SACD Dominates Recommended List

I reckon the evolution of source components is likely to be broader than is suggested here. I believe the plum that the likes of Sony, Microsoft etc are after is the open standards set-top box - the network computer in the home that will be as ubiquitous as the TV and which will be part of the digital TV you buy in a few years time. Rupert Murdoch is losing millions a month on his various Digital Broadcast Satellite ventures and is lumbered with truck-rolls and funding set-top boxes that obsolete quickly. The economics say a player that can deliver pay TV to an open standards set-top box that is already present in the home will do better. TiVO and Replay TV tried to get there and failed and Playstation 2 is a poor attempt. What makes it really hard is the lack of a standard for the middleware layer. What did it for the PC was IBM and what can do it for the set-top box is Microsoft, and the X-box. It may be a few years away, but companies like Sony and Microsoft will try to find that device that people will buy in large numbers that allows them to play DVDs on the TV, CDs, SACD perhaps, play games on the TV, surf the net on the TV, play games over the net on the TV, and whatever - that also includes the bit extra that will allow reception of Digital Broadcast Satellite and Video on Demand and interactive TV over say DSL. If they can get something like this to sell like hot cakes, then they will own something valuable. It may be the middleware standard (like owning DOS was valuable to Microsoft in the last two decades), or it may be owning some patents on some valuable parts that need to be in the overall equation. If Sony can make a big thing of SACD so that it needs to be in the package then the royalties will flow. They will obviously want the Playstation standard to be in there too. So how do they make sure SACD is in it? One way is make sure it is in Playstation 3, win this race with Playstation 3 and license it as a package. Another is to make a lot of consumer buzz about it so that having the SACD feature in the package can be a differentiator from say Microsoft's set-top box play. I am not sure I understand all of the possibilities here, and I am not sure SACD is a major part of this picture for Sony, but I wouldn't mind betting that it does fit in this picture. And I reckon that this is what is being raced for - not us audiophiles. But some market acceptance and hype from us wouldn't hurt.

SACD is a success. It will survive.
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The only question is to degree. Is it going to stay a niche audiophile product, or will it move into the main stream?

Frankly, all Sony needs to do is release all new material in hybrid SACD and reduce the price so that the street price is about $15. This is very reasonable. HMV already sells Sony SACDS for $18.42 (no tax or shipping if you buy 4), and Elusive Disc has a special this week for $18 Sony SACDs.

Recently, Virgin Records (Oldfield's Tubular Bells) and EMI Records (Europeon pop singer Sarah) released their first SACDs. The software is improving. Also take a look at Sony's Upcoming SACD release listing (www.sonymusic.com/sacd). In the past it typically contained 2 or 3 items. It now has about 8-10.

I think the market has moved on from where it was in the 80s. I think it is more prepared to be sold on a new technology because it is simply the next step. The whole PC thing changed this. If I feel compelled to invest in a new piece of exciting gear that that does lots of things like I outlined above, would I risk buying the one that does not play SACD, even if I am not sure that I value the quality difference? I think Sony's strategy is a little flawed, but they have good reasons to persevere and I now reckon they have a good chance of success with SACD.

This is an interesting thread. I have a 777 machine, and I come to SACD as a vinyl lover who increasinly became impatient with hasseling lps. I didn't own many CDs because I never liked the sound. I was playing them through a Wadia 860, so I felt like I gave them a good hearing. I sold the 860 to buy the 777 so I never had the opportunity to compare the two directly, but I feel that now that I have maximized to my satisfaction the performance of the 777 that the redbook reproduction is as good as I have experienced. But my experience is limited. I think the performance of the 777 is very high which makes it sensitive to power and interconnects. Connecting it with Shunyata King Cobra to a PS Audio P-300 and Acoustic Zen Silver Ref. to a Joule Electra LA-100 III improves its performance tremendously. It is kind of goofy to spend so much on tweaks, but I trusted my ears.
When I first got the 777 I immediately got something from the sound of SACD I hadn't from CD : a relaxation and freedom from fatigue quite similar to what I felt when listening to analogue. I think SACD may be more interesting to audiophiles who have come to it from vinyl as their primary listening source rather than CD.
SACD is not vinyl and if I were less patient and willing to spend more money I would still be pursuing vinyl. I still think at this time it is the ultimate for realism in reproduction. But for me, SACD is very exciting. The titles being issued may not all have the incredible transparency of a pure DSD recording, but I feel very connected to the performance and like I am hearing what is on the master tape (which of course I have no way of knowing). There is great resolution and for instance people have criticized the sound of the Billy Holiday release, but the sound of her voice on the acapella track is absolutely mesmerizing and fascinating. Yea, the sound of the strings is screwed up, but a vitality comes through that isn't there with redbook.
Whether SACD succeeds or not I still have these recordings to play with this exceptional fidelity. I believe if I owned 1000 CDs, I too would be wishing for continued development of their reproduction. It may happen. I think you could make a lot of money if you came up with something that made audiophiles forget vinyl and SACD. But from what I understand, there are just inherent limitations that make this unlikely.
Whether Sony has taken the right approach to marketing time will tell. Top down seems to make the most sense to me and it appeals to my purest sensibility. Perhaps they are trying to increase the price people will pay for a music release? If this doesn't work maybe they will come down in price. What we do know is that they have come up with a better way to record and archive music. I love the potential of it as someone else said, wait till more talented engineers and music lovers work with it.
I agree with Stereophile's rating of the 777 and their opinion of SACD. This is no deception on their part.

The Absolute Sound says they will place more emphasis on reviewing SACD hardware and software.

I think many people assumed that as soon as DVD-A arrived, SACD would quickly die. This assumption is changing. I do not believe it's valid at all.