The best sounding audiophile SACD ever ?

[@stevelucero7922]

Listening the first time my Roxy Music Avalon SACD. Blown away how artistic this band is. Music produced to sound the way the artists intend. A must have for us audiophiles! =)

[@robbiedetroitstigermanviny8883]

Somebody told Me I was Fool for listening to Cd's and or SACD's. I call bullsh*t on that one. I'm with You they sound Awesome, Clear with great separation. Right on Man! Awesome Video!!!!!

[@kennysaudiophilerecordreviews]

Cool my brother I appreciate that ✌️

[@robbiedetroitstigermanviny8883]

@@kennysaudiophilerecordreviews Anytime Kenny, Anytime, I'm new to the Channel and I'm loving every minute. Thank you!

[@DanielRussell-ou6uq]

I love your content. I’m the warehouse manager at Impex Records. Would love to get you some promo vinyl for you to listen to and review!

[@kennysaudiophilerecordreviews]

Thank you very much for the offer, I sincerely appreciate it. If I decide to move forward with my channel and have a PO box address set up, I will definitely accept your offer. Thanks you very much for the consideration.

[@richardgartner]

Great content and positive vibes Kenny!

[@kennysaudiophilerecordreviews]

Thank you very much for your donation and your kind comments, I sincerely appreciate it 😊✌️

[@thevinylmuseum2958]

Enjoyed the video in particular the Donovan segment. I have the exact album version of the Donovan SACD AND POSTED a video 3 months ago on my channel about that particular LP version. (Some of my go-to albums). The LP version has Steve Hoffman IN THE DEAD WAX but no mention of the man himself KPG-AKA Kevin Gray in the Dead Wax. An album in my TOP 5 FOR THE MUSIC AND SOUND QUALITY. Killer no filler. Surprisingly not many people know about this release from 2005. Time for the audiophiles to catch up....LOL!

[@kennysaudiophilerecordreviews]

Thank you very much for watching my video. I'm definitely going to check out the vinyl version of the album. I will watch your video today.

[@lyndellwilliams5890]

Donovan's song (Superman of the sea) is one of my favorites from back then. I did go & checkout your Storyteller recommendation & it's pretty good. Being that the music world didn't have an upgrade of clearer sounding technology until the 70's, musicians were trying to get you closer to actual sound as possible. So when it's put on a S.A.C.D. you tend to have some good qualities in sound. Another one you might want to checkout frim that same time period is The Crykle album (Red Rubber Ball). Just like Superman of the sea is one of my favorites from back then, (Turn Down Day) is another one. The album has a long track list so you'll have to be in the zone of wanting to listen to a tracklist like that. Enjoy.👍

[@kennysaudiophilerecordreviews]

I'm very familiar with the Cyrkle...I have the album 😊

[@shrtal]

I have never heard the Donovan SACD however there are plenty of amazingly sounding SACDs. One of my all time favorites is Beck’s Sea Change.

[@kennysaudiophilerecordreviews]

Beck is great 👍 👌 👏 🎶

[@robertkeene7909]

Was that SACD released by MoFi? That’s on my vinyl wishlist, but didn’t know of the SACD!

[@joeb4349]

Hello Kenny: I really enjoy your posts. You speak with so much authority. I would sure like to have a beer with you and talk about jazz. I am a SACD man for sure. This Storyteller SACD you describe has been engineered by Steve Hoffman. He's responsible for much of the playback quality you like. Perhaps the best sounding SACD I have is Miles Davis, My Funny Valentine, put out by Mobile Fidelity. This is a live recording and unfortunately MoFi truncated the opening comments by Mort Fega. This unnecessary editing removes some of the "live" feeling that my redbook copy has, e.g., the ambience of the audience in anticipation of the concert, the horns warming up, the ambient sound cues from the concert hall walls, etc. But the music is quite an improvement over the redbook layer. I subscribe to your channel but don't get your alerts. I will subscribe again. Keep these posts coming.

