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Dawn of a new era?
Philips launch multi-channel SACD
by Michael Jones
August 2001
Philips SACD1000 SACD player. $3499.95
Witnessing the birth of a new audio format is always interesting. Sometimes
it's obvious that the format will fail (Philips' DCC replacement of audio
cassettes comes to mind), while other times you'd bet the farm that they'd
succeed (DVD in this case).
Philips and Sony were the originators of CD and they joined forces to
launch SACD - Super Audio Compact Disc. (SACD and a competing format -
DVD-Audio - are covered in another article).
While Sony have released a number of SACD models, this is the first Philips model that I've come across. And it's also the first SACD player that will handle multi-channel SACD discs.
The Philips SACD1000 is not just a SACD player. It also will play CDs and DVDs. It's performance on DVD was not tested due to lack of time available with the unit.
The SACD1000 is a bluff, silver box with a very simple front panel. The disc drawer is in the centre below the display with the transport controls to the right. On the left is a button called "Audio Mode". This is used to select between multi-channel SACD, stereo SACD and the CD layer on a SACD disc, depending on what a disc has.
Around the back are stereo audio outputs, a range of video outputs (composite, S-video, component video), optical and coaxial digital outputs and six-channel analog out. It's the later which must be used for multi-channel SACD discs, as there is no provision for digital output of SACD signals.
So how does SACD sound? Well, I need to get a few caveats out of the
way first. Assessing a format depends greatly on the available software
and normally in the initial stages of a format launch there's not that
much software around.
Second, I've only had the opportunity to play with this Philips player,
so my comments can only be about this model.
So with that out of the way, I can say that SACD sounds very promising. Of the limited numbers of discs available, I found the new Telarc recording of Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture and other pieces the most illuminating.
This new recording, made with Sony DSD recorders, is pure SACD. The 1812 has a choir throughout, which is only found on a limited number of 1812s. Listening to the choir in SACD stereo mode followed by the CD layer showed the strengths of SACD - there was far less strain to the recorded sound of the voices. In fact, the SACD recording made CD sound somewhat dirty and congealed.
Improved sound quality is one thing, but I don't believe that it's enough to sell a new mass-market format. What may sway people to open their wallets, however, is surround sound.
While surround sound in the 1970s was a short-lived fad, listeners are
now used to surround sound through home theatre and can hear the benefits
it can bring.
But home theatre surround sound is of a low resolution - usually the movie
obliterates much of our awareness of that. but a high resolution multi-channel
format can finally achieve one of the holy grails of hi-fi - the proper
rendition of recorded space.
One great example of this is a DMP recording called Sacred Feast. Carefully recorded in The trinity College Chapel, this choral recording places the listener firmly in the church. The choir remained anchored in their seats while the reverberant acoustics of the church rolled around the listeners.
This was so convincing that it completely fooled one friend who came around to have a listen. During this SACD he began to speak and then stopped. When he spoke again he explained that he had expected his voice to be in the church acoustic and was startled to hear it in the dryer acoustics of my lounge. Convincing stuff!
While most of the supplied SACDs were not helpful in assessing the new format (Billy Joel's 52nd Street or Meatloaf's Bat Out Of Hell, anyone?) there was one disc that was a lot of fun. Recorded in 1972, Mike Oldfeild's Tubular Bells was remixed for 4-channel quadraphonics back in 1975. The SACD of Tubular Bells contains the original quad mix! This was a lot of fun for me and another listener (who remembers when Tubular Bells was first released). But a second listener - involved in music recording - thought that the unsubtle instrument panning displayed everything that was wrong with surround sound!
If Philips and Sony are right thinking that SACD is the future, then it's very important that SACD player also perform well with the billions of CDs out there. The Philips SACD player was a very competent unit, probably competitive with CD playback at around the $1500-2000 level. My five-year old Meridian 508 comfortably sees it off playing CDs.
On both CD and SACD material the Philips had a smooth and refined sound. It was a little sloppy/pudgy in the bass, however.
Interestingly, the SACD1000 sounded better on CDs from the left and right outputs of the multi-channel connectors, rather than the dedicated two-channel outputs elsewhere on the back panel.
Although I didn't try this, commentary elsewhere suggests that that digital outputs do not produce a bitstream on CD playback - a curious state of affairs. this means that you can't use an external D/A convertor or route the digital signal to an AV receiver.
Conclusions
It's hard to draw conclusions about a player in the early days of a new
format. As the first (and so far only) multi-channel SACD player available
the Philips SACD1000 has the field to itself. Add in more than competent
CD playback and DVD video playback and a modest price. If you want to
investigate multichannel SACD, this is a great place to start.
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