Are you willing to buy SACDs?

[Jack]

I don't own a SACD player now but buy the disks of
new releases (Goldfrapp - Supernature; Depeche
Mode - Playing the Angel) as my next player will
be SACD compatible. I don't care about DVD-A,
since even fewer of them are available.

I am willing to spend say 10% more for them than
for normal CD's, but not much more.

a) Do you think SACD is doomed?

b) Have you listened to a new recording mastered
for SACD from step 1 instead of an old recording
converted for SACD? What was the sound like?

c) What are your thoughts on SACD in general.

[Arny Krueger]

"Jack" > wrote in message

> I don't own a SACD player now but buy the disks of
> new releases (Goldfrapp - Supernature; Depeche
> Mode - Playing the Angel) as my next player will
> be SACD compatible. I don't care about DVD-A,
> since even fewer of them are available.
>
> I am willing to spend say 10% more for them than
> for normal CD's, but not much more.
>
> a) Do you think SACD is doomed?

No doubt, but look for a ressurection of the concept on DVD-HD or Blu Ray,
real soon now.

> b) Have you listened to a new recording mastered
> for SACD from step 1 instead of an old recording
> converted for SACD? What was the sound like?

More to the point,

Q: what did that SACD (Norah Jones) sound like when downsampled to 24/96?

A: The same.

> c) What are your thoughts on SACD in general.

It was among other things, an attempt to make a lot of money by remastering
existing CD catalogs for a new format. Trouble was, hardly anybody wanted to
play.

[Harry Lavo]

"Jack" > wrote in message
...
>I don't own a SACD player now but buy the disks of new releases
>(Goldfrapp - Supernature; Depeche Mode - Playing the Angel) as my next
>player will be SACD compatible. I don't care about DVD-A, since even fewer
>of them are available.
>
> I am willing to spend say 10% more for them than for normal CD's, but not
> much more.
>
> a) Do you think SACD is doomed?
>
> b) Have you listened to a new recording mastered for SACD from step 1
> instead of an old recording converted for SACD? What was the sound like?
>
> c) What are your thoughts on SACD in general.

Well, the folks on this group know ma as a "booster". I've had it since
2002 (multichannel) and while I still buy CD's (and used LP's) I always wait
for a new release for a few months to see if there will be a SACD version.

a) No, not doomed. It may be replaced by Blu-Ray, but not doomed. It seems
to have found a niche for Classical and Jazz, and shares a niche with DVD-A
for some pop...particularly established bands that are particular about
their sound and view multichannel as a way of enhancing past albums.

b) Yes. Right now some Pentatone classics and all Sony classical new
releases, LSO (orchestra label), and Philadelphia Orchestra (orchestra
label) and BIS new releases tend to be all-DSD. And it is generally
superior to any other form of recording. Of course, the quality of the
engineering is equally immportant. The few jazz disks done in DSD have been
spectacular...an example is Swing Live. The only pop cd I am sure was all
DSD was John Hyatt's "Master of Disaster" released last year, recorded all
the way through in DSD. The sound is sensational.

c) I think it's a superior delivery vehicle, especially when the source
material is outstanding (and I don't mean just DSD....Donovan's
"Storyteller" derived from 1960's mono and stereo tapes is spectacularly
natural. Unfortunately, Sony did an almost non-existent job of marketing,
failed to force their own record subsidiary to follow through on it, and
blew it. It doesn't help that it came along just when younger folks
attention was in the process of being diverted to MP3 downloads, but it is
largely Sony's fault. It's continual existence in the market today is due
to its especial value for classical recording and the emergance of new
European labels and captive orchestral labels that have decided to use the
technology. As posts here have pointed out, about 70-80 new SACDs are being
issued each month...a higher rate than in the early days when Sony was still
the main promoter.

If the music meeets your tastes, it is a wonderful medium, IMO.

[MiNe 109]

In article >, Jack >
wrote:

> I don't own a SACD player now but buy the disks of
> new releases (Goldfrapp - Supernature; Depeche
> Mode - Playing the Angel) as my next player will
> be SACD compatible. I don't care about DVD-A,
> since even fewer of them are available.
>
> I am willing to spend say 10% more for them than
> for normal CD's, but not much more.
>
> a) Do you think SACD is doomed?
>
> b) Have you listened to a new recording mastered
> for SACD from step 1 instead of an old recording
> converted for SACD? What was the sound like?
>
> c) What are your thoughts on SACD in general.

No downside for SACD hybrid, assuming equal or lesser cost.

Doomed? Probably, despite the potential for multichannel sound and
attraction of non-pcm flavored digital.

Stephen