Thread: New to SACD -- what are your "go-to" demo discs?

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Post by rsinclair February 7, 2010 (1 of 15)
I'm new to SACD, having recently purchased a respectable audio system capable of doing high-resolution discs justice.

I'm interested in any specific recommendations for "go to" demo discs in your collection, in any genre of music. I'd like to sample (and be able to demonstrate) the sonic difference between typical CD quality (and, of course lossy MP3s) to SACDs.

I don't have a dedicated SACD player, I'll be using a Playstation 3 connected to an Anthem Statement D2v preamp via HDMI.

What are the "must have" SACD titles, in your opinion?

Thanks for your recommendations.

-R
Post by FullRangeMan February 7, 2010 (2 of 15)
Hi,
Welcome aboard, Iam over 50 and this is the best Jazz recording I listen til today: Joe McQueen & friends: Ten at 86 peformance is excellent too.
Must Have SACDs are a personal taste, but some items are stunning in every sense, as:
Pink Floyd: Dark Side of the Moon
Penguin Cafe Orchestra: A Brief History
Mysteria - M.A.S.S.
Tangerine Dream: Rubycon
/can.php
Ayako Hosokawa: To Mr. Wonderful
Keiko Lee: Live 1999
Bryan Ferry: Boys & Girls
/search/roxy+music
Good Luck,
Post by DSD February 7, 2010 (3 of 15)
Post by The Seventh Taylor February 8, 2010 (4 of 15)
I've been doing SACD demos for about ten years and it's been ages since I did them professionally but this is more or less the routine I picked up from my colleagues:

I'd start with some performance recorded acoustically in stereo, just to let the audience get a taste of the excellent stageing, positioning, however you want to call it. I'd use some jazz or blues like Eric Bibb: Just Like Love (#1).

Then I'd move on to a 'conventional' multichannel recording i.e. with microphones above the conductor pointing into orchestra at 0, -30 and +30 degrees and to his rear to capture the ambience of the hall and the audience. Budapest Live - Ivan Fischer is a beautiful example. I usually played #7.

Next, I'd let them hear something with a more 'agressive' use of the surround channels such as the Star Trek theme on The Film Music of Jerry Goldsmith, where the rear channels are used to add dramatic effect like they often are in movies.

Lastly I'd play some pop/rock where they're going completely over the top in the use of surround. The most stunning example would be #11 of Guano Apes: Don't Give Me Names but if this hardrock is too much another fun thing would be #6 of Frankie Goes To Hollywood: Rage Hard, The Sonic Collection (Maximum Joy).

BTW, a title I often used to let people hear the difference between CD stereo, SACD stereo and SACD surround is Sacred Feast - Gaudeamus

And no SACD I know gives a better sense of space than Robert Hohner Percussion Ensemble: Far More Drums

Later discs I've started to include in demos are:
Pink Floyd: Dark Side of the Moon
Roxy Music: Avalon
Dire Straits: Brothers in Arms

Other great titles if the genres are your cup of tea:
Nine Inch Nails: The Downward Spiral (Hard rock/metal)
Paul Van Dyk: Reflections (Trance/electronic dance music)
Post by rsinclair February 8, 2010 (5 of 15)
Thanks so much for these specific recommendations, everyone. It looks like Roxy Music Avalon is high on every list I've seen, it seems a little hard to come by, though!

I've ordered up a few of the others, can't wait to hear them.

Still open to more suggestions if anyone else joins the thread!

