Software to record 5.1 SACD

[Fusor]

Audacity - File - Export - Export Multiple - AC3 - Options (?)

[mpa]

I still don't understand. If I have a file that contains multiple WAV tracks how does the playback device (for example, my Oppo reading this file) know which of the tracks is L,R,C,LFE etc?
Do they just have to be in a specific order?

[Fusor]

Audio Track Dropdown Menu - Audacity Manual

[phofman]

Originally Posted by mpa

I still don't understand. If I have a file that contains multiple WAV tracks how does the playback device (for example, my Oppo reading this file) know which of the tracks is L,R,C,LFE etc?
Do they just have to be in a specific order?

Multiple channel audio data and WAVE files - Windows 10 hardware dev | Microsoft Docs

[mpa]

Thanks phofman, very useful link!

[dangus]

If you can lay your hands on a Playstation 3 with the correct firmware, it's possible to rip SACDs losslessly to an ISO, then archive that or convert it to some more convenient format (mka,mkv, flac). It's possible to author and burn multichannel lossless audio to DVD Video, DVD Audio, and Blu-ray compatible discs. DVD Audio players aren't common now, but I've found that some "no name" DVD and Blu-ray players support that format unofficially. Blu-ray compatible discs can be burned on DVD media.
How Sony's PlayStation 3 could save your SACD collection | Gramophone
Further browsing reveals that certain disc players have a chipset that can be persuaded to extract the SACD to an ISO by running a script from a USB drive.
SACD Ripping using an Oppo or Pioneer? Yes, it's true! - Software - Audiophile Style

[linuxfan]

Originally Posted by mpa

I want to archive my SACD's onto a hard drive
...
What software would I need to record the 5.1 channels into a recognised file format for playback.

Those are two separate issues.

Originally Posted by mpa

I have an Oppo 203 with Vanity HD card that gives me AES outs on all channels converted to PCM and an interface into my computer

I don't consider such a process to be a true archive, because you will be converting/transcoding the SACD's DSD data to PCM.
To my mind a true archive is a bit-for-bit copy of the data on the SACD, and this can be achieved by ripping the SACD to an iso file, using the old method involving a firmware-modified Playstation3, or the new method involving hacked boot code for certain models of Oppo, Arcam, or Pioneer blu-ray players. Unfortunately your particular Oppo model is not one of these, but you could buy one of the cheap Pioneer players (as I did) just for this purpose.

Now for playback - once you have ripped your SACD's to iso files, you can then extract the individual music titles, either the stereo version or the 5.1 version, to .dsf or .dff files ready for file playback. Playback of stereo DSD files is available on a multitude of operating systems and applications, and such computer transports can connect to a growing range of DSD-compatible DAC's, usually via USB interface.
But playback of 5.1 DSD files is not so easy - USB interfaces which support multi-channel DSD are available, but rare, and DSD-compatible multi-channel DAC's are also rare. Of course this situation might improve in the future - which makes it all the more relevant to rip your SACD's now before the discs deteriorate,
but in the meantime possibly the most straightforward way of playing 5.1 DSD files is via an Oppo! I understand that all you need to do is connect your Oppo to a USB storage device - conventional hard drive, or flash drive - and the Oppo will happily access and play those files.

[phofman]

It is true that conversion to PCM is not a proper archive. On the other hand does it make any audible difference if done properly? I very much doubt that.

If mpa already owns the rather expensive DSD->PCM hardware, it really makes sense to record the multichannel PCM and store in wav or better flac.

The user guide of Lynx Aurora 16 talks about an ASIO driver. Audacity can be easily compiled to support ASIO on windows Build audacity with ASIO support on Windows * GitHub . Audacity can record from a multichannel interface, its ASIO adapter source code does not show any limitations to two channels only. Disclaimer - I have personally tested none of the above on windows but it should work Multi-channel Recording - Audacity Manual .

Once recorded in audacity, channels can be easily swapped. Or they can be swapped in SoX afterwards, as well as stored to any multichannel format.

[mpa]

Thanks guys, yes I actually want to archive as multi channel PCM for reasons of future compatibility and that in my system (digital signal path with DSP) DSD has to be converted to PCM anyway. IMO future support of DSD will only become less and less.
Laying down 6 PCM or FLAC tracks into a folder isn't too much of a problem but I wasn't sure whether a playback device would automatically recognise this as 5.1 audio...
I guess I'll just give it a go and see what happens!

[linuxfan]

OK, now I understand better what you want to do, and I think it's a perfectly good idea, because multi-channel DSD files are certainly uncommon, and are not supported by many hardware devices.
I just make a few points:
- you are not creating a true archive, you are adapting the original format into something else which is more usable.
- that Vanity203 HD card (+ Lynx Aurora 16) is an awesome piece of hardware, but you could achieve the same conversion process possibly more conveniently via SACD ripping + DSD-to-PCM software conversion.
- if some of your SACD titles are alternatively available on DVD-Audio or Blu-ray Pure Audio, these would be better sources because the contents of these discs are already PCM - discrete 6 channel PCM in the case of DVD-Audio, and Dolby TrueHD or DTS-HD Master Audio in the case of Blu-ray Pure Audio.

Anyhow, back to your intended recording method:

Originally Posted by mpa

If I have a file that contains multiple WAV tracks how does the playback device (for example, my Oppo reading this file) know which of the tracks is L,R,C,LFE etc?
Do they just have to be in a specific order?

Well I just did a bit of Googling now, and yes, I believe the surround tracks just need to be in the correct order:
1 Front Left
2 Front Right
3 Center
4 Low Frequency
5 Back Left
6 Back Right

Originally Posted by mpa

Laying down 6 PCM or FLAC tracks into a folder isn't too much of a problem but I wasn't sure whether a playback device would automatically recognise this as 5.1 audio

I suggest you do a test recording to 6-channel wav, convert this to flac and copy to USB drive, connect the USB drive to your Oppo and play the file.