ($250). I just purchased a demo/open box UPB-X800M2 myself last week for a great price and bought my first SACD (Eagles - Hotel California) new off eBay from Japan for $30. The first thing you notice right away about the SACD (DSD) recordings are how much more depth and texture they have to them compared to regular CDs. When you listen to a CD, you feel like you are listening to a really good recording of the track. When you listen to a SACD (DSD) you feel like you are sitting in the studio with the musicians ten feet away from you while they record the original track. That's how entirely different the experience is between the two. So much more depth and realism in the SACD (DSD) recordings. Whereas CDs let you hear the recording, SACD (DSD) make you believe you attended the original recording session. Trust me, once you experience SACD (DSD) and hear what it can do, you'll WANT to upgrade to an audiophile-level system...if you didn't already.

Hi res info, thank you.

And nowadays you can get yourself a dirt cheap used Sony Blu-ray player (paid $20 for mine), a couple free programs and easily rip SACDs and do whatever you please with the ISO/DSD files from them.

SACD was for surround systems more than anything else.Why they published a lot of classical music on SACD that took advantage of the directional listening.

How come everything in the audio world that Sony developed ended up flopping e.g. DAT, SACD, S/PDIF, CDDA (RedBook), etc.??

It's a real shame that SACD didn't become more popular when it first appeared. I remember at that time that a British audio magazine let all its reviewers borrow Sony's flagship SCD-1 player so they could judge the new format for themselves and it seems a number of those reviewers weren't particularly impressed with what they heard. I took to the format like a duck takes to water and I've been impressed with it ever since, and continue to buy the discs whenever I can.

Hi Paul. I have a Pioneer UDP-LX500 with SACD going by HDMI to my CLASSE SIGMA 2200i. Witch is almost totally digital. Doe this mean that the CLASSE DAC does the work?

Could you Please make a sacd headphone DAC/amp

SACD playback using a computer over a good audio setup, is the best way to enjoy audio for me, pure quality.

Thx for the info on SACDs, I've wondered for years about this since I got the Rolling Stones cds reissues on SACD, I can't even find an SACD player. I thought everything was going to be DVDA. Which seems to be the norm now.

SACD of DSF files Sound really great Just try Thriller on SACD It sounds amazing!

Hey Paul the Scottish company is based in Cambridgeshire and its name is not DCM but dCS as for DCM time window that was not Bob rappaport but the legendary Bob Waterstripe

Lots of sacd rips out there in ISO. Hasn't been virtually unbreakable for years. As some PS3 version can do it.

Have an old 2001 SONY STR-DE875 avr going to my Advent heritage towers & that sony just doesnt sound right unless i use 2 ch direct mode with my own DAC & laptop.

Sony makes one of the best DACs out there. Look it up before making such statements.

Biggest problem about DSD is almost all manufacturer have their own interface for DSD. My accuphase use HS-link and my dcs uses firewire, some uses HDMI. They don’t compatible to each other like spdif or AES. As much as i want to use it, it is unusable. The other problem is Sony only focus on protecting the sell side, buyer (who is the market maker) will eventually give up.

The major problem is that DSD cannot be handled by optical or coaxial cables. Over HDMI it works. So you can use some dac which works with HDMI ARC.

Time 01:10 The Scottish company Paul mentioned may refer to Linn; where their Majik DSM has built-in HDMI(ARC) input and output in their 2 channel products. Also McIntosh includes HDMI (handle audio signal only) modulus sold separately for their modern (post 2020s) amplifier products. Why I aware such product / function? It is because I enjoy many KZfaq HD music videos, which I need to feed the digital audio part into my 2 channel system for enjoyment. If I just buy above mentioned products (the premium is too high for just acquiring the only function for decoding HDMI audio signal for 2 channel music). My final solution for enjoyment HQ music video through KZfaq is using the standard optical output (Toslink : default in most modern TVs), then feel to an old secondhand DAC: Tech-503 for decoding the audio signal from youtube channel. Indeed the results are too deem satisfactory, which also leads to expose the weaknesses of my 12 years old 2 channel system (Harbeth P3 speaker + Chinese made KT88 22W amp + Linn DS). The system unable to handle dynamic sound from most KZfaq HQ concert videos. At the end, I consider to upgrade my 12 years old 2 channel system (i.e. floor stand speakers + more power class AB solid-state amplifier) just because I bought a 2nd hand DAC for decoding KZfaq digital audio for less than 3 months. Remarks - I am not a serious Hi-Fi enthusiast, however I do have little demands on music quality (focusing more on music enjoyment rather than music audition - my hears are saturated and cannot tell the different between hi-fi and hi-end).

