The format discussion is always muddied by the mastering angle, as Pat said.
Unless you are comparing exactly the same recording in the different formats, comparisons are not valid. Some SACDs are not encoded from the same master as their CD equivalents. In other words you can't assume that, because an SACD sounds better than its CD equivalent, SACD is a better format. Whether or not the differences in mastering are intentional (conspiracy theorists can jump in at this point) Sony and other hi-rez vendors are rubbing their hands every time mastering differences are assumed to be format differences. In terms of published evidence I've not read a shred of evidence that hi-rez is audibly better than red book as a format, and there is at least one study I know of that suggests there is no audible difference. That's why I believe hi-rez formats are all about DRM and I don't worry about red book when I sit down to play some tunes. Darren -- darrenyeats SB3 / Inguz -> Krell KAV-300i (pre bypass) -> PMC AB-1 Dell laptop -> JVC UX-C30 mini system ------------------------------------------------------------------------ darrenyeats's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=10799 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=45839 _______________________________________________ audiophiles mailing list [email protected] http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
