I'm sorry to say that, in the NYC area, the only place I've found carrying them is Tower, and their selection is pretty much limited to a few of the Sony discs, which they kept in the rock area next to the mini discs (oh, the irony), and the Delos Mahler 2 (which they didn't even know they had!). I haven't checked HMV, nor visited J&R lately, so I'll have to check them out. I guess when "Goody's got 'em", we'll know the medium has caught on. |
Your frustration and concern is exactly why SACD will eventually die or stay dormant. |
ower is the only one I Have found carrying sacd & dvd audio in the Boston metropolis. They have only a few & you better know what titles you are looking for in sacd becaause they are scattered in with the regular cds. Dvd audio is in wih DTS. You will be lucky if somebody in the stores know what you are talking about let alone find them. Good luck |
I live in the Washington DC area. I went to a local Tower Records and they never heard of SACD or DVD-Audio. Frankly, when you think about it, I doubt whether there's 200 people in the DC area interested in buying SACD or DVD-Audio. One high-end store carries a handful of SACDs. It isn't feasible to carry SACD or DVD-Audio right now. Things should change. In the past two months, Sony's probably has already sold as many S9000ES's as SCD-1's and 777s--thus doubling the demand. It'll double again by spring. Phillips, Accuphase, Sony and others will have new players. In the summer, when Sony releases the $400 SACD player, demand should soar. Sony is also promising a lot of new software. DVD-Audio should see a quicker rise. There's only a few DVD-audio players right now, and far less software than SACD. But they already have for $500 players (Panasonic A7 and JVC723) for the mid-fi market. I love competition. Hopefully, the competition between SACD and DVD-Audio will force prices lower and greater software options. |
I hate to spoil your party, but SACD is finished before it got started. I have received word from a good source that Sony has already discontinued their 2 top of the line SACD players and will only incorporate SACD into cheap players. So who in mid-fi will care about SACD? Thus, SACD's doom. If you want really great sound today, try a player or dac with upsampling - 24/96khz. Forget SACD, lick your premature, "I gotta have it now" wounds and buy one of these great sounding new upsampling units and make your entire 16/44 disc collection sound better than ever. |
Sorry Markel, but you've misread Sony's current marketing plan. Sony never intended SACD to be a high end product. The DSD process was originally designed as a archiving A/D for the digital conversion of their massive music catalog. The introduction of DSD as a consumer product called SACD had more to do with Sony trying to out position the DVD-Audio consortium. Sony now intends to market SACD as a mass market product -- witness the introduction of their $1,200 multi disc player and the annoucement of a $400 (street price) single disc player. Furthermore, within 18-24 months all new Sony CD/DVD players will be SACD capable. Where Sony has fallen down is on the software front. Despite many promises, SACDs are not readily available. Also note that all current Sony SACD players have digital output of 44.1kHz signals, so if desired, an external DAC can still be utilized. By the way, most who have experienced both upsampling and SACD opine that SACD is the superior format. |
I think you are right Onhwy61, Sony has to push this to the end (hey got to keep the royalties coming) I do wish I could actually go down the street and by a SACD instead of having to order them and it would also be nice to pick up something a little more "rocking". You would think that with Sony having their hands in so many record labels out there that the software would be a little more prevailent but with the plans you listed above that should change hopefully SOONER not later. |
By the way every store I have tried, (Borders to Warehouse) has looked at me with a total look of bewilderment when they hear the term "SACD". Half of them thought it was a band!!!!!! |
When I bought my first dvd player,I got blank stares at Blockbuster when I asked when they would start renting DVD's . I predict by next Christmas there will be over a thousand titles and the major music retailers will carry them. It takes time to shift formats. Look how long it is taking the HD tv thing to happen. |
Excellent post, Onhwy61. Markel's point about upsamplers (or filters, or whatever they really are) is a good one, and I in fact did that about a year ago when I bought a Purcell upsampler, rationalizing at the time that between a $5000 SACD player with no software and a $5000 upsampler which made my 1500 or so Cds all sound better, I'd take the upsampler. I have not regretted that purchase. I then bought an SACD player (777ES) when the price came down to $1500 last fall and upgraded it as described in other posts. I can see the lowering of prices on these units only as a positive; if the masses buy them, it may encourage the making of more software. As far as comparing upsampled Cds vs. SACDs--same recordings, and the analog stages of the SACD player and DAC (Audio Logic) being the same--I can tell you my opinion, which is that while the Cds sound very, very good, the SACDs are more natural and have a greater ease to them, closer to analog and real music. I can listen to both very easily, but the SACD (and, I will also gratuitously add, vinyl) is my preference. |
Hi, No_money, try the following web sites: 1. www.hmv.com -> Audiophile 2. www.amazon.com -> Music, do a search on all products for keyword SACD 3. www.chesky.com -> SACD Catalog 4. www.telarc.com -> Super Audio CD 5. www.delosmus.com -> SACD HMV is the cheapest: $18.42 (free shipping if you buy 4 or more). |
jsbail, you mention the time it's taking to ramp up HDTV. There's more to this than meets the eye. The format only really shows its stuff when a screen is 40" or larger (resolution lines in larger screens are a major negative with the current format--that's why there are doublers).
I have also recently read a few articles that claim costly engineering problems re: HDTV transmission and additional reception difficulties beyond those found with the current format; this is slowing things from the broadcasting end.
For my part, HDTV does little for me. I'm not into HT--I get enough gee whiz! boom and screech at a flick--and don't watch enough television to make the investment in the format viable. I'd much rather upgrade our sound system than waste my budget on vidiocrity. As for "a thousand" 24/92 titles by next Christmas, we'll see. |
Try the Elusive Disc for a fairly good selection of
SACD's. (www.elusivedisc.com).
They are cheaper than anywhere else I've found (21.99) |
HMV.COM is the lowest priced. Sony SACDs are $18.42 and last I looked, they shipped them for free if you bought 4 or more. Not that much more than buying a CD from Sam Goody's. |
