The best disc source for digital audio ?

[SCAudiophile]

Originally Posted by audioguy3107

With all else being equal I would choose the SACD format, but like others have said, the mastering makes just as big of a difference if not more so than the format.

- Buck

Absolutely agree...in general I would prefer SACD but there are hundreds of examples on my shelves of perfectly mastered CDs (Venus Jazz CDs, others), XRCD, XRCD2 and particularly XRCD24 and K2HD, etc...and all the work by Winston Ma on top of that on whatever format plus AudioWave XRCD24s and other examples that trump many SACDs hands-down.

[GaryProtein]

It's all in the mastering, NOT the format.

[Cohibaman]

Originally Posted by GaryProtein

It's all in the mastering, NOT the format.

With one qualifier...As long as it's CD quality or better. E.g., an MP3 ripped from a great master isn't great.

[1KW]

As good as SACD (DSD64) is, to me DSD128 sounds even better

[crwilli]

Originally Posted by Cohibaman

With one qualifier...As long as it's CD quality or better. E.g., an MP3 ripped from a great master isn't great.

+1

[GaryProtein]

Originally Posted by Cohibaman

With one qualifier...As long as it's CD quality or better. E.g., an MP3 ripped from a great master isn't great.

I agree.

I didn't even consider an MP3 to be worth listening to at home!

[jimtranr]

A shared living environment and the resulting imperative to maintain domestic tranquility has had me doing most of my "serious" listening lately in my acoustic-trapped bedroom, where the sole playback source is a laptop feeding a DAC. The program material is either 16/44 CD rips or high-resolution (24/88 to DSD128 or DXD) downloads.

What sounds best? To my ears, it depends on the intent, skill, and production values of the artist, recording producer, and mastering engineer, not the format. I think you'll find that true whether you're playing a disc, a rip, or a download.