Steve Conatser

Thanks Schu. PS: Please don't forget that the OP is questioning about compatible SACD formats ... for a 2-channel only ... Marantz SA-8001. If the system is 2-channel only, does this mean that hybrid multi-channel formatted SACDs would be a waste of money? Or ... can hybrid mult-channel formatted discs be played on 2-channel stereo systems .. as a left/right stereo? It just seems odd to me on how much the available mult-channel formatted discs far outweigh the single stereo & hybrid stereo formatted discs ... with the assumption that there are a lot of folks that are still using stereo systems that they've owned since before 5.1 became so popular.

Thank you for the tip, Crossman. I'll check out Amazon and music direct. PS: I've received more clarification about the Marantz SA-8001. Following is cut-n-paste from a website, that repeats other comments about this Marantz player being a 2-channel player only: "It can only play I found the CD performance of the player to be outstanding: all new life and clarity for my existing library of CD's, and still the ability to play SACD's (in 2-channel stereo only)." With the understanding that the SA-8001 is only a 2-channel player, does this rule out playing Hybrid Multi-Channel SACD format? Does this narrow the format-choices to hybrid stereo and to single-layer stereo, for the SA-8001?

Hello gang. The good news, is that my sound equipment I ordered has arrived. The bad news is I'll probably have to wait a couple of pay periods until I have the balance owed. Drat. Pending receipt are a pair of Heresy III speakers, and the following Marantz separates: ST-7001 tuner, PM-7001 integrated amp, and SA-8001 SACD player. Questions please, about recommended SACD formats to buy, for the SACD player, as I've never used an SACD player. The only source for SACD disks that I'm aware of, is "Acoustic Sounds" (AS). Here are some specs i saw, that AS offers for SACD formats: (1) Hybrid Stereo ... available on six pages of the AS-catalog. (2) Hybrid Multi-Channel ... available on twenty four pages of the AS-catalog. (3) Single-Layer Stereo ... available on four pages of the AS-catalog. Questions follow: 1. The AS-catalog only lists three types of SACD formats, so are there only three formats? 2. Will the Marantz SA-8001 SACD player play all three of the SACD formats offered in the AS-catalog? 3. The system I bought is only for stereo music (left & right speaker). It would appear from the description of the three SACD formats, that the Single-Layer Stereo format would be the best designed format for the SA-8001 SACD player. Is this correct? 4. Would the Hybrid Stereo format sound just as good as the Single-Layer format ... when played with the SA-8001 SACD player and two Heresy III stereo speakers? 5. The bigger slice of the pie appears to be the Hybrid Multi-Channel format. However, would it be a waste of money, to buy a Hybrid Multi-Channel format, if you just have a pair of speakers (for stereo)? 6. Other than the AS-catalog, what are other good sources for SACD recordings? Your friend, Steve

I'd probably go with any of several of the earlier Steve Miller songs, where there is music shifting back and forth from left to right speaker. If the stereo separation sounds good while your system is playing those Steve Miller songs, you're good to go.

Yep, I guess all the pine trees have been plucked from the earth, since I last bought furniture a couple of decades ago. A lot of the better-built furniture are coming out in a cherry tone. My two office windows are 25" off the floor, so the el-widgeto (Madrid) is flat enough to sit under them. Plus, I can stack my printers and my carcass on the top-shelf, so it would make a good bench under the windows. Good tips, gentlemen. PS: Yesterday, I ordered a pair of Heresy IIIs in a walnut finish, along with Marantz units: SA-8001 SACD, PM-7001 integrated amp, and ST-7001 AM/FM. Got a good package from Today's Audio in Burton, MI. Great advice on this forum.

Of course you know, the Spanish folks pronounce widget as "Madrid". How good is the Salamander Madrid model? Is this product worth its $1500 bumper sticker?

Okay, is this correct? (1) The chassis of Heritage speakers (Heresy, Cornwall) were originally made with real wood. (2) The chassis of Heritage speakers are now made of compressed wood. (3) You can order custom-made Heritage speakers, to be made of real wood. I'm sure that however the Heritage chassis is made today, it is very durable. But how can I get information about custom-made speakers? A comment was made by russ69 about custom-made rosewood Heresy speakers. I just checked the Klipsch website, and see no information about custom made Heresy III ... or any other Heritage speakers. So, how may I get information about custom-made speakers? It would be interesting to know (A) How to order custom H-3 speakers through a dealer. ( What kind of real wood chassis' are available. © How much custom H-3 speakers cost. (D) What is the delivery time for custom made H-3 speakers.

