SONY SACD players not reading SACD hybrid discs

[cvsonyboy]

I have 3 Sony SACD players.  One is about 10 years old, but it stopped reading hybrid discs about 8 months ago. I had bought a brand new player 4 years ago in anticipation of just this eventuality.  I took it out of its box hooked it up and it failed to any hybrid discs and still won't.  Needless to say I am not impressed.  I bought another player from a seller on ebay,  this option was suggested to me sometime ago by Sony Customer Service, as of course once again, Sony not understanding their customers stopped making SACD players (despite SACDs continually being released by many labels including Sony Japan) I played one disc successfully on that and now, like the other 2 it won't read the hybrid layer of the SACD.

Is this something that can be repaired?  I don't want to have to go through all the effort and cost of a repair and find it doesn't work.  I have been there before!  I have little confidence in Sony repairs as I had a top of the range VHS player some years back which had a fault and sent it back for repair, they had it for months and I had real problems getting it back.  When it was eventually returned it still never worked properly, but had cost me a fortune.  From what I read on Facebook the customer service seems to still be suffering real problems with a lack of customer focus, so it does not fill me with much confidence.

I have a large collection of Surround Sound SACDs ,built up over the 10 years since Sony introduced the format, that I want to continue to enjoy.  Sony, in their short sightedness pulled the plug on SACDs.  Now though they are now promoting audiophile sound, even though in view that is what SACD is,  I won't go down that route at all as I don't trust them not to pull the plug again!  Also I enjoy my music in surround sound, I don't want stereo recordings, so I am very keen to make the most of my collection.  

Any thoughts on what I can do?  I am not a great fan of universal players, having been spoilt with my first Sony SACD, which to Sony's credit was brilliant it cost £100 but has been superb and offered a great listening experience, I miss it!  Where might be the best place to look for a repair or is there another dedicated SACD surround player out there?  Thanks for any thoughts.

[eye-fi]

Hi,

What SACD player do you have? Is it not reading SACD layer at all?

[Bobtibb]

Ns930V QS

[martinarnold59]

I own a UBP-X800 Blu ray player which I bought to play the one 4K disc that i have and two 3D films. I then discovered 5.1 SACD's and bought 8 over a period of time.

I discovered today that whilst all of them default straight to the 5.1 function, one does not play out of two speakers.

After using  a magnifying glass to read the jewell case notes I saw that it was a multi layered disc and referred to the download manual. I went through the menu and tinkered with the sound options and replayed the disc using both options , and still had no joy.........i then saw the small print at the top saying that there was no guarantee that this player would be able to retrieve information from multi layered discs.

I think that this was a well intended idea that was to clever for the ability of the player.

Why could it have not been made like the other 7 discs that I have? I own them all in both formats anyway as I suspect many people do..........making do with the sound coming out of 3/5 speakers only and dreaming of what if........I will ensure that I do not buy any more of these if it is possible to distinguish between multi layered and plain 5.1.........it will depend on the advertising of each disc.

This disc has proved to be a waste of money and the normal disc would have sufficed.

[martinarnold59]

I am replying to my own earlier message as I am learning the hard way as I go along. I have caused my own problem by not understanding what I have actually been buying.......in error I thought that all SACD's were 5.1 and they are not.

I realise that these 3 all actually state that they are 5.1.......Pink Floyd DSOTM and Wish you were here as well as The Rolling stones  GRRR Blu ray audio.Kenny Wayne Shepherd The traveller is on route and is advertised as 5.1.

The other discs clearly do not state that they are 5.1 so it was my misunderstanding from the outset.

Saying that years ago i was searching from the 1990 release of Coverdale-Page to see if it had been re mastered. It had not but I bought from Japan the SHM version and it sounded like it had been re mastered so it was well worth the outlay.

I still think that these other SACD's still sound superior in terms of the sound quality..........perhaps I have to say that having forked out all of that extra money!!

The one disc that is multi layered and only plays in one format ,I am unable to really comment on  now as it plays though 3/5 speakers like the others. I do not really expect much more from them now that I understand exactly what I have bought ; posh CD's that are not 5.1 as I had thought at the outset........I cannot see the difference between SACD and SHM discs unless they stipulate that they are 5.1.

[RockinJohnny]

I am having the very same problem as you guys, I can't play any SACDs at all. It will play normal ones but not SACDs. I tried changing settings but got no joy what so ever and why do we need to even go into settings just to play a CD? I dont get why you need TWO HDMI cables either instead of one like any other player. I used to be a big fan of Sony but they have certainly gone down the drain last few years. 

[HannahEd01]

Hi RockinJohnny, what's the model of the device that you own so that we can help? Also, did you check the last message by the original user who started this thread?

[RockinJohnny]

Aye I did and the device I have is a Sony UBP X800M2  I have both HDMI 1 and 2 connected to my HDMI expander box then and HDMI out to my TCL TV then optical out to my Sony HT ZF9 soundbar. I also trid connecting the blu ray directly to the soundbar but it made no difference. 

[HannahEd01]

Hey,

"A CD or DVD d is c will not play if it has not be incorrectly finalised or the disc is not in Mastered disc format. For more information, refer to the instruction manual supplied with the recording device." this is from the Manual.

[dna192]

Has anyone got any newer information on the x800m2 and SACDs please?

I have a number of SACD disks that are recognised and played by the drive, but the Dire Straights "brothers in arms- 20th anniversary edition"disk is not recognised by the player. The disk and the jewel case both include the SACD logo.. Ive spoken to Sony support via online chat and they say it must be the disk being faulty (Amazon have confirmed  I can return the disk for a refund). 

Has anyone else got this album and does it play in 5.1 foryou?

[HannahEd01]

Hi dna192, from your own description, I have to agree with the chat support, it's an issue with the disc itself. If it was the player, none of the discs would've worked.