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The plight of SACD....

Venturing into a local Audio Supermarket chain the other day...I found the latest advancement in digital audio relegated to a cheesy Kiosk in the very back of the store...complete with a Bose cube set-up...and the new Stones hybrid of "Got Live If you want it" (a dismal live recording regardless of format) blaring to a very disinterested public...no wonder average Joe aint buyin'...

Even with Sony "dumbing down" SACD/dvd players to the sub $500 level...without the software catalog to support it...and with the majority of the public A)satisfied with current redbook sound and B)not possessing even moderate midfi audio sytems to hear the sonic benefits...it appears SACD is going to be the next DAT commerical failure...ditto for DVD-Audio...these new products are not "market driven"...they are being forced on consumers...

The majority are not audiophiles let alone audio enthusiasts...accurate or improved sonics do not play an important role in their lives...redbook became dominant because its main competitor at the time was not the LP but the pre-recorded cassette...a dreadful format made worse by Dolby B...the Compact Disc won out but any digital format at the time would have...it offered convenience,portability,and eventually...compatability...

As someone who has invested a small amount in a SACD player and software...and was one of the first on my block to have a CD player...I have waited almost 20yrs for a digital
format that gives a hi-end analog system a run for its money...that day is both here and gone...I predict that SACD will remain a fringe format...similiar to DAT...in that
it will live on in professional applications...and have a small loyal following that truly appreciates its greatness...heres to hoping Im wrong...
128x128phasecorrect
dennis_the_menace's avatar
dennis_the_menace
467 posts
 
Twl, where do you buy new releases on LPs? I just got my TT up and running (you were part of that thread too), and would like to find some newly released music.

Also, I've heard SACD, and it really was better (Philips SACD1000 vs. Wadia 860x). I was pleasantly surprised; much improved depth of soundstage, and dynamics.

LPs also sound good, but I'm sure will be much better once I invest in a better cartridge and phono stage.

What I've come to realize, is that for CDs to sound great, you have to spend a TON of money on a high end player. For LPs and SACDs to sounds great, you don't have to spend as much. So, I'm sticking wtih my newly aquired $400 SACD player, and my $500 TT, and selling the $8000 cd player and paying off that credit card that never should have been charged in the first place!
twl
3,251 posts
 
DTM, try Music Direct on the web. They have tons of albums new. And many new releases, as well as older titles that have been reissued.
phasecorrect's avatar
phasecorrect OP
2,013 posts
 
I would have to agree with TWL..as someone who is contemplating returning to vinyl...I am kicking myself for selling all my pristine wax and TT years ago...I was young and dumb...and bought into the "perfect sound forever" campaign...a computer chip that transfers analog into a numerical sequence and them back again to form a "digital reproduction" of music is both complicated and not needed...I am beginning to be more cautious of technology these days...the latest advancement does not equate to an improvement...and even if it does...as is the case with SACD...there is no guarantee it will succeed...If SACD doesnt even make a dent...I will return to the fussy,sometimes equally frustrating analog world...but like everything else in life...there is no free lunch...you have to "work" in order to reap benefits...
budrew
467 posts
 
Sony is a mass market company and as such I doubt they want to support a niche market. The mass market probably won't adopt SACD because getting the most from each recording is not what they want and the high end market seems ambivalent about SACD. It will most likely not be a big money maker for Sony. They might license the technology out to niche producers, however, and give it up themselves. If you look back, the progressive steps that were taken were all very different. Reel to reel, LPs, cassettes, compact disc, even MP3s now, all of these are physically different, therefore a perceived advantage and afr easier to market. SACDs are just not that different and therefore less compelling (to the masses anyway). but even within the other formats there are variations, different tape materials, different types of LP pressings, that did not require a new type of machine to play them. A turntable plays any kind of LP. I think some people get turned off because SACD requires a wholly new machine, yet it's the same old format (the compact disc). The paradigm shift isn't perceived. And who wants two CDs of each album: one SACD for the home and one non-SACD for the car?
2ms
1 posts
 
Once SACD players are the same price as redbook players (which they almost are already) and the volume of SACDs becomes substantial, then it will basically be dumb to buy a redbook player. Once people have SACD players, they'll buy SACDs (instead of redbook cds) whenever the music they want is offered. I hardly see how SACD could fail.

DAT was different. DAT players didn't play CDs and people couldn't play DATs on cd players. There are no such reasons for consumers to opt for redbook players over SACD players. Most new SACDs are hybrid cds (so people don't need to buy dupes for different players).

Also, the multichannel has got to be seriously seductive to those with ht systems.
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