PS3 2 channel analog SACD (WOW!) compared to Sony players

I recently removed an excellent Sony DVP-NS9100 ES from my system which replaced a Sony NS999ES (relocated to a second system) which replaced an NC555ES 5 disk changer which replaced a DVP-NS90V player (recently sold to a family member) which replaced a Samsung HD841 universal player. The reason the player is gone is that I have a few DVD-Audios that I own and quite a few I want to purchase. At any rate I was craving SACD playback so I decided to borrow the Sony deck and the Samsung deck to at least use until a replacement came in.

System is Rotel RSX-1056 Receiver with 2 Rotel RB-1070 stereo amps powering a set of JM Lab Focal Cobalt system consisting of a pair of 816 towers and the rest of the line (bookshelfs, center, surrounds). Room acoustics are treated for first boundary reflections. Music used was The Police the Classics, Ghost in the machine, and Cal Tjader Latin+Jazz. The last one is an album I know very well and the xylophone harmonics/decay is a great indicator of sound quality along with the drums etc.

First up the Samsung HD-841. Oh my how easily on forgets what bad really is. This player was harsh, noisy, muddy and not detailed on all three albums. Even in multichannel it was horrid - the lack of independent volume settings really made things worse. I then borrowed the Sony deck DVP-NS90V and with the multichannel options I was able to get it to sound better than the Sammy but it was still harsh and unpleasant on all three albums. I then once again had the wonderful idea to try the PS3 for SACD (the first time I though I had to buy a cable which I priced at $20 so I passed) I looked in the PS3 box for a cable and lo and behold there was one. Put in Ghost in the machine and my jaw dropped. The sound was more transparent, had better bass definition and the highs were smoother. Decays of instruments lased a bit longer as well this was definitely the same type of sound coming out of my DVP-NS9100ES. Put in Cal Tjader and once again the sound was more transparent with more air but something else was missing in comparison to ALL FORMER PLAYERS including the 9100ES. It was the noise. I dont know how or why but the PS3 with the puny Multi AV wires was giving me a lower noise floor than I have ever encountered on this particular album. Could be related to frequency extremes being smoother I dont know but I am definitely digging the results. The only negatives are of course that the player is 2ch only and the remote is Blutooth (wish a third party or Sony came out with a proper USB solution). Time will tell if my findings are true since as of today no publication has reviewed the 2 ch playback of the PS3 but I am going to go out on a limb and say that it is definitely above and beyond that of entry level players. I am therefore reconsidering spending money on another SACD deck and using the machine as a transport for a future HDMI receiver.

I continue to evaluate the unit on SACD playback. There are over 60 SACDs in my collection so there is quite a few to go through but I have noticed that unlike pricier players that I have owned or tried in home like Sony DVP NS9100ES, NS999ES and Marantz VC6001- It handles SACD media far better as I have yet to make it go bonkers with my problem disks. It is good that the PS3 automatically starts playing a disk when inserted because it allows for playback without the use of a TV. Current settings for playback are superbitmapping set to on on preferences tab.

There are a few operational quirks that I would like to be fixed by Sony.

1. User should be able to select which part of a hybrid disc the player defaults to as there are those that even with HDMI prefer 2 channel over multichannel.

(currently the multichannel area starts playing by default even with stereo analog out)

2. PS3 should automatically switch audio output based on player preferences for each type of media. Analog stereo for SACD and optical for movies - this is trivial for HDMI but its still a nice option. This allows for automatic playback of Blurays and SACD with correct audio output. At the very least program a button on the PS3 remote to do switching without having to stop playback and entering the menu)

(currently one needs to switch from analog stereo back to opticalwhen switching from SACD media to Blu-ray and DVDs if one wants digital surround sound)

Its 2ch only for analog output. Multichannel disks really open up on the 5.1 mixes (which can bring out more detail and bass from instruments appearing far in the background) especially the SACD Concord records samplers. No 2 ch purist would argue this on my system so it would be great if they were available via analog output. As for it being PCM or not it is irrelevant as the results are what they are. To answer your second question, the fan noise is inaudible on my system which has the PS3 sitting on my open TV stand about ten feet from my sitting position.

One negative thing I have discovered is that the PS3 cant play back DTS music disks from DTS home entertainment properly. They register as audio CD and output static - very disappointing since I own quite a few of them. I will concentrate on more concord jazz titles on my next listening session.

I almost went the PC in the livingroom route a few years ago but there were many many problems related to video cards (DVD playback) and the X-Fi was about to hit the street so sound cards were limited to the Audigy and premium manufacturers. The fan.deck noise level was also an issue but I always felt that the ability to process music in the digital domain was a big plus. At any rate, given the good results of the PS3 with SACD I am keeping it plugged in as a two channel player and will update the firmware again to get the new CD playback options. Currently I am tinkering with another PC that I have to see if DVD-Audio playback is worthwhile on it.

Have yet to update to new firmware but will try it this weekend.

I have spun a few more 2 channel SACDs namely Peter Gabriel Plays Live, The Police Regatta De Blac, Aerosmith Toys in the Attic, Poncho Sanchez Conga Blue, Dave Brubeck Take Five and a few others. The results have not changed and oprational quirks aside, I continue to find the PS3 as an outstanding SACD player via analog 2 channel. There is no dout as an HDMI source the PS3 should sound fantastic in multichannel be it either PCM or DSD.

Thanks for the info.

I spun a a couple of DTS music discs today Sting Nothing Like The Sun and Ten Summoners Tales. The 44khz vs 48khz frequency setting for CD in the sound options did indeed get rid of the static EXCEPT in between tracks. The receiver shows that it looses the DTS signal for a couple of seconds while the static comes out. Very annoying - does anyone else have this problem? I might exchange my unit for another player this weekend in hopes of fixing this problem as well as other issues I have with this particular unit.