listening to SACDs on PC?

sureAV421 · 10-24-04, 06:42 PM

Since my DVD player doesn't support SACD(its a panasonic) and there are lots of artists that have released SACDs that i'd like to get, is there a way my PC could decode the SACD music track to play back over my PC's speakers?

chowchris13 · 10-24-04, 06:46 PM

not that i know of...but i wish there is

TheMadMonk · 10-24-04, 07:26 PM

Most SACDs also have a stereo CD Layer, so you could probably play it in your pc, but it won't be in multi-channel surround.

Otto · 10-25-04, 10:04 AM

The SACD track is not readable by a normal CD player. It's a second layer, and the hardware to read it is different (more like a DVD player than a CD player is).

Anyway, there's no such thing as an SACD reader for PC's, currently.

Also note that SACD's can have a normal CD layer for compatibility, and you'll be able to read that just fine, if it exists on the disc. However, there's nothing that requires the disc to have that layer, and many of Sony's SACD discs do not have it.

My suggestion: eschew the SACD format entirely. Go with DVD-A if you must switch to something with high resolution. DVD-A *can* be read by many computer DVD drives.

10-24-04, 06:42 PM	#1
sureAV421 Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2003 Posts: 744	listening to SACDs on PC? Since my DVD player doesn't support SACD(its a panasonic) and there are lots of artists that have released SACDs that i'd like to get, is there a way my PC could decode the SACD music track to play back over my PC's speakers?

10-24-04, 06:46 PM	#2
chowchris13 Member Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Canada Posts: 191	not that i know of...but i wish there is

10-24-04, 07:26 PM	#3
TheMadMonk DVD Talk Platinum Edition Join Date: Feb 2001 Posts: 3,168	Most SACDs also have a stereo CD Layer, so you could probably play it in your pc, but it won't be in multi-channel surround.

10-25-04, 10:04 AM	#4
Otto Banned Join Date: Sep 1999 Location: Memphis, TN Posts: 11,544	The SACD track is not readable by a normal CD player. It's a second layer, and the hardware to read it is different (more like a DVD player than a CD player is). Anyway, there's no such thing as an SACD reader for PC's, currently. Also note that SACD's can have a normal CD layer for compatibility, and you'll be able to read that just fine, if it exists on the disc. However, there's nothing that requires the disc to have that layer, and many of Sony's SACD discs do not have it. My suggestion: eschew the SACD format entirely. Go with DVD-A if you must switch to something with high resolution. DVD-A can be read by many computer DVD drives.