The Higher End
DSD/SACD & The Sony SCD-1: A New Paradigm
David W. Robinson

"… well, you know, you better free your mind instead… "

The second Sony SCD-1 sits in my listening room, just down the hall from where I am typing this
column. The first came and went, providing some 2.5 months of paradigm smashing and ear re-calibrating music, and making an indelible impression on literally everyone who heard it.

Yes, everyone. So far, the new DSD/SACD format is batting 1.000 with everyone here in PFland who’s heard it — and we’re a pretty ornerycrowd, plenty hard to please. (This is an historic first, by the way. PF’s editorial group has never unanimously agreed on anything, much less a digital standard. All of us in the senior editorial group are still chuckling in amazement here in River City....) 44.1kHz/16-bit PCM digital in particular has taken some pretty serious pounding over the years from more than a few of our folks, who claim (rightly) that LPs or open reel clearly have greater "ease" and truly higher fidelity for extended listening. The little 4.72" silver discs never really made it to the front rank as a standard, being used mainly for BGM (background music).

Until now.

The PF crew has already put Sony’s SCD-1 through its paces using a number of hardware configurations, in two different dedicated listening rooms — mine, and PF Assistant Editor Rick Gardner’s new room. We have used equipment ranging from Linn’s reference 5103 preamp/Klimax 500 WPC monoblocks (paired with the Nova Renditon and TDL Reference Standard loudspeakers) to BAT’s VK-50SE/VK-500 500 WPC system (paired with the ESP Concert Grand’s) to the 47 Laboratory 5106 Gain Card (25 WPC) and the deParavicini V20 integrated paired with the Lowther PM2A loudspeakers. Mike McCall brought over his very fine Shamrock Audio Eire 2-way Scanspeak speakers, in tandem with a pair of the R.E. Designs 150 WPC monoblock amps. We’ve run Don Garber’s Fi 2A3 monoblocks with the Lowthers. (Heck, just for fun, Tony Glynn and I paired up the Lowthers with the Linn Klimax amps with the SCD-1. 500 WPC and Lowthers! Had to turn the preamp WAY DOWN, but it sounded good! Tony was pretty pleased, as a matter of fact...) The Audio Research LS-25 tubed preamp, in balanced mode to the SCD-1, and unbalanced to the Klimax amps. With a LOT of new configurations remaining to be tested in the first quarter of 2000.

In other words, we’ve been doing a lot of playing. In each case, the result was spectacular. As a matter of fact, we haven’t found a combination of preamp/amp/speaker that didn’t benefit massively from the movement to an SACD source.

As a matter of fact, both PF Assistant Editor Rick Gardner and I spent money we didn’t have to purchase SCD-1’s. (Our long-suffering wives were philosophical, thank God!) Some reflections/notes from the past few months follow, in no particular order:

From An Editor’s Notebook: the Sony SCD-1

This is not a review.

It may look like a review, but it isn’t.

It’s an attempt to come to grips with impressions that have accumulated over the past few months.

There’s no point in playing around on this one. SACD is simply smashing. It doesn’t take an advanced degree in auralogy; it doesn’t take "golden ears"; it doesn’t take endless tweakery; it isn’t just "yet another incremental improvement."

It’s the single finest advance that I’ve ever heard in audio...and my audio experience goes back some 32 years now.

Nope. DSD/SACD is a revolution. Audiophiles are going to have to get used to an audio standard that — for the first time since open reel tape — is not a retrogression, trading sound quality for consumer convenience. (That’s been a long descent: from open reel to LPs, to cassettes, to CD’s/DAT’s, to DCC/MD, to [yuck!] MP3.) Instead, we have a new standard that takes us all the way back to mic feeds and master tapes as a realizable mass-production goal. This is unprecedented in the history of audio.

* "What does it sound like?" As I’ve stated before, SACDs do NOT sound like CDs...but NEITHER do they sound like LPs. "They sound like master tape," says my audio bud Brian Hartsell of The Listening Studio in San José, CA. As I said a couple of issues ago, "SACD: mic feeds and master tapes for the masses."

It’s studio sound in your listening room.

* In response to questions from some: no, I haven’t changed my mind on DSD/SACD. Quite the contrary – the more time I spend with the format, the more convinced I am that this is what audiophiles have been waiting for. I listen for hours… and hours… and hours… without a trace of digitally-induced fatigue.

Believe me, SACDs will permanently change your audio expectations. Upwards.

* Further: I think that the audio lexicon (especially that of audio reviewers) is going to have to be totally re-written in the light of DSD/SACD. We’re already starting to work on this task here at PF.

* Here’s an important note: allow lots of break-in time! The SCD-1 seems to require 300-400 hours of run-in to really begin to hit its stride. At first, the sound is a bit thin and forward. Within a few days, this begins to improve, on both the SACD and CD side of things. Thereafter, week by week Rick and I were increasingly pleased — then increasingly startled — at the improvement in the sound of the CD section. Every week we would compare notes, each time revising our evaluation of the SCD-1 upwards…it became a bit humorous, actually. The SCD-1 was a moving target — but moving in a very good direction!

