Three years = poor sales for DVD-audio and SACD |
I’m guessing that a very small percentage of people reading this, even those who like tech, actually own a Super Audio Compact Disc (SACD) or DVD-audio player. The cost for the players is about $200 USD so it isn’t some super tech cool device (like a Segway) that is out of most people’s tech budget. No takers for new formats to replace CD :
During the six-month period ending in June last year, only 100,000 DVD-Audio discs were sold, compared with 245 million CDs, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) reports. Even traditional vinyl records outsold DVD-Audio - by a factor of six to one
I didn’t even realize that they were still selling traditional vinyl records. That article points out the benefits of these two new formats which essentially are greater storage. Each is backed by different industry players (for instance, Warner Music likes DVD-Audio, while Sony Music supports SACD). Even many audiophiles with golden ears cannot tell the difference between the two. If some folks reading this do have a DVD-audio player or SACD, then post in the comments and let me know what you are facing for content?
Did this post make you go hmm?
(Hmm, no ratings yet)
Loading ...
I have the first affordable ($400) SACD Player from Sony. I personally might have gone the other way (DVD-Audio) for other reasons, but I wanted to try one of the systems and SACD has more, better content generally. My taste in music is ridiculously eclectic, however I’ll tell you what I’ve bought and maybe something will sound interesting.
Boston (self titled) is an album I liked a lot but the CD mastering sounded very dated. SACD off the masters is awesome.
Diana Krall (When I Look In Your Eyes and Look Of Love) both sound slightly “airier” than the CD’s (which were recorded very well for CD). There’s more room to breathe around the musicians so to speak. Much more convincing and live in the good sense of the word.
Billy Joel (The Stranger and Songs In The Attic) like the Boston disc (I have to be careful not to call it a CD) is a much better recording.
Amanda Marshall has an SACD that I had to buy ’cause I liked the CD so much. Sort of worth it but I wish I just got the SACD to begin with.
Christy Baron, Rebecca Pidgeon, Dave’s True Story are artists signed to Chesky.com and I haven’t heard the CD versions. Of the three Rebecca Pidgeon dissapointed on some songs, but others might like her better. Christy Baron and Dave’s True Story are great recordings of great songs period.
Various Bob Dylan and Rolling Stones discs are available, along with Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon. They sound great, but I haven’t paid much attention to the few discs I have.
That’s all I can think of. Feel free to email for more details, etc.
One last thing. Aside from multichannel playback in surround, the resolution is only slightly enhanced quality over CD. Here’s why. A good engineer, a true artist, is able to get quite a bit from CD even though it is actually fairly compromised as a recording format. It’s only someone who’s inexperienced or new to the job, or a hobbyist/musician like me, who’s recordings will sound majorly different.
There’s also the issues of being able to record music you bought, upgrading to a seperate Digital-to-Analog converter (like many auidiophiles including me have done), and allegedly audible watermarking. (Allegedly audibly better sound with allegedly audible watermarking doesn’t make a good marketing strategy.) CD doesn’t have these limitations. I sort of hope something else comes out to destroy both formats in a way. Good Luck,
Steve
Comment by Steve — February 6, 2004 @ 3:14 am PST