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SACD - Dying already?

I just read the industry blurb in this month's TAS which described how it seems the stream of SACDs from Sony has pretty much dried up. I was in the largest local independent record store in my area last week and actually bought a SACD because it was music not available on CD. The SACD/DVD-A section was a bit smaller than a year ago and I asked the manager about it. He laughed and said they only sell 2-3 a month combined and he doesn't order many anymore.

Except for audiophiles, is anyone buying these things? Or, are all hopes and dreams of SACD slowly fading away (for at least Sony)?
tomryan

Showing 1 response by nickatkins

nickatkins
82 posts
 
It's quite likely SACD (or to a lesser extent DVD-A) will never find its niche with audiophiles because we all prefer vinyl, given the choice. However, SACD is definitely going in the right direction because:

(a) it's less of a compromise than CD sound,
(b) music recorded on DSD today (it could well be the medium of choice for the majority of studios) transfers naturally to the SACD format which means less to go wrong from instrument to disc and
(c) SACD shares a lot of what makes CD so popular: convenient size and durability.

Technically SACD has a lot going for it but its financial sense is less clear and it may well die from underinvestment.
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