You have one hour to live. Which album do you put on?

[rgpit]

Beggars Banquet

[F1nut]

Is it THAT much of an audible difference?     

The short answer is yes.

[Anders]

There's a YouTube video with Michael Fremer and a bunch of recording (mastering) engineers comparing vinyl to CD to SACD.
They all say CD sucks and SACD is OK but you can actually hear how much better the vinyl is.

I have a DVD/SACD player which is a high-end Sony but I have very few SACDs.

Deep Listening: Why Audio Quality Matters

[tinpan]

Lhasa

I like F1 Nut's  Aimee Mann pick and Bunni's Brother Where Art Thou

[OldiesButGoodies]

My Sony SACD player seats unused. It is not high-end at all - really a DVD player with SACD as a extra feature.  I own 4 SACDs.  As a CD player,  the unit is laughably inferior to the Phillips CD-80, so there is that.  If I did set it up,  I am back to the 4 SACDs I own.  Selection is a bit scarce,  thought it has gotten better and cheaper (down to $13 a CD).  But I can get the vinyl for each one of those at half that price or less,  and the selection of vinyl is huge.  So why do it? 

Having written all that,  F1nut's opinion is to be taken seriously,  so I may test the SACD thing one more time.

One thing about SACDs:  you can raise the volume to your heart's content without worrying about feedback, which an issue (for me anyway) at very high SPL w vinyl.

OBG

[Sir Thrift-a-Lot]

Mastering over media.

[Kingman]

Let me go out with a bang....

[SunnyDaze]

Oh, I take F1's opinion very seriously. When I do finally make the hi-fi southern tour, I'd love to listen what he and a few others have to say and offer in terms of advice and of course gear. 

My concern with SACD is exactly that, availability. The media is there if I make the effort and wish to expend the fundage on said media. I just don't have either of those precious resources at the moment. I didn't even bring anything to grad school that requires tinkering.

That being said, I've never really looked all that hard for SACD material. Is it THAT scarce or can a trip to Best Buy once a week keep me content?

AND... is there a HUGE difference between low grade and high end SACD units? I mean... the obvious answer will most likely be yes... but... I'll be a dumbass and ask anyhow.

[wkhanna]

Re the OT……..
I am in a dilemma.
I do not know of a version of Beethoven’s 9th that comes in at less the 60 minutes!
Were in world would you edit out the extra 5 to 9 minutes of music (depending on which performance you choose)?
Certainly not the finale!
And definitely not one second of the opening passage!
Yet I know of some who totally by-pass the second movement all together when listening to this Masterwork!?!?!?
Absolute heresy!!!!!!!

Anyway, therein lays my conundrum.
Only 60 minutes to listen to 65+ minutes of my last bit of music forever.
Life is so cruel; maybe I’ll just put the 9mm in my mouth and be done with all!

But wait! There is that ‘Greatest Broadway Show Tunes of All Times’ CD my wife has…….
Wonder what the play-time on that one is ?

[Anders]

Absolute heresy ? I have a direct to disc LP that's just the final movement of the 9th !
Stunning dynamics ! My father always gave me a hard time for buying it.

Ohhhh and speaking of differences...
The main difference I hear between a cheap CD player and a good CD player is in sound-stage width.
A cheap CD player sounds like you pushed the mono button in.

I don't think Best Buy has any SACDs anymore.

[SunnyDaze]

Anders, I don't know if I'd say I noticed staging and width when I did a major upgrade in the CD player department. What I did notice was an increase in dynamics and in "presence". Everything seems more alive.

[bmwr75]

Best Buy hardly has any CDs anymore.  Last time I was in one a couple of months ago, I couldn't even find the CD section.  Had to ask an associate where they were........the few CDs they had were stuck in the back corner of the store.  SAD!!!!

Absolute heresy ? I have a direct to disc LP that's just the final movement of the 9th !
Stunning dynamics ! My father always gave me a hard time for buying it.

Ohhhh and speaking of differences...
The main difference I hear between a cheap CD player and a good CD player is in sound-stage width.
A cheap CD player sounds like you pushed the mono button in.

I don't think Best Buy has any SACDs anymore.

[Sir Thrift-a-Lot]

There are still a few SACDs left on Amazon.

[hewlew1]

Genisis Foxtrot

[icravcarver]

I guess it would come down to if I had knowledge of "how" is was about to die.  In other words, what manner of death.  Serene peaceful fall asleep and never wake up death or a horrible, tragic, painful, cut down in my prime death.  For this reason, I have a few possible selections.

Scenario 1 - peaceful passing - I would have to say Pink Floyd - Meddle (on vinyl)
Scenario 2 - painful passing - Definitely would be Slip Knot - All Hope is Gone (again on vinyl).

There is also the other options of picking songs of particular albums to fill the entire hour but this obviously would take forever, and by time I compiled the list, I would be dead and not enjoyed any of my collection.

Some close runners up:
The Band - The Last Waltz
Grateful Dead - Skeletons from the Closet
Neil Young - Harvest
Tool - Undertow
Pearl Jam - Ten
Janes Addiction - Nothings Shocking
Black Sabbath  or Ozzy - pick an album any album
Genesis - Trick of the Tail
Jimi Hendrix - anything from this mad man

If I thought about it more, I would have to put the 9 mm in my mouth!  The thought of having to choose would drive me to do it!

Neil