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Best DVD/CD/SACD reader/app
- Thread starter cmcbhi
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Accuracy, Musical Quality of reproduction. I'm using a 13 y/o CD reader and wonder if there is a better option for transferring music, especially Classical, to my Mac.
I don't think so. The laser is going to read the disc perfectly, bit by bit and transfer it to the computer, whether you're listening, or ripping. The only issue you could have would be if the disc had scratches on it.
I'm still using a 12 year old Asus CD/DVD/BD burner. Works great.
The only other thing that could be better is with listening to a disc from the computer/device and you don't like the sound from the DAC - either on device or on the computer. In that case, use the CD player as a transport and send the digital output to an external DAC for a different, if not, better sound.
I'm still using a 12 year old Asus CD/DVD/BD burner. Works great.
The only other thing that could be better is with listening to a disc from the computer/device and you don't like the sound from the DAC - either on device or on the computer. In that case, use the CD player as a transport and send the digital output to an external DAC for a different, if not, better sound.
Thanks. I just wondered about the SACD format, etc. I know digital vs. Analog, and Chip vs Tube is a running argument for audiophiles. We had the Audio Research Amp and Preamp w/ a California Audio Lab CD and Huge speakers when we had a house/room that would accommodate. We have downsized to a cottage at The Forest Duke and don't have the space. Digital works fine now. Thanks for your quick reply/advice.
I read that cds and dvds can rot away, so be careful.
Are Your DVDs Rotting Away? - IGN
If you have a bunch of DVDs on your shelf, some recent reports may have you worrying if any of your collection has, in fact, rotted. Yes, DVD rot is a thing. Here's what's going on and what it could mean for you.
As far as I know there are no optical drives that will read SACD audio layers (SACDs have a standard CD layer which could be read in a CD player and a second, SACD layer that could only be read by SACD players - this second one is the layer that had the higher quality, multichannel audio).
As far as I know, there is no software to play/rip SACDs on Macs.
CD Audio, DVD Movies, Blu-ray movies (all the way up to UHD Blu-ray) sure. But no SACD.
There was Windows software that could rip the very earliest SACD releases, before they added encryption/DRM. But none that I know of that will do later releases.
CD Audio, DVD Movies, Blu-ray movies (all the way up to UHD Blu-ray) sure. But no SACD.
There was Windows software that could rip the very earliest SACD releases, before they added encryption/DRM. But none that I know of that will do later releases.
Well, that sorta settles that for me. With my former system, maybe. But the vast majority of my music is on CDs that have been moved to my M4 Studio and my current speakers and our small cottage are not up to SACD anyway.
But, thanks all for the quick info. Solved my problem and saved me some money.
But, thanks all for the quick info. Solved my problem and saved me some money.
I remembered a short (3-6 minutes) daily video that Paul McGowen, CEO of PSAudio, put out a couple months ago; I couldn't find that video but this is the one he put out the next day, for your reference. Apparently Marantz is the only manufacturer in the world that was still making SACD drives, and they announced they would cease production; PS Audio bought out their entire remainder of 300 units for lotsa $$$. So, my advice is to baby your Superdrive (I still have mine) as long as you can.
When Oppo quit making disk players, I bought two backup units for the one I already had, as I have a good-sized collection of SACD and DVD-A disks (along with a bunch of Blurays). However, I could swear that Sony offers a really inexpensive disk player that I thought played all formats, so I don't know what the disconnect is.
When Oppo quit making disk players, I bought two backup units for the one I already had, as I have a good-sized collection of SACD and DVD-A disks (along with a bunch of Blurays). However, I could swear that Sony offers a really inexpensive disk player that I thought played all formats, so I don't know what the disconnect is.
Thanks. I think that the the market drives what will be produced. Sony Beta was a much better format than VHS, but the market had its say. Today’s music consumers seem to put convenience (streaming) over acoustic quality. I had to go part way down that road due to downsizing. I “make do” with a mid level media system and/or excellent over-the-ear earphones. But life’s not so bad that way.
I hear you. When CDs came out I was thrilled, clear sound and NO wow, flutter, pops, ticks, and full freq/dynamic range; I did jump on the SACD/DVD-A bandwagon but at this point (65, retired explosives engineer and part-time club musician, two-tone tinnitus) any advances in audio quality will be beyond what I can hear.
I did just get my first music streamer a couple months ago, and gotta admit the convenience and access is really, really cool.
