Blue Train SACD Two channel only

[Baseball3]

Have I wasted my cash? There seems to be no sound from the subwoofer at all. Is it really just stereo SACD/ How do I get the sub active with this situation.

On a much happier note: the David Elias -Crossing SACD is out of this world. I purchased it my mistake but what a good fortune that was! After I sat and listened in true amazement I read the reviews and universally there was agreement that this SACD is awesome at worst. Buy it, now!

[CAB]

Originally Posted by Baseball3

Have I wasted my cash? There seems to be no sound from the subwoofer at all. Is it really just stereo SACD/ How do I get the sub active with this situation.

On a much happier note: the David Elias -Crossing SACD is out of this world. I purchased it my mistake but what a good fortune that was! After I sat and listened in true amazement I read the reviews and universally there was agreement that this SACD is awesome at worst. Buy it, now!

Your receiver may support an option to send full info to the sub/LFE in those cases. I choose to only listen in stereo when stuff is mastered in stereo.

Edit: But I have very large R & L.

[Baseball3]

Originally Posted by CAB

Your receiver may support an option to send full info to the sub/LFE in those cases. I choose to only listen in stereo when stuff is mastered in stereo.

Edit: But I have very large R & L.

It sounds pretty poor with just the small left and right speakers of my Boston Acoustics MCS130 speakers. Any suggestions are most welcome! Thanks!

[Brandon B]

Turn off direct mode and use regular stereo to engage your sub/bass management.

BB

[musicman1999]

This would lower sound quality as it would insert an extra analog-digital-analog conversion stage.

bill

[Brandon B]

If he is using analog inputs. If he is using one fo the new receivers/pre-pros that accept SACD digitally, not necessarily.

BB

[Clark Kent]

Originally Posted by Baseball3

Have I wasted my cash? There seems to be no sound from the subwoofer at all. Is it really just stereo SACD/ How do I get the sub active with this situation.

Yes that Coltrane SACD is stereo only. Many SACDs are stereo only. As others have recommended you need to change settings in your receiver to get your subwoofer active. My guess is that you have your main speakers set to large when they should be set to small(with the appropriate crossover selected).

[MouseRider]

There are some fantastic SACD stereo recordings and the Coltrane is certainly up there.

I'm not sure what receiver or pre/pro you're using but if configured correctly and if it does the right thing, your low frequencies should be sent to the sub if your mains are set to small.

That said, remember that it's jazz, you're not going to get hip-hop bass pumping your sub.

I have an Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong SACD and I've listened to it just with a pair of bookshelf Tannoys driven by a Linn Classik Music connected via stereo analog outs from a PS3, it felt like being in a lounge with the two masters.

[kingofgrills]

Bass management is one of the trickiest issues with SACD playback. 2 channel SACD tracks are not 2.1, so unlike multi-channel SACD tracks there is not a discrete LFE bass signal. If you are not using full-range speakers for your front two channels, you'll need bass management - either in the SACD player or in the receiver.

What are you using for your SACD player, and how exactly is it connected to your receiver? If you're solely using analog multi-channel inputs then that's the culprit. Most multi-channel inputs bypass the internal management of the receiver. For two channel stereo SACDs, one option is to use the mixed left/right analog inputs into left/right main receiver inputs (not the discrete channel left/right inputs), so your receiver can handle bass management. Another option is to let your SACD player handle bass management if it's an available feature. Either option will decode the signal into LPCM prior to playback.

If you're playing back SACD through firewire or HDMI, your receiver will need to allow bass management during those modes. Otherwise your best bet will be to use 2 channel analog output in order to have bass on those tracks.

Just keep in mind that bass on Coltrane tracks tends to be very subtle. Great taste by the way!

[Gremal]

Originally Posted by MouseRider

I have an Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong SACD and I've listened to it just with a pair of bookshelf Tannoys driven by a Linn Classik Music connected via stereo analog outs from a PS3, it felt like being in a lounge with the two masters.

The Ella and Louis sounds much better than the Trane. Rudy Van Gelder has done some incredible recordings and good remasters, but the Blue Trane SACD wasn't one of his better ones.

Edit: Perhaps the best gem of all the jazz released on SACD is from OJC/Fantasy, Gil Evans Plus Ten. The original master tapes were uncovered and used for the first time to produce the SACD. There are a lot of worthwhile titles among the OJC stuff. The label released three or four batches of 10 SACDs, all two-channel.