Sony 1080 Reciver have something nice in DAC build in 👌

Back in the 2000s only rich people owned Snobby Ass Computer Disk (SACD) because it was so damn expensive the younger generation resorted to listening to low quality MP3s on their Computers and iPods. Also, modern music was recorded and created in PCM, there was no sense in releasing those songs in DSD format. We never got an SACD player because it was an extra investment for us. Today it is terrible how we can only play those snobby ass computer disks onto dedicated consumer players which only rich people had, where the DVD layer cannot be outputted digitally. I am glad the PS3 were able to rip the DVD layer of those Snobby Ass Computer Disks (SACDs) to get the master DSD files off them so that we can now listen to them on our computers in very high quality audio.

Thanks. Was McIntosh the company you were thinking of? There are actually 4 layers on an SACD. The regular CD layer, the high resolution 2 channel layer, the high resolution 5 channel layer, and a text layer which scrolls the track title across the display (even if it's in a foreign language, which is useful for classical or opera recordings, although you must have a player with this capability). Cheers.

Bluray audio sounds the best by far. No compression. IMO

Great explanation, thanks

DCM time windows, Ann Arbor, MI

Many AVR's can accept DSD from SACD over HDMI but convert it to PCM as do most universal players if you play the disc 'on-board'. You can rip SACD's to files (bit of a faff but you can) and then play the DSD through any suitable DAC.The majority of SACD's have been through PCM processing at some point or are sourced from PCM so worrying too much about all this is a bit pointless. There are some really great recordings available on SACD and many are multi channel.

Copyrights is just one of many reasons. I don't understand why majority of DACs do have only stereo analogue out while there are many multichannel mixes available in Hi-Res (96 kHz+/24 bit): SACD, Blu-Ray Audio, DVD-Audio etc. You can legally rip those contents for your personal NAS storage... and yet even expansive DACs can't handle them.

In a nutshell, due to DRM they made an incomparable format at high cost, so almost nobody purchased the high cost content. With a very limited library and an incompatible format, DAC's could not play it due to the encryption. This is the same fate of the DAT for consumer use. A much more comparable and universally accepted MP3 became the de-facto standard.

in 1:00 when he's talking about the Scottish company that makes a DAC ... he's referring to dCS.. (Digital Conversion Systems)... they make $115K DACs and their cheap stuff is $15K or more.

Use one of these.....HDMI/MHL to IIS I2S HDMI IIS I2S Separate Extract Audio I2S/DSD/Optical/Coaxial

What about DSD through fire wire that also died over copyright issues

What about Blu Ray Pure Audio?

Are SACDs better than DVD-As for audio?

that Scottish company, he was thinking about was probably Linn.

Focus

i have the bryston bda-3 !!! does it !!!

There are more DACs now available that will decode DSD, including Naim.

You definitely know what you're talking about, but I'm confused. If copy protection is the problem, what about the Hi-Res audio files which are far easier to copy than a SACD would even be? Ease of copy has not seemed to stop labels from releasing master quality content to FLAC. Am I missing something?

SACD was before streams. It just don't give a sense to buy them in these days - especially for those crazy prices some sellers asking. That's evolution and formats changing all the time, which is not easy for users. I know what I'm taking about coz my stereo over past 25 year included pieces like turntable, CD player, DAT recorder, tape deck, MD deck and past few years streamer. Saying that the easy and fast access to "virtual" collection is way more convenient than other formats and sounds great too if you are using WAV rather than MP3.

I have to wonder if anyone has tried to tap into that data trace between the Sony IC and the DAC IC. for nefarious purposes.

