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.

Fatparrot...I don't think you need to worry about 16 bit masters. Recording and mixing has been done using at least 24 bits for as long as I remember...back to the digitally mastered LP times.

Sean...Why did you look for discs in Best Buy? Go to acousticsounds.com, elusivediscs.com, or the other places that do carry a good selection.

Bigtee...Yep. I also am "sentimental to those great years of audio" when I, as a college student could afford a SOTA system. The equipment was often built, not in someone's garage, but on our own kitchen tables.