CD...then the SACD...all over again


Look, I'm one of the biggest defenders of SACD around. I own a lot of SACDs, I try to defend the format against attacks whenever possible, and I keep up to date on new high resolution releases.

But even I can hit a breaking point. I'm SO tired of buying a Patricia Barber CD...only to have the SACD come out 6 months later (roughly). Then I get the hi-res version. Then it happens again with her next release. And her next one.

Before you know it, I've spent 40 bucks to get her SACD ($25 for that disc, plus the $15 I laid down for the Redbook version).

In a perfect world, there would be one release: a Mobile Fidelity hybrid SACD. Barring that, AT LEAST the hi- and lo-res versions could come out simultaneously.

When they're starting to alienate even me, you *know* there's a serious problem!
thedautch
Newbee...I intended to comment about both being overpriced, not the difference. I suppose that a Hybrid SACD, with two layers, is harder to make, and would logically cost a bit more. Manufacture of a CD costs, I've read, less than a buck, and most artists get less than that after "studio rental" and similar charges are deducted. If recording labels priced their product more reasonably they would not have to fight over people going to all the trouble to make copies. I have paid about $30 for some of my classical DVDA from Europe, and because of the low volume of such recordings that is probably OK. But I pity the poor guy who buys pop issues.
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Vinyl version, Nautilus vinyl version, MoFi vinyl version, MoFi cassette version, Direct to Disc vinyl version, 45 RPM Crystal Records vinyl version, Elcassette, DAT version, CD redbook version, Philips DCC version, MoFi remastered CD version, MoFi remastered CD Gold version, mini-disc, SACD, SACD hybrid, DAD, DVDA....#!*&^%#&*

And the beat goes on..........
Schipo,

I'm sorry to hear about your afair of the heart. I wouldn't make that trade. I'm at the tail end of dealing with that.

The only solution - Who said being an audiophile was money efficient. Be patience or pay more money. LOL
Why does an SACD cost more, Eldartford? Those jewel cases, of course. Aren't they a marvel? Gorgeous, jaw-dropping improvement over the standard cases, like comparing a diamond to a jade, really. OK, only joking...

We have a few SACD's, and I love the increased textural depth that I hear over redbook. Unfortunately, I don't think that the differences would appeal to the non-audiophile. The general public needs to be floored by a technology, or it won't lose sleep over that next must-have purchase. Just my 2 cents.