Cheers,
R
Post by arnaoutchot February 8, 2010 (6 of 15)
These are mine, sorted from older recordings over newer stereos to multichannel. This is from an existing Word file, so no links, sorry. But you should be easily able to find them in this forum. The brackets indicate what the respective disc is able to "demonstrate":


Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong: Ella & Louis, Verve SACD Mono 1956/2002 (Voices)

Miles Davis: In a Silent Way, SACD Multichannel 1969/2002 (Space, a completely different soundscape than that of the original 2CH-recording)

Weather Report: Mysterious Traveller, SACD Multichannel 1974/2002 (same as with Miles)

The Moody Blues: Days of Future Passed, SACD Multichannel 1967/2005 (Space, clarity)

Pink Floyd: Dark Side of the Moon, SACD 1973/2003 (commonly known, Multichannel ambience)

Dire Straits: Brothers in Arms, SACD 1984/2005 (as Floyd)

Jazz at the Pawnshop, proprius SACD 1976/200? (Club Feeling, Ambience)

Rebecca Pidgeon: Retrospective, Chesky SACD (Solo Voice, Naturalness)

Flim & The BBs: TriCycle, dmp SACD 1999 (Impulse, Dynamics)

Tsuyoshi Yamamoto Trio: Midnight Sugar, Three Blind Mice SACD 1973/2004 (Impulse, Dynamics, Piano Sound, an audiophile classic since ages)

Angelika Kirchschlager: Bach Arias, Sony SACD 2002 (Multichannel Church Ambience)

Shostakovich: Complete Symphonies, Oleg Caetani, ARTS Italy 10 SACDs 2006 (one of the best classical live recordings I know, taken in a Milan theater, this is really "live", also available in single volumes)

Jacintha: Jacintha is her Name, Groove Note SACD 2003 (Naturalness of voice, mixed exclusively to the Center !!)

Sara K: Hell or High Water, Stockfisch SACD 2006 (Naturalness, Resolution, good comparison with Audio-only Blu Ray "Made in the Shade" possible, which in fact beats the SACD's resolution)

The Great Jazz Trio: Live at Birdland New York July 6th 2007, Eighty Eight Japan SACD 2008 (Jazz-Club, seating position of listener directly at the front of the stage)

Sacred Feast, Gaudeamus/Paul Halley, dmp SACD 2000 (Choral, voices must seem to come from the top of the ceiling)

Stravinsky: Sacre/Bartok: Mandarin, Los Angeles PO, Salonen, DG SACD 2006 (Subsonic Bass, the shocking and larger than live drum beats must shake the earth).

This should give you a first picture :-)
Post by The Seventh Taylor February 8, 2010 (7 of 15)
arnaoutchot said:

Sacred Feast - Gaudeamus, dmp SACD 2000 (Choral, voices must seem to come from the top of the ceiling)
That's right but to reproduce the cathedral acoustics correctly you have to play this SACD with the sixth channel configured as a ceiling speaker. That's how it was recorded.
Post by arnaoutchot February 9, 2010 (8 of 15)
That is true, but who would really be able and willing to install a speaker at the ceiling. Even without this SACD has a certain "elevated" sound, maybe this feeling is also supported by the sacral music ...
Post by xmen269 February 9, 2010 (9 of 15)
If you want to hear analog quality sound then I suggest you to use PS3's analog outputs.Through HDMI you may not be able to hear any difference between Sacd & Cd.Because PS3 converts DSD into PCM over HDMI.
Post by Lucabeer February 9, 2010 (10 of 15)
Well, for starters I listen to SACDs only in stereo, by connecting my Denon player to a Graham Slee Solo SRG headphone amplifier, and then to Denon AH-D7000 headphones. So no multichannel gimmicks here: plain and simple sound quality is my benchmark for a "demo disc".

And here is my list:

Depeche Mode "Ultra": fantastic luscious atmosphere, rich "analogue-like" vocals, very creamy

Mark Knopfler "Shangri La": the clarity of the acoustic guitar and the richness of the voice have to be heard to be believed (even if the ordinary CD layer is also very good)

Kratfwerk "Minimum Maximum": clean, powerful, tight bass!

Peter Gabriel "Up": the detail, the immersiveness, the clarity, the depth of bass are so much better than on the CD layer

Bjork "Verspertine": magical atmosphere, absolutely clean and immersive

David Bowie "Ziggy Stardust": an old album, but the sound quality is up to today's standards

Genesis "Foxtrot": while not a "perfect" SACD (you can clearly hear some hiss from the original tapes), it's so much better than previous CD releases that it seems to reveal whole new layers of sound
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