Did some double-blind tests with SACD and normal CDs back in the day. No one could tell the difference. Actually that's not true. Some of the SACD masterings were ****ing awful so people thought those were the CDs. Waste of time.
All my stuff is ripped to FLAC at 44.1kHz 16-bit which is fine. Ripped with XLD on a fairly old external superdrive or old MBP or iMac, playback with Cog ( https://cog.losno.co/ )
All my stuff is ripped to FLAC at 44.1kHz 16-bit which is fine. Ripped with XLD on a fairly old external superdrive or old MBP or iMac, playback with Cog ( https://cog.losno.co/ )
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The Apple SuperDrive won’t work for SACDs since it doesn’t support them. You’ll need a special SACD drive, like a USB SACD player or a Blu-ray drive that can read SACDs. These drives usually come with software to play or rip SACDs. If you want to rip SACDs, you'll need extra software like Foobar2000 with the SACD plugin.
Just as a counterpoint to @cjsuk ... I have a few SACDs and they are mind-blowing compared to their Red Book CD counterparts. I bet I could win that double-blind challenge. 😜
This isn't the place to find experts on SACD ripping, however. An audio enthusiasts' forum site might be. I do remember doing some research into it a few years ago, and gave up when I discovered that all the recommended SACD rippers seemed to be Windows-based. I have an Oppo 203 clone (Cambridge Audio CXUHD) which plays SACDs fantastically, so I just use that. Unfortunately you have to have an older Oppo (a 103 or 105) series to do ripping with.
Here's a 7 year long, 251(!) page HiFi Haven thread on ripping SACDs.
This isn't the place to find experts on SACD ripping, however. An audio enthusiasts' forum site might be. I do remember doing some research into it a few years ago, and gave up when I discovered that all the recommended SACD rippers seemed to be Windows-based. I have an Oppo 203 clone (Cambridge Audio CXUHD) which plays SACDs fantastically, so I just use that. Unfortunately you have to have an older Oppo (a 103 or 105) series to do ripping with.
Here's a 7 year long, 251(!) page HiFi Haven thread on ripping SACDs.
There are a few good ones no doubt but it's more about the effort that went into the mastering rather than the extra bits. Some of them are really horrible though. I bought LSO's SACD recording of Mahler's 7th symphony back in the day. Absolutely the worst thing I've ever heard.
think the sony bluray player can act as SACD player, those uhd for sure;
but for ripping, you would need one with Digital OUt i presume.
never heard a SACD real , but looking forward to it.
but for ripping, you would need one with Digital OUt i presume.
never heard a SACD real , but looking forward to it.
Like 3D tv, I get the impression that "SACD" (as distinguished from "regular" CDs) was a "new-tech" that was tried, and then.... failed in the marketplace.
As "the CD era" itself seems to be ending (too bad), are there still SACDs being released...?
As "the CD era" itself seems to be ending (too bad), are there still SACDs being released...?
As far as I can tell, the last SACDs were released in 2022. Part of Atlantic Records' 75th anniversary, they re-released a bunch of albums from their 75 year catalog on SACD. Reviews are mixed. Some were remastered well, some weren't. The vast majority are 1980s or older source-albums.
The newest I can find that aren't part of the Atlantic 75th series are from 2019.
Edit: It appears that Atlantic 75 series started releasing in 2022, but they're still trickling out. Looks like a Fleetwood Mac album was re-released on SACD this last February.
Edit 2: And this only applies to US releases. It appears some Japanese releases are still coming out on SACD, but they all appear to be Japan-domestic artists, no internationally famous artists. I guess if you really like Japanese music, you have many choices available.
(I should note: My SACD collection is rather small, only a couple dozen releases, nearly all classical music, that I play through my Playstation 3.)
While I have never owned any SACD Discs, I own an am a fan of DVD and Blu-ray audio Discs which I play on my Oppo player. I have ripped a few of them onto my computer using a Sony Blu-ray player.
Are you sure about this? Mobile Fidelity is still cranking out Van Halen SACDs, you can pre-order the “Fair Warning” SACD release (release date TBA) on their Web site.
That is correct. However, There are archival rated discs that are said to last over 50 years. One could potentially copy their discs over bit perfect.I read that cds and dvds can rot away, so be careful.
Are Your DVDs Rotting Away? - IGN
If you have a bunch of DVDs on your shelf, some recent reports may have you worrying if any of your collection has, in fact, rotted. Yes, DVD rot is a thing. Here's what's going on and what it could mean for you.www.ign.com