* Speaking of standard CDs: there has been a lot of curiosity about the performance of the Sony SCD-1 as a standard CD player. This is natural enough — given the investment, many audiophiles would like a player that can handle their collections of CDs. Rick Gardner and I have spent many hours evaluating the SCD-1 as a CD player, and have listened back and forth between our listening rooms, comparing notes.

As a matter of fact, we have come to the conclusion that, with proper break-in, the SCD-1 is truly a world-class CD player, holding up very well against other CD players that we’ve heard — all the way out to $7,500. As a matter of fact, the only 44.1kHz/16-bit CD player I’ve heard that I would put ahead of the SCD-1 is the Linn CD-12. (Which makes me wish that Linn would make an SACD-12!)

When you combine the SCD-1’s exceptional CD performance with its SACD section — which eats standard CDs for breakfast, by the way — the result is a helluva bang for the buck, in audiophile terms.

As I have said, allow 300-400 hours of break-in. The results with standard CDs are most satisfying, which is a result that I have to confess I didn’t expect. Those who can afford only one SACD/CD player in this price range will be pleased with the SCD-1; both Rick Gardner and I are.

* Cables do make a difference. This is just as true of the SCD-1 as with any other piece of fine audio gear. I am currently using the Sahuaro power cable with Slipstream connector. This is good stuff! I found that it opened up the sound of the SCD-1 somewhat, and added greater clarity. Since I’m currently using the Linn 5103 reference preamp, unbalanced interconnects are the thing. The JENA Labs Symphony cables do the job nicely for greater openness/high frequency extension; if a deeper, richer presentation is what you’re looking for, the the sound of the Cardas Golden Cross mates nicely with the SCD-1. (I have also tried JENA Labs balanced interconnects, which were perhaps just a tad more clear and extended on the Audio Research LS-25 preamp.) You’ll want to experiment in your own listening room, of course.

* How do SETs sound with SACD? In a word, terrific! This is the best that I’ve heard 2A3’s sound, bar none! Don’t worry about the ultra high bandwidth of SACD too much. I just left the SCD-1 in its 50kHz roll-off position, and experienced no problems with instability or distortion

* What about Sony’s "kid brother" to the SCD-1, the SCD-777ES? We are expecting the 777 any day now from Sony, and will be reporting on direct and extended comparisons between the two units. In addition, Stu McCreary will be giving the 777 a go from his listening room over on the right coast — stay tuned!

* The "For What It’s Worth Dept.": The local Sony Only outlet reports that they are doing "very well!" with sales of the SCD-1/SCD-777ES right here in Portland. The store buyer was extremely enthusiastic over the quality of the sound: "SACD is what I listen to when I come in to open up the shop in the morning." Standard CDs? "They don’t even come close." They have a demo SCD-1 in the store — it’s available as a special order item. The SCD-777ES is "in stock right now." So… they’re out there.

* The SCD-1 is just the tip of the iceberg. As of now, I have reports of SACD or "all-in-one" players in the works from Audio Research Corporation, Krell, Philips, Marantz, Wadia, Classe’, Accuphase, JVC, and Sharp. DSD chipsets are available from Sony, Meitner, Burr-Brown, and Cirrus Logic; the word that I get is that Burr-Brown is currently back-ordered some 8-9 months. Somebody’s buying chips! I suspect that a number of other manufacturers are waiting in the wings to announce products later this year.

Frankly, I get the feeling that a number of manufacturers have been surprised at the degree of success that DSD/SACD have had. Expect more scrambling to get aboard the train if the momentum continues to build. (And yes, I think it will.)

* Advance reports from Internet sites like Audio Asylum (www.audioasylum.com) indicate that there are already SCD-1 users who are tweaking their units, with further improvements in the performance reported. The line stage of the SCD-1 is good, but I suspect that more could be done with better components, cabling, and connectors. (Sony concedes that their DSD/SACD standard can be improved by further enhancements in implementation. Look for some high-end audio companies to explore this as year 2000 goes by. Stan Warren — call home!) The transport in the SCD-1 is a wonder, though: two laser heads, one optimized for SACD, the other for standard CDs, and both mounted in a massive block — it’s the spindle that moves in this assembly. I have to say it: this is a beautiful piece of work. No wonder the transport alone OEMs for a reported $1,500.00!

* Wadia is rumored to be building a two box SACD player. Accuphase has also reportedly released a two-box universal player/digital preamp with SACD section. If true, this implies a DSD digital output jack, an exciting prospect for audiophiles everywhere. It would also signify a high degree of confidence in SACD’s watermarking…

* What’s the future look like? Well, be thinking about six channel surround sound based on DSD instead of the execrable 5.1 Dolby Digital. Now this would be something to cheer about: a system for attempting the re-creation of a soundfield (instead of a much simpler stereo soundstage) without sonic compromise. These are extraordinary times for audio, amigos! Stay tuned....

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