I'm totally confused about Hi Rez formats

Multi channel music will be a niche player like LaserDisc. The problem is outside of audiophiles no one just sits and listens to music. It is background filler or listening is done while doing other things not sitting in the sweet spot of multiple speakers. Multi channel works great for movies because you're sitting still. Can't rip SACD/DVD-A to your ipod or burn a copy for the car. Can't be played on a computer server based system. You have to buy all the extra interconnects. That leaves audiophiles as the only viable market for multi channel music.

That's an interesting point, Newbie!
I would add "music-philes" to audiophiles, but that still remains a relatively small market.
The initial mktg idea was that people would replace their two channel for multi & use that system for whatever purpose it served before + HT.
It doesn't seem to work out that way.
The dangerous part is that HT needs a dedicated room (or takes over a room). If it replaces music in the home, people could resort to using a boomblaster for b/ground music -- rather than have yet another system just for sound...

Hands up for buying new vinyl. I recently bought new stuff from Elvis Costello, Jayhawks, Elliot Smith, Tift Merritt, and hope to soon get the New Allison Krauss and Patricia Barber. If funds weren't limited, I'd get the new Joss Stone, U2, all the White Stripes LPs, Diana Krall and Mark Knopfler. Are all those even available in a digital hi-rez format? Cheers,
Spencer

Sbank

Let me see on Hybrid SACD Diana Krall is as is Elvis Costello yup to Allison Krauss and Patricia Barber. Don't know about the others you mention. However I am primarily a classical listener with some female jazz vocals thrown-in for good measure. I am finding plenty (and in some cases more than) of Hybrid SACD's available for my taste. I will admitt that I do not buy alot of software and I do find myself listening to the same discs over and over. I am finding more and more of the smaller labels such as channel clasics and fidelis or perhaps mo-fi marketing sacd's. To me vinyl is simply to much hassle to bother with. As I said earlier I can appreciate those of you who love vinyl. I think that there is a certain amount of romance that goes along with a great looking tt; similar to tube amps. One of my friends is into vinyl and buys it all the time. He has a Michel Gyro Deck and I love the way it looks.

Chuck

Pabelson writes:

"Both SACD and DVD-A are just about dead, however. New releases will continue to trickle out (possibly for a long time, if the audiophile labels decide it's still worth their effort), but trickle is the operative word. If you want to explore a "dead" format, try vinyl. There's just a lot more to explore."

Rex writes:

"SACD is somewhat of a different story at this point. If your taste in music is Britney Spears, 50cent, Garth Brooks, or yet-another-reissue-of-Baby-Boomer-rock back catalog stuff, then SACD is dead. For people who favor those genres, SACD was never really alive to begin with. The short story is that if your musical tastes are served solely by the major record companies, SACD probably won't appeal to you."

...momentarily savoring....

Anyway, if you don't like Classical, stop here. If you don't like buying world-wide on the 'net, stop here. If the two statements are true, certainly you can't pull together the pennies and by a $250 Sony SACD player for starters. With regards to liquidity, warmth in the strings, and soundstage; it runs circles around $3000 CD players, tho no one will admit that; and it only lacks a little in the bass dept when compared to Sony's more expensive models.

Go to www.sa-cd.net and you will find around 20 new releases a month *world-wide* to choose from. If you like Classical you're already used to bending over backwards to find what you're looking for.

On a side note, I have a VPI Scoutmaster turntable coming which beats out SACD in matters of string warmth and liquidity, but not bass--tho it can come close. The bottom line, while vinyl is the best in some respects, (ground loop hum anyone?), SACD closes the gap enough for me to live comfortably with both. My CDs are up for sale.