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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...
phasecorrect
lugnut
1,190 posts
 
Hey guys,

Instead of barking at each other about the benefits of our preferred software, we should be speaking with one voice promoting better recording, better engineering and having it in two channels. I've said this so many times in these forums I'm even getting tired of reading it, but the truth is, great recordings are equal to spending thousands in equipment upgrades. If manufacturers of digital software used all the available space on a DVD disc for nothing other than audio the result would end this endless debate. Heavens, we aren't enemies, are we? Currently, in the software wars our only enemy is home theatre. Peace to all.
treyhoss
287 posts
 
This past weekend I broke down and purchased a new DVD player to replace my ageing Pioneer DVD/LD player, with a 9 bit video processor, which also served as my transport into an Audio Alchemy DTI-PRO32 and then to a Parasound DAC1000 20 bit DAC. I have always loved the sound this equipment produced but have been intrigued by SACD since I heard it 2 years ago at a local high-end shop on a Sony SCD-777es. I went ahead and bought the Sony DVP-NS999es DVD/SACD player which is replacing the DVP-S9000es in the Sony line. I got it more for the DVD performance with a 14 bit/108 mhz video DAC but figured the SACD was "gravy". I have had it playing CD's and SACD (on repeat) all weekend and have accumulated about 30 hours on each signal path (redbook and SACD). While it is still too early to tell how it will finally sound after a full run-in, I have been formulating some early opinions. First, the SACD sound is much more fluid that standard CD's - more texture and air. It is also more "laid-back" than standard CD (this may be due to the high output level from the AA equipment however). It is NOT a wholesale improvement over what I currently have but is an improvement none the less - and hopefully will improve more when fully "broken-in". BTW - I was not too impressed with the multi-channel SACD (a "gimmicky" sound)and found I preferred stereo - at least with the Alice in Chains greatest hits SACD. I have purchased about 4 SACD's and find them all to be very well done. At this point I think of this as akin to buying Mobile Fidelity CD's back in the mid-90's. BTW: Look how much some of those Mo-Fi's are selling for today! - Tony
phasecorrect's avatar
phasecorrect OP
2,013 posts
 
The irony is...the new hi-rez formats...or for that matter...any new digital format...is going to be decided by HT...where testing for 3-d imaging is done with Free Willy 2...instead of 2 issues...multi has 5 or 6...doesnt look promising folks....
phasecorrect's avatar
phasecorrect OP
2,013 posts
 
Digital supporters...please read the following post...

www.iar-80.com/page38.html

this was way too long winded and technical for me..is this guy on crack or what?

kana813
956 posts
 
Phasecorrect- I read the iar article, yes it's long winded,
but it says the same thing as I posted above: DVD-A sounds better the SACD. And as I posted above, I agree with you that HT will decide the outcome of this format war.

If you read TAS you'll see that HP has four DVD-As on this super disc list and no SACDs, and he's had plenty of exposure to both formats on the best systems.

For those who are interested, Chesky has all their SACDs on sale.
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