Search - Santana :: Abraxas (Sl)

More resolution than the standard cd, in pristine 2 channel

S. Ragland | 02/14/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Ok, ok... Lets get some things straight. This is a standard Stereo SACD. If you were expecting multichannel then it's your fault for not reading the info about it. There are many of us who prefer 2 speakers over 5.1 or even 7.1 surround. We were born with 2 ears right... not 7.1 (lol) This matter does not suprise me because its still the case that most people think cds are more valuable than vinyl for sound. Most of us cant spend the money on expensive vinyl equipment but thats another case and still the vinyl itself will always carry more information than a little cd format could ever. It's not anyones fault that people buy cheap stereo equipment and expect nothing less than an inprovement with the sacds. A salute to two channel audio lovers out there. sorry... but 2 channel will always exist... nor will it ever depart these lands."

Only For Stereo But Excellent Music And Recording For Its Ti

Joel G. Alabastro | Sugar Land, Texas | 07/26/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"It is too bad if you expect 5.1 or 7.1 surround from this SACD. The remastering engineer is too honest to reprocess this to 5.1 or multichannel that during the time or recording was not available.



SACD Stereo is meant for stereophiles or audiophiles with equipment carefully chosen to bring out the best in recorded stereo music for two channels only...and never for 5.1 channels unless you have a DSP which will remove the essence of the recording anyway. And I have to emphasize the quality of the playback system since SACD has higher frequency data not possible to be included in the CD. If your system can only playback the audible frequencies then you are missing a lot of information particularly imaging (depth and width) and ambiance.



In short, the SACD version blows away the CD version only if you have the right equipment. I could hear the increased in depth of the soundstage and clarity of the instruments...My comparison is based on a remastered CD played on a very good CD player, versus this SACD played on a midrange SACD/DVD-A player. The CD player costs 3 times as much as the SACD player but still the SACD wins hands down.



So before you write reviews for or against this SACD make sure that you have listened to it using the right equipment...

Denon DVD2200,Audiolab CD Player,Metaxas Marquis Preamp/Solitaire Amp, Nordost Blue Heaven interconnect and Super Flatline speaker wires, Martin Logan SL3's and Descent Sub, PS Audio P600 regenerator.



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