🎸

Technology is Nothing without Content

Don't forget DAT which sounded great to me but never took off.

Hi Paul, the handshake is fine, but if the data going over the cable is in the clear, then it can be sniffed quite easily.. Why don't the owners of the technology refabricate the chip with updated analog section?

copyright is killed the SACD. If Sony and its labels would allow people to rip SACDs, that would be great and we may still have SACDs from Sony.

Never thought much of CDs, DVDs this & that

Poor Sony and Phillips they are so innovative and most of their hard formats are dead or dieing. Cassette , mini disk , CD , SACD.

this whole copyright bullshit won't stop pirates to crack or copy. It becomes more fun and challenging doing so...

well, I guess I can't blame them for trying to protect the master

OPPO BP 83 fed into a chord Qutest DAC. SACD in DSD or stereo are a no go. :(

Hello Paul. So you bought the Sony decoder chip and put it in your own transport, maybe it's the same CXD9675R chip that is in my Sony SACD player. How did you intercept the decrypted DSD stream before it became analog? Did you rip the plastic lid off the chip package and tap a gold whisker onto the chip's die? Or did Sony allow one of the chip's 48 pins to output a decrypted data stream? Curious audio technicians want to know. Thanks.

Copyright law is like cancer, it kills everything it comes close to. If you really want you customers to enjoy music you don't do that shit.

You can download dsd music no need for sacds. Most receivers will have dsd capability.

Why you need a crappy modern dac when there is philips or burr brone chip dacs on great sacd players

Would be great to explain I2S (over HDMI?) and how external DACS w/ I2S capabilities can or can not work for DSD decoding of SACD layer on SACD transports / players with I2S connections !!!

Would a DAC improve the sound of great sounding CD/SACD player like Marantz KI Ruby?

_"... by Sony"_ I.e. hello, draconian copy control mentality!

One correction: publishers don't want to protect the artists. They want to protect their own commercial interests. And it's this paranoia about "piracy" that killed SACD. Also, any half-decent crypto expert views SACD encryption as pathetic.

so, when you insert an sacd into this guys oppo, connected to a yamahahaha receiver, is he hearing the sacd file or the cd layer?

1- Schick 2- Modric

The company you were thinking about is dcs. I think they are English, though. Could be wrong. I guess I have been away from things a while. It seems like I remember back in the '90's that people used to say the letters in "DAC", "dee ay see", but now everyone just says "dak". When did that change? Or maybe what I think I remember isn't a real memory?

Were you thinking of Wolfson? The Scottish DAC chip manufacturer?

Sony made it virtual impossible to RIP (for DRM Purposes) as far as to make it difficult to decode just to play.

Why does no one talk about Surround sound SACD's That's what i remember about the best buy demo lol. Think they used bose cubes (GAG)

1:05 Linn audio

I rip SACDs by taking the audio output form my SACD player and run it into a PCM reorder.

@guy who wrote the letter: what u hear is not SACD, it's the CD layer!!!!

What about a hybrid sacd that can play on all CD players.Are those not "true" sacd or are they just as good??

Never jumped on the SACD train … only own a few. But, IMHO, the failure of the SACD format to gain main stream acceptance was forecasting the death knell of hard media.

Linn

Ironically, the DSD technology is cheaper than PCM. Granted, mass production probably renders than difference null. In these days of DSP, DSD is pretty much screwed, as signal processing doesn't work with DSD. It has to be converted to PCM first. That gets us DXD, which isn't DSD at all, but PCM. Also, DACs that take DSD often just convert the DSD to PCM. DSD seems pretty superfluous these days. I'm not hating on the SACD. The format I hate on is the CD. The market just seem to move in a direction that DSD cannot follow.

I picked up a Sony SACD player. yet I don't have a single SACD.

Ah DRM, it seems to annoy everyone anywhere it goes.

SACD is Sony & Philips.

Let's stick with liquid dsd files and be happy. No reason to have it on a disc if the Sony dac ruins the sound...

Fosi Audio DS1 DSD512 HiFi USB C DAC ES9038Q2M ......