View Full Version : SACD discs that are/are not worth it


Baccusboy
05-04-08, 09:47 PM
What are your favorite SACD discs, in terms of incredible sound? Please help an uncultured novice keep from making useless SACD purchases!

I've recently started buying/collecting SACD's, and due to the format, a lot of them out there are jazz and classical. As you know, there's not much available for rock. I'm interested in finding some incredible guitar or singing which feels alive in the room.

Here's what I now own:

1. Ray Charles: Ray sings/Basie Swings
2. The Police: Zenyatta Mondatta
3. Badi Assad Verde
4. Natalie Cole: Ask a Woman Who Knows
5. Dire Straits: Brothers in Arms

I have also purchased several from Amazon which will be delivered to my USA home, and I will pick up in a few months when I head back.

So far, I've been somewhat unimpressed by the rock music -- finding them to be a bit of a disappointment. I purchased Brother's In Arms as my first disk, and find it's decent. I kind of burned myself out on their music when I owned this standard DVD several years ago.

http://www.metrolyrics.com/images/albums/9510direstraits_brothersinarms.jpg


Zenyatta Mondatta is 2 channel, and quite limited by the source material, I'd say. Pretty cool cardboard box picture montage inside, though.

http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B00009P57N.03.MZZZZZZZ.jpg

Natalie Cole is probably our favorite disc.

http://image.libro.co.kr/music/f75/f758678314478_1.jpg

I only purchased it because I had seen a news story about her being the daughter of Nat King Cole, and thought she'd have a nice voice on SACD. The disc does sound really nice, although I feel they didn't let her voice air out enough (perhaps compressed at the mic). The instruments are mixed nicely as multi-channel, and the disc is very much an improvement over standard DVD.

My 2nd favorite would be Ray Charles:

http://www.fg-naxos.fi/images/Kevyet%202007/sacd63679_ray_charles.jpg

Although the age of the source material/microphone hinders the ability of this disc. It still sounds very nice, and is mixed well.



The oddball disk I have is one I picked up at a local record shop here in Seoul. It's Badi Assad Verde.

http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B0002VCU1O.01.MZZZZZZZ.jpg

Her music is very... uh... strange! It was a disappointment in that the instruments sound so lifelike in multi-channel, only to have her goofy voice trounce over the top of them. The instruments are almost alive in the room! Her voice, however, is kind of psychotic and annoying (also in Spanish and French mostly, I think). Her voice was recorded better than ANY of my discs, and I find myself listening to this disc merely because of the way it was recorded. It seemed as if her music, although really odd, was recorded for SACD with mics placed around the room in certain positions next to the instruments -- she's got a weird sound, but it's recorded incredibly. Wow, what a difference that makes compared to the current crop of flat-sounding rock music!

mrtanner
05-04-08, 10:28 PM
Some "rock" SACD's I think are worth it:

Rolling Stones Hot Rocks [2-channel only]
Carole King Tapestry
Keb Mo - Just Like You
Bob Dylan - most of them (15 available) [Some 5.1, some 2-channel]
Billy Joel - The Stranger and 52nd Street
CCR - Any from Analog Productions [2-channel only]
The Carpenters - Singles
Pink Floyd - Dark Side of the Moon
Elton John - Several to choose from

Some rock SACD's I don't think are worth it:
Train - My Private Nation
Police - Every Breath You Take
Michael Jackson - Thriller (I may be alone in not liking this one.)

(IMHO, Your mileage may vary, to my ears, on my system, I'm just saying.)

SiriuslyCold
05-04-08, 10:34 PM
http://www.sa-cd.net/toprecommendations

I like how its genre driven as well, so you can filter out music you aren't likely to want

Some of my favourites are
Pink Floyd - DSoTM
Roxy Music - Avalon
Joe Satriani - Strange Beautiful Music
Billy Joes - The Stranger
Mark Knopfler - Shangri La
Steely Dan - Gaucho


Beck's Sea Change is gorgeous sounding too

William
05-05-08, 06:49 AM
...So far, I've been somewhat unimpressed by the rock music -- finding them to be a bit of a disappointment. I purchased Brother's In Arms as my first disk, and find it's decent. I kind of burned myself out on their music when I owned this standard DVD several years ago.

http://www.metrolyrics.com/images/albums/9510direstraits_brothersinarms.jpg
...
While you may have burned yourself out on BiA the sound quality is phenomenal and the mix is fantastic. Especially when you take into account it was recorded on an early 16bit 8track (?) system.

3 Doors Down-Away From the Sun is by far the worst sounding SA-CD/DVD-A I have. It is lifeless, compressed and out of phase sounding. Oddly the 2 channel mix sounds much better.

