[Shurenuff]

Well, I plan to buy my new source sometime this month. As of now, I plan to buy a modded Music Hall CD-25. While I've heard this is a great redbook player for the money, I keep asking myself if I should jump on the SACD or DVD-A bandwagon. I really want to experience this "next step" in Hi-Fi audio, but I just can't justify it. This is because, above everthing, I listen and enjoy my gear for the music. I can not see myself paying a significant amount of money for one of these players, and likely sacrifice redbook performance, if there is such a limited amount of content available. I've looked through the SACD library and I'd be lucky to pick out 15 SACD's that I would enjoy. It's just frustrating to me because while I would love to dive into this technology, I just can't because of these limitations.

So, for now I plan to buy the modded Music Hall and take a wait and see approach. IYO, when do you think the formats will pick up the pace, for lack of better words? Is this always going to be a niche item with a couple of releases here and there, or is the selection going to one day rival that of the CD? Truthfully, I don't even want to hear what SACD or DVD-A sounds like, because I don't want to end up falling in love with the sound and not the music.

 

[gpalmer]

I've been waiting two years and it hasn't happened so far...

 

[Edwood]

Blame the RIAA, and the rise of MP3's.

They're both full of crap.

-Ed

 

[soundboy]

Here you go....

http://www5.head-fi.org/forums/showt...highlight=sacd

 

[Jeff Guidry]

I, like you, am just going to enjoy my redbook Music Hall until the format wars shake out. I'm going to buy a really super nice high res player once it is obvious which format (if any) becomes the standard.

 

[Shurenuff]

Quote:

Originally posted by soundboy Here you go.... http://www5.head-fi.org/forums/showt...highlight=sacd

Thanks for the link!



Quote:

Originally posted by stuartr All I know is that in terms of hi rez formats, the only one that I currently care about is vinyl. There are only two reasons for this: aesthetics and catalog availability. I will admit right out that I love the tactile sensation of putting on a record, cleaning it with a brush, delicately placing the needle on the surface, and being greeted with wonderfully smooth sound. After all, I am a historian first and audiophile second. That said, I would embrace SACD or DVD-Audio in a nanosecond if they produced khotya-by (sorry, Russian, for some reason it seemed the only choice here...roughly translated as "naught but") 50 recordings that I would really want to listen to. At the moment I can think of only one SACD that I would like to listen to: Beck's Sea Change. For the rest of it, give me a 40 year old pressing of David Oistrakh, Janos Starker or Eugene Ormandy --- it will be an infinitely better performance, and it will feel, smell (don't you all love the musty smell of a good old record?) and sound more like real. Beyond that, all the good independant labels I know (thrill jockey, matador, drag city, etc.) release on vinyl, but not DVD-A or SACD. So while they may sound fantastic, I put for the eternal question: "What the ****** is the point if they don't release anything I want to listen to?" This is my question...it may be different for Norah Jones, Diana Krall, Yo Yo Ma and Rolling Stones fans... __________________

Taken from the thread from your link, this quote pretty much sums up my feelings (except I'm not into vinyl). If they want the new formats to stand a chance, they have to release much more content, both old and new.

 

[Alex Altorfer]

Acquiring a great sounding Redbook player makes your entire CD collection more valuable. IMHO that's the best path to take cost/benefitwise.

Cheers,
Alex

 

[eyeteeth]

Speaking of Music Hall, their new 2/ch SACD player is one im interested in as I don't think it's redbook performance has been compromised.

That said, im still going to wait a while for the smoke to clear.

http://www.musichallaudio.com/produc...ookup=maverick

http://www.6moons.com/audioreviews/m.../maverick.html

 

[dfong87]

I think some valid points have been made:

with the posters original budget (i'm assuming 5-600), and lack of interest in existing titles, they should stick with the Redbook player that suits them best. at that price range, Redbook playback will be compromised in an SACD or universal player, in my experience.

i drew the same conclusion 4 years ago when i bought my Arcam Alpha 9 CD player (~1500)...even then, i felt the Sony 777ES (2000) compromised Redbook playback enough and there were only about 10 titles i had interest in, so i got the Arcam.

in the meantime, i started buying hybrid discs (when the choice was available) for titles i liked knowing that someday i might buy a SACD player.

about a year and a half ago, i saw many more titles that i was interested in...had about 30 SACD hybrids in my collection, and took the plunge (XA777ES)...i currently have about 100+ SACDs...

i think for the most part, the current offerings favor those of us who like classic jazz and classical music (although true aficianados of the latter would scoff and say that the library available is no choice if one is going for performances over sonics...i'm less picky

). There are also a lot of classic rock/pop/folk releases that i've enjoyed (Stones, Dylan, Police, The Who, CCR, for eg...some are better than others)

one surprising thing i have found is that the current generation of "higher level" SACD players also do very good CD playback. i can't say the XA777ES is better or worse than my Arcam and its Ring DAC. only different. but in the same class...just each have their own strengths such that i use them for different Redbook CDs or whatever mood i'm in.

bottom line: my recommendation (if the current offerings aren't enough) is to buy the hybrid discs when appropriate (for the titles you're interested in) so you can enjoy the music now and be blown away if and when you ever opt for the highrez player.

 

[Edwood]

The best thing about every source upgrade, is that you get to rediscover your existing music collection.

But a format change is a real pain. As you have to either reconvert, or buy your collection over again. And as in this case, you probably can't replace your collection because HiRes has such a thin library of releases.

-Ed

 

[dfong87]

Quote:

Originally posted by Edwood But a format change is a real pain. As you have to either reconvert, or buy your collection over again. And as in this case, you probably can't replace your collection because HiRes has such a thin library of releases.

this isn't exactly the case with SACD. the players all support Redbook playback and are entirely backward compatible with the Redbook format.

but yes, you are correct in general. when CD players arrived, there was no way to play the old vinyl discs.

i think people only need to replace their old collection if they really like a album and/or want to benefit from the improved sonics. this of course assumes that you don't dump your old source and/or it doesn't break and can't be replaced.* of course, it's also arguable whether CDs were an improvement over LP. [can open...worms everywhere!]

* ps. speaking of which, after a 15 year hiatus, i'm seriously planning a reentry into vinyl!

 

[Music Fanatic]

I feel compelled to point out that just as SACD players can play CDs, so can DVD-A players play CDs (at least I have yet to find a counterexample.)

 

[Elec]

Quote:

Originally posted by Music Fanatic I feel compelled to point out that just as SACD players can play CDs, so can DVD-A players play CDs (