HDCD vs. SACD vs. ??

If you want a better-sounding digital source right now, buying some sort of player that handles CD's is the only way to accomplish it - for the forseeable future, as well. There are billions more CD's in the world currently and into the next decade, probably, than any other quality format. New disk formats may continue to appear (and not all of them will emphasize sound quality), but none seems set to displace CD's in the marketplace. Eventually, all disk software formats may become passe as digital content is distributed by wire and either stored in memory or accessed in real-time. But again, future (and it's a far future) disk-alternatives may not improve sound quality. If you already own a CD library, and are curious about SACD, DVD-A, or HDCD, you could possibly buy a player today that would let you explore these formats while also giving you a bump-up in CD sound, depending on your present player situation. Basically, waiting it out could lead to years of wondering about your same question without a clear answer in sight, while in the meantime you could be listening to your music in better sound. Investigating the current offerings, or maybe waiting just a year or so for "universal" players to become more prevelant (and lower in price and better in sound) will not prove to be an exercise in planned obsolesence, IMHO.

Take a look at this site: http://www.tweakaudio.com/products.html

I found it to be quite an eye opener.

Perhaps an HDCD like process can improve SACD's?