[@kennysaudiophilerecordreviews]

I appreciate your comments, thank you very much and thank you for subscribing to my channel 😊 ✌️

[@ShellacWinters]

I have an original 7" of Hurdy Gurdy Man and it sounds fantastic.

[@kennysaudiophilerecordreviews]

👏 👍 🎶....its a great record for sure.

[@johnmoreno96]

Hey Kenny, I’m sure there is a vinyl version of that recording, I saw it a few years ago. Audiophile pressing of course, I wish I would have bought it, I will look for it now. Thanks always interesting videos..✌

[@kennysaudiophilerecordreviews]

Thank you very much for your comments and information, I really appreciate it 😊

[@jgfergus]

I have one John. I do recall it sounding really good. But it's been years since I spun it.

[@zenontenorio2062]

Hi, Kenny, I wish you a great weekend (zenon from Brasil)

[@kennysaudiophilerecordreviews]

Thank you very much, I hope that you enjoy your weekend 😊

[@HoomanR17]

Yay, Donovan!(as soon as I saw the record in the background) then when you revealed the Storyteller SACD , I wasn't surprised. Donovan's complete catalog, even the live recordings have been top notch.. I wonder how you would compare the SACD with the Vinyl version of Storyteller.. Also if the version of the Hurdy Gurdy Man is the one pressed by QRP (based on your inner sleeve), then that was a reissue, even possibly a KPG reissue which to me is lifeless compared to the originals.

[@kennysaudiophilerecordreviews]

The version that I have is close to a original pressing. After I clean my records, I put them in clean unused modern sleeves.

[@HoomanR17]

​@@kennysaudiophilerecordreviews thanks for clarifying. I thought perhaps it was a Sundazed reissue that was done by KPG.

[@NoEgg4u]

A couple of years ago, I heard that SACD's technology requires a proprietary Sony chip in every SACD player. Assuming the above it correct... As I understand it, the data stored on a SACD is in the DSD format -- which is a great format. It still requires that the studio personnel mix and master it properly. But the SACD format is supposedly superior to the standard CD format. DSD uses pulse density modulation. Standard CDs, or any flac file or any mp3 file or any wav file, etc, at any sampling rate, store their data in PCM, which uses pulse code modulation. SACDs are twice the sample rate of a standard CD. That is good. But sample rates can be to the moon, and sound lousy, if the studio personnel do a lousy job. Assuming the studio personnel get it right, then SACDs will save the recording in a better sounding format than a standard CD. But here is why I never pursued SACDs: 1) When I purchased my stereo in 2006, from a high-end store, the store's owner told me that there is not too much SACD content out there, and that the better CD players that he carries are better than any SACD player. Sales propaganda? Truth? Not sure. But his demo systems were the best I had ever heard. So he knows what he is doing. But I would not put it passed him to tell a tale if he does not include SACD players in his catalog. 2) SACDs contain an exact master of the studios master SACD file. You will have the same file as the studio. But the studio never shares exact duplicates of their master files. So here is what they did: Your SACD's content is encrypted. With the encryption key that is built in to your SACD player, you are given access to the master file on the disk. But that access is indirect. You can't grab the DSD file on the SACD. You can only play it and hear the analog version of it. Every SACD player requires a proprietary Sony chip to do the decrypting. No Sony chip, and you are left with scrambled data on the disk that is useless. So everything we hear on a SACD player is traversed through that proprietary Sony chip. Supposedly, that proprietary Sony chip is very good, but not great. Supposedly, it is not quite high-end quality (I do not believe that Sony makes any high-end audio gear). They make some very good audio gear, but not high-end. So no matter how good an SACD player is (and our host has a very good Luxman SACD player), it will never sound better than that proprietary Sony decryption chip. 3) I could barely afford my stereo. So I went for a standard CD player, because most of my favorite songs are not available on SACD, and I wanted my songs to sound their best. Yes, a SACD player will play standard CDs. But based on the store's owner telling me that the standard CD player in my budget will sound better, I went with a standard CD player -- and I got to hear it in the store, and it sounded great. I might never get to hear for myself if an SACD player is just as good or better. But when I was in the store, purchasing a complete stereo, and I heard the whole package (speakers and gear) and was blown away, I played it safe with the CD player in that set-up. By the way... There are vinyl records that sound amazing, that we have learned came from DSD masters. Why do they sound so amazing? At the studio, their DSD master is not encrypted. The studio personnel have the DSD file in its natural, non encrypted form. They do not need to run their DSD master though a proprietary Sony decryption chip. So the eventual vinyl pressing that we hear is straight from the DSD master file, with the full exposure of the beauty of the DSD master file.

