Is an SACD Hybrid Multi Channel download playable?
Posted by: Jeff105 on 28 December 2016
Still very new to Naim equipment and to streaming, so apologies if this should have an obvious answer. Have a U/Serve and UnitiLite and now wanting to replace some early repertoire, in this instance Grieg's Holberg Suite.
I understand that SACD is not supported by Naim CD players. I am looking at a recording which is available to download either as a CD quality FLAC and also as a Hi Res 96/24 version. The original is a Hybrid Multi Channel recording in 5.1 format.
Would these downloaded files play back satisfactorily from this equipment?
I assume the 24/96 FLAC version is being sold as a standard 2 channel stereo download, in which case there is no problem playing it on a US/Unitilite. Is there such a thing as a 5.1 download?
Good question. The site is Presto Classical of Leamington, who give the following information.
"Medium: SACD (download also available)
Format: Hybrid Multi Channel
Explanatory notes:
This is a Super Audio CD, recorded using Direct Stream Digital (DSD) technology, offering the ultimate in high-resolution digital audio.
It is a Hybrid Multi-channel disc, meaning that it can be played on a standard CD player. However, to obtain the full benefits (including surround sound), it should be played on an SACD player."
So if I accept that I won't "obtain the full benefits" because the physical disc is not a compatible format with a Naim CD player, should I nevertheless be able to assume that a download will play back as if recorded in 2 channel sound? Has anyone tried this?
And I have just answered my own question. Delving into the explanatory notes on the dealer's site I now find this.
"For downloads of items where the physical product is an SACD, the download will be in 2-channel stereo only."
So you are quite right CHRISSU, there is apparently no such thing as a 5.1 download.
I think I am possibly right in saying that the Unitilite doesn't support DSD playback, so even if you were to buy the SACD I don't think you could play it as such. So maybe the FLAC download is the one to go for.
ChrisSU posted:I think I am possibly right in saying that the Unitilite doesn't support DSD playback, so even if you were to buy the SACD I don't think you could play it as such. So maybe the FLAC download is the one to go for.
Sorry Chris, I had already downloaded the file before I saw this from you.
Although the SACD is made "using DSD technology" the download is a HiRes FLAC file. It plays just fine in fact, with the only drawback being that the dynamic range is so great that to hear the quiet bits makes for very loud crescendos.
Which is what it would sound like if you heard it at a concert, so that's good I think.
Morton posted:Which is what it would sound like if you heard it at a concert, so that's good I think.
Yes, definitely. Just have to remember to chase the cat out of the listening room first.
To be honest I sometimes find it a pain in the arse, also when films have a huge dynamic contrast between dialogue and action scenes. I respect that it might be realism, and it's probably better to have things that way rather than have everything sound dynamically flat. But suddenly getting punched in the ear and scaring the neighbour's cat isn't always as much fun as it sounds.
Dave***t posted:To be honest I sometimes find it a pain in the arse, also when films have a huge dynamic contrast between dialogue and action scenes. I respect that it might be realism, and it's probably better to have things that way rather than have everything sound dynamically flat. But suddenly getting punched in the ear and scaring the neighbour's cat isn't always as much fun as it sounds.
Have to agree. I have a Telarc CD of the Makerras version of Scheherazade which gives me the choice of setting the volume so as to be able to just about hear the opening distant, plaintive voice of the slave girl narrator (solo violin), followed by a deafening chord from drums, brass and cymbals as the first wave strikes the ship. So you get to decide which is the more irritating. Sometimes I wonder whether there is some sentiment that the technology allows for it, so why not exploit it?