SiriuslyCold
05-06-08, 01:08 AM
Disappointments - Iron Maiden Dance of Death DVD-A (sound, mix both subpar)
Oasis What's The Story (multichannel mix too odd for me)

tiggers
05-06-08, 01:47 AM
Some nice SACDs (at least I think so) that don't get a lot of mention, and still easy to find and affordable, are:

Willy Porter: Willy Porter. Especially if you like guitar
Nickel Creek: Nickel Creek
Nickel Creek: This Side

Andre Smith
05-06-08, 08:13 AM
I know it's dated but the vocals amd surround mix on the Beach Boys "Pet Sounds" sound outstanding!

UT-Driven
05-06-08, 02:27 PM
http://www.sa-cd.net/toprecommendations

I like how its genre driven as well, so you can filter out music you aren't likely to want

Some of my favourites are
Pink Floyd - DSoTM
Roxy Music - Avalon
Joe Satriani - Strange Beautiful Music
Billy Joes - The Stranger
Mark Knopfler - Shangri La
Steely Dan - Gaucho


Beck's Sea Change is gorgeous sounding too

I have and love every one on Sirius's list. I would also add the Alison Krauss SACDs, The Carpenters (no laughing please! :-) ) and Texas Flood by Stevie Ray Vaughn.

Doug

konoyaro
05-06-08, 04:24 PM
I think I'd give a thumbs down to the Police SACD "Every Breath You Take: The Classics".
Some really odd mixing choices like ping ponging guitars, etc.
It's really a shame too, as the two channel SACD releases like Reggatta de'Blanc sound quite nice and a well executed surround mix would have been welcome...

Baccusboy
05-07-08, 10:58 AM
I just picked up "Up" by Peter Gabriel today. It's a lot of really experimental-sounding stuff, but the mixing is really great. There's one track on there I really love... blue something... can't remember the name, but it's great.

Ovation
05-07-08, 11:58 AM
Sky Blue (it's a great track on a great album).

dclark
05-08-08, 01:16 AM
I just picked up "Up" by Peter Gabriel today. It's a lot of really experimental-sounding stuff, but the mixing is really great. There's one track on there I really love... blue something... can't remember the name, but it's great.

If you like "Up", then you'll love the DVD of the concert. It is mixed well, sounds great and the performances are awsome- you get to see Peter in the ball, sig upside down with his daughter, plu s "In Your Eyes".

Ovation
05-08-08, 08:25 AM
If you like "Up", then you'll love the DVD of the concert. It is mixed well, sounds great and the performances are awsome- you get to see Peter in the ball, sig upside down with his daughter, plu s "In Your Eyes".

Saw that show live in Montreal and I have the DVD. Great show (though I would have preferred Paula Cole to his daughter on vocals--his daughter is cute and all, and maybe she's gotten better since 2002, but her vocal talents don't compare to Paula).

drziggles
05-12-08, 12:39 PM
Allman Brothers: Eat a Peach & Live at Fillmore East
Derek & the Dominoes: Layla
Eric Clapton: Slowhand
Elton John: Captain Fantastic
Bob Dylan: any of them, if he is your cup of tea...

Personally, I don't find 2-channel SACDs to be particularly worthwhile, except for "The Freewheeling Bob Dylan"--he sounds like he is playing/singing right in the room!

tom_c
05-17-08, 05:17 PM
Jeff Beck Blow by Blow is just amazing, it's my new "demo-disk" replacing DSotM, I still like Yes Fragile also, however the better my system gets the worse it sounds, maybe I'm getting burned out. All the rest that were mentioned.

zoestanley
05-17-08, 08:50 PM
of all my sacds i was most disappointed by bat out of hell by meatloaf. one of my favorite albums and it sounded really bad.

johsti
05-19-08, 01:42 AM
Beck - Sea Change and The Flaming Lips - Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots are worth it.

ldgibson76
05-20-08, 03:46 PM
I really try not to buy SACD's that aren't worth it!
I own 15 SACD's. I like them all, but these are my favorites.


Al Jarreau's "All I Got"
Natalie Cole's "Ask a Woman Who Knows"
Sting's "A Brand New Day"
Ray Charles' "Genius Loves Company"
Norah Jones' "Come Away with Me"
James Taylor's "October Road"
Mariah Carey's "Number 1's"

Regards.

Paul Clark
05-30-08, 09:42 PM
The oddball disk I have is one I picked up at a local record shop here in Seoul. It's Badi Assad Verde.

http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B0002VCU1O.01.MZZZZZZZ.jpg

Her music is very... uh... strange! It was a disappointment in that the instruments sound so lifelike in multi-channel, only to have her goofy voice trounce over the top of them. The instruments are almost alive in the room! Her voice, however, is kind of psychotic and annoying (also in Spanish and French mostly, I think).

She is from Brazil where the local language spoken is Portugese.

http://www2.deutschegrammophon.com/special/?ID=badiassad-verde