2. digital
  3. 1039430683

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
phasecorrect's avatar
phasecorrect OP
2,013 posts
 
Tony brings up a good point...the real mass market future in digital audio is...for better or worse... the video
componet and multi-sound...that is what will "drive" the consumer's decision to leave redbook behind...again ...the irony being the latest digital audio advancement will be awarded to a large % of the public that really could care less...DVD-a/DVDs would appear to have the edge in this department...audiophiles are at times too "insular" in their thinking...myself included....anybody know...does SACD have the capabilities to reproduce digital images?
brianmgrarcom
1,317 posts
 
Video drives the audio/video market today, who knows about tomorrow; people could turn and be more excited about music in the future.
tonyp54
130 posts
 
Socrates, I too have no interest in multi-channel music, but it's way too early to assume that dvd-a will not have 2 channel capability. The whole "next digital" medium thing is still in an evolutionary phase and I doubt we'll see the final version for quite some time. In any event, the point is that audiophiles will not decide what the next medium will be. We'll have to live with whatever the majority decides and make the best of our options... just like what happened with cd over the last 20 years.
phasecorrect's avatar
phasecorrect OP
2,013 posts
 
If anything...the public has already made their choice...and with success of the ultra-compressed MP3 format,A/V receivers, and CD burners...the quality of sound has taken a back seat...convenience,portability,compatability,and cost are the driving factors...this is both an exciting and frustrating time for 2-channel audiophiles with digital front ends...
unsound
7,333 posts
 
At the risk of being redundant my personal biggest gripe is the lack of a digital output. Not for recording purposes. It denies the opportunity for uncompromised digital room correction. I think this is the area that may be the biggest boon to audiophiles.
More to discover