[@kennysaudiophilerecordreviews]

I purchase DSD content from HDTRACKS and play the files on my Sony HAP-Z1ES player and the sound great especially when played through my Luxman DA-06 DAC that is DSD capable. I know that Mobile Fidelity uses DSD in their mastering chain and a lot of their records sound great. Thank you very much for taking the time to post your comments and watching my video, I really appreciate it 😊 ✌️

[@NoEgg4u]

@@kennysaudiophilerecordreviews Over the years, I rarely heard a great sounding Mobile Fidelity pressing. I got tired of wasting my hard-earned $$, and so I gave up on them. Well, the world does not stand still. One day, word was spreading (by reputable reviewers) that Mobile Fidelity's pressings sounded great. I grabbed a used one, to hear for myself. Well, I am now a fan. Like nearly everyone else, I did not know that Mobile Fidelity was using a DSD master. I just knew what my ears told me. But now it all makes sense, now that we know that they are using DSD masters. I have heard only a few of their DSD derived pressings. So I cannot say for sure if, overall, their releases will sound great. But all indications are that that is the case. I am not working now, so I cannot indulge myself with purchasing more pressings.

[@JamesDavidWalley]

That store owner sold you a bill of goods. The "encryption chip" isn’t a DAC, and doesn’t have any audible effect on the resulting signal. Also, although the discs are encrypted, it’s possible to extract the pure DSD bitstream using a PlayStation 3 or several models of SACD players, via software available online. I have many gigabytes of these files that I have extracted from my SACDs, and which can be streamed from my computer to whichever DAC I choose.

[@NoEgg4u]

@@JamesDavidWalley"That store owner sold you a bill of goods. The "encryption chip" isn’t a DAC, and doesn’t have any audible effect on the resulting signal." I did not write that the above came from the store owner. I did not write that the encryption chip is a DAC. Yes, it does have an audible effect on the resulting signal. "Also, although the discs are encrypted, it’s possible to extract the pure DSD bitstream using a PlayStation 3 or several models of SACD players, via software available online." That is not getting you the DSD file that is on the SACD. That is getting you the Sony chip's eventual analog output, then converted to a digital file. That is a far cry from having the DSD master that is on the SACD. You converted the SACD's digital file into an analog signal, and then converted that analog signal into a digital file. You might as well record the sound from your speakers into a digital file.

[@jeffferguson2598]

I have that Donovan album on vinyl.

[@kennysaudiophilerecordreviews]

Must sound great on vinyl 👍 👌 🎶

[@jgfergus]

@@kennysaudiophilerecordreviewsHaven't listened to it in quite a while Kenny. But your video has given me the desire to pull it out and give it a spin.

[@Podcastforthewin]

I'm really still inti buying cd's new or old, and now i want to get into sacd's. I really want to buy a player, but im not sure what route to go. prices are high. also, where can you buy sacd's?

[@johnmckiernan2176]

Dude, I have a problem when I can spot your Impulse Records section among the thousands of records in your collection! I only have a couple of Miles Davis SACDs, and I haven't listened to them yet. Do they play on conventional CD players?

[@kennysaudiophilerecordreviews]

SACDs will not play on conventional CD players on unless it is a hybrid SACD that has a CD layer. In that case you are listing to the CD layer of the disc and not the potential better sounding SACD layer.

[@woobiecat5631]

Return To Forever - Romantic Warrior Label: SME Records - SRGS-4519