SACD vs ANALOG

I have a 9000 and bought it first and foremost as an sacd player and decent cd player,although the dvd video and audio are topnotch.A salesman at a local hi end shop tells me that the 9000 is the hottest selling item in the store and has been for over six weeks.He also said that 95% of the buyers of this player are interested in sacd playback.They sold out of the 777 and i have encountered music retailers that are selling mainstream sacd releases as fast as they can get them in.now if the rest of the general public hears about sacd and mainstream titles are released faster and cheaper.Who knows how far sacd can go.

Sony can not give up a reveiw sample of the 9000es to positive feedback magazine because of the demand for the player.I was just reading this on the Audio Asylum board.I am not suprised as i had pretty much given up on cd before the advent of sacd.

Tmartinjr@erols.com, you did an excellent job of listing the reasons I hope the SACD format will survive. Consider the performance offered by the original CD players and software when introduced over 20 years ago. If the SACD format can evolve even half of what the original format has, it could become a true audiophile source. I have about 6000 LP's, maybe 200 CD's and 6 SACD's. If all the music that is currently available on CD were suddenly offered on SACD, I would immediately buy at least 300 titles. I have pent up desires for new music that has not been made available on LP. There is everything to gain and nothing to lose if this format succeeds. Even though it is not perfect right now, at least the technology is based on a level of resolution and bandwidth that has a chance of becoming really wonderful.

I remember when CD's came out. The cheapest players were $1500 and there was little software. I bought 2 CDs a year before I bought my first CD player. It was almost 3 years until you could buy CDs in normal record stores, and then it was a small section in the back corner.

The same was true with DVD. I bought my first DVD player in early 1999. No stores in the Wash. DC area sold or rented DVDs. Even now the selection of DVDs in many rental stores is too small. Just two months ago, my neighbor told me that DVD won't make it. The equipment and software is too expensive and its not recordable. I'm sure if I asked, he would have also told me that CDs and VHS would remain top sellers into the next century.

Tmartinjr, as an owner of an SACD player, I hope you are correct, although in each of the cases you mention the new medium was a considerable step up in convenience (CD vs. LP, DVD vs. Laserdisc) or quality (in the case of DVD; perceived quality with LP, due to the apparent clarity and the lack of ticks and pops). Here, the disc is the same size as a CD and to the masses who only want MP3 quality sound the sonic improvements are not as noticeable. Nonetheless, with 6-channel SACD players and discs becoming available, perhaps that is what will help the software catch on with the masses. Having just listened to the Delos Mahler 2 SACD last night with its silky, analog-like strings and stupendous dynamic range, it's clear to me we have a format that is worth supporting; let's hope the record companies and the general music-buying partners agree.