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Any hope for SACD?

Is there any hope at all for transferring more music, especially classic popular music, to SACD?

I mean, so many audio companies are investing so much in R+D for the hardware, but, to me clearly, there is huge bang for the buck in having an SACD version of the recording.
For example, the recent Carole King Music SACD is incredible, with a totally natural image density and rock-solid soundstaging (qualities I hear in most SACDs of long-familiar albums). Is there no economic justification for this? You get so much for so little. I wish the audio companies would band together to fund this. It sure would make equipment demos sound better.

My little system at home with SACD trounced the quality of even the megabuck systems at the NY show a few weeks ago, including all the vinyl demos to my ears. (My EMM XDS1 helps, but my Sony 5400 on SACD is also quite fine.)

It just seems like such an incredible waste that SACD is dead or dying and nobody in the audiophile or larger music community is talking about this. Does everything have to suffer at the invisible hand of the profit motive? This is an artistic pursuit fundamentally, and you might as well always show all the paintings in the world behind blurry glass. It's a crime that, say, the Beatles aren't available in SACD or any HiRez format.
rgs92
tomcy6's avatar
tomcy6
2,605 posts
 
It depends on how well they sell. If Analogue Productions and MoFi make good money from their SACD efforts we'll see more of them. I don't see why they can't crank them out like they do in Japan. There has to be some DSD equipment sitting around unused.

Wish You Were Here seems to have sold a bunch but there are few albums that can sell like that one based on the promise of improved sound quality.

I don't think the Beatles will be reissued again. It's such a huge undertaking and I think the families may be satisfied that they have enough money after the last reissue.
buconero117
2,311 posts
 
Not until they release Miles/Blue on SACD. It has been long promised, but never appears. My guess is that it would sell over a million copies, a breath some life into the format.
doggiehowser
672 posts
 
http://www.cdjapan.co.jp/detailview.html?KEY=SICP-10083

This one?
jfrech's avatar
jfrech
1,816 posts
 
rgs92, there is a ton of classical on SACD, also downloadable dsd may breath some momentum here.

I think its a niche market for a certain group. I've done several trails and hi rez digital can quite hold up a spinning disc on a quality transport..at least that's what my ears here in my system. However you can get VERY good digital via hi rez down load for a very reasonable price. I suspect the technology will move fast on computer audio...

fyi http://www.dcsltd.co.uk/page/newsevents?p=news (see the dsd over usb article)
doggiehowser
672 posts
 
To the OP, I've been buying up DVDA and SACDs including some OOP titles for the last year or so. The most expensive disc I've ever bought is actually not an SACD but a 1:1 Direct Cut CD from Yes Asia :)

But honestly, you can find a lot of SHM SACDs from Japan (look at CD Japan or Amazon JP or HMV Japan). I am more likely to go broke than run out of titles to buy. Just some of the albums I've gotten include new releases of old albums from Dire Straits, Queen, Stevie Wonder, Diana Krall. I've also gotten some recent titles from Warner Japan (Hybrid SACDs) and MoFi US.
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