SACD Playback Modes
The stereo or multichannel areas of a Super Audio CD that the product can play through its outputs.
An SACD can contain separate stereo and multichannel programmes. The CD layer on a hybrid disc is a different playback format, not an SACD playback area.
SACD Playback Modes — SACD Transport
For an SACD Transport, the supported area determines whether it can deliver the disc’s two-channel programme or a multichannel programme to compatible downstream equipment. Multichannel capability requires an output path that can carry those channels.
“Stereo area” describes two-channel SACD playback. “Multichannel area” means the multichannel programme can be output as multiple channels; playing the stereo area of a multichannel disc or reducing it to stereo does not establish that capability.
Compare the supported area with the transport’s output connection and the receiving DAC or processor. File-based DSD support and a listed DSD rate are separate specifications. A disc’s multichannel marking alone cannot make a stereo-only transport or system reproduce the surround programme.