Is SACD a dead format?

Anything Redbook can do, DVDA can do better. Because it's the same darned PCM format but with more bits and faster sampling. This is not to say that every DVDA is recorded and mastered well enough for the improvement to be evident. SACD comparison is a lot more difficult because the format is so very different. Theoretically, it should also be better.

Cinematic, i gotta say i really enjoy yer posts. I think yer full of hot air, but it is always entertaining to see you put yer foot in yer mouth and try to find a way to smooth things over.
Keep posting!

Not dead, but not mainstream. It is morphing into a niche market for audiophiles only--just like vinyl. With universal machines proliferating, those who are willing to pay will get SACDs. Sadly, few people are willing to pay for sound quality, so we are going to see a lot more MP3's and even less SACDs. I like vinyl, but I really do prefer a well recorded SACD. Unfortunately the blinkin record companies, looking for the fast buck, don't often make an effort to make a decent SACD. A good example is Norah Jones 1st album, the SACD is awful. I just wish people would be willing to pay for fidelity. SAd thing is a lot of "audiophiles" won't pay extra.

There are two factors that also trouble me about SACD [besides the limited number of titles, and idiots who release titles as a single layer, with no redbook CD layer].

1) What type of master tapes are used for the SACD titles? If the masters are 16 bit, and not analog or DSD bitstream, then dude, you've got nothing more than an upsampling CD player. I don't believe that SACD's list their master tape source, but I may be wrong.

2) Does the manufacturer use a mediocre DAC for their redbook section? I have heard that many SACD players have a vastly inferior CD section when compared to a high end reference redbook only CD player. And most SACD owners will play far more redbook CD's than SACD's.

Now everyone tells me that SACD is dead. I just recently purchased 41 SACDs to join my collection.
Oh no, wait a minute, I've been reading that for a couple of years now in here and in the Asylum.
You know what? For the little extra money that it costs over and above a standard CD, I have no issues putting that money into the software as that is where the music starts. At least in my system.