Plan B: I've taken everyone's advice, and have moved past the thought of having my desk located between my office's two windows. The reason I'm doing all this number-crunching, is because I have to buy new furniture for my empty office (10' x 14' bedroom), and I want to minimize cost by buying the minimum number of furniture pieces while maximizing office efficiency. Plus, I may have found a good alternative for the widget that will be storing the power train for the speakers: A big desk that has open desk shelves. If the desk doesn't work, I'll go to Plan C: A widget that is specifically designed for stacking power train separates. A recommendation was made by seti in an othe message to post pics after the setup is complete. First, please review the embedded schematic, which shows a larger desk and additional tables to accommodate working at a distance from the desk, with the use of wireless keyboard & mouse. Any thoughts about location of speakers, , the distances between the speakers and the dude (that's me), and how the speakers are pointed directly towards the office chair?

A good point was made by the forum ... about possibly compromising the bass-quality ... if elevating H-3 speakers above the floor level. Are there similar issues of losing sound quality from having H-3 speakers too close to the walls ... especially if sticking the speakers as close to the corners of the wall as possible? The rear of the speakers would be kind of facing the corner of the walls. Should there be a certain number of inches of space between the rear (and the sides) of the speaker ... and the adjacent walls ... or is this a moot point as long as the speakers do not make contact with the walls?

I'll be getting a pair of Heresy III speakers, which will be used in an office (guy-term for bedroom) on the second floor. There is carpet on the floor of the office, but it's not a very thick carpet. I'm wondering, if there will be much vibration from the H-3 speakers that could be heard ... or felt ... because they are in direct contact with the second-story floor of the house. Is it common to use speaker stands for floorstanding speakers located on the second-story of colonial houses ... and if so ... did the speaker stands make a difference? From a previous message, a company selling widget stands was recommended by Islander. This company also sells speaker stands. They mention speaker stands that are filled with stands. Would these stands be a really good idea to prevent sound travel from second-story office to the room below the office? Info here (courtesy of Islander): < http://www.skylanstands.com/racks.htm > Anyone ever had issues ... with vibrations from speakers located on the second story of their house ... traveling through the rest of the house? If so, how did you resolve the issue? A similar question: The H-3 speakers are designed to be floorstanding speakers. If I used speaker stands, would there be loss in sound quality, or do well- built speaker stands (i.e., sand-filled, etc.) compensate for speakers designed to be floorstanding?

With the assumption that I'll be getting a sound system in a week or two, I'll need a widget to stack everything. I'm a wood freak, and would much prefer a wooden widget to stack everything, as long as I can point'n'click the remote to all the units. To be stacked would be an SACB, an integrated amplifier, and an AM/FM tuner. Got any advice where I can search or Google for good widgets for stacking these components? Ideally, I would prefer pine, but I don't know if I can be that picky. And is there a better name for these widgets besides widgets?

Thanks for all the good tips everyone. Schu, you mention import sources, can you elaborate a little more about these import sources?

Thanks for turning me on to What Hi Fi. This is useful not only for audio reviews, but also for TV reviews. Hey, gotta replace my 1996 Sony 36" cathode ray television one of these decades.

... And here is another point that I could use clarification on ... but in the other direction than the one you mentioned ... Can I play my regular audio CDs on an SACD player?Here is a cut'n'paste from Crutchfield's description of the Yamaha RX-797 SACD: "stereo playback for SACDs, CDs, CD-Rs & CD-RWs, and MP3 & WMA CDs". I was just wanting earshot-verification ... of what my eyes are reading ... so my question is: Can I play my regular audio CDs on an SACD player, and would they actually sound better than on a normal CD player? PS: what does down-sampled mean?

Thank you for the offer, bhenry. I live at the border of Wayne County and Oakland County, in Livonia. This would be about 25 miles at the 10 O'Clock position from Detroit, near intersection of 8 Mile Road and Farmington Road. I'd give you my address, but then I'd have to shoot you for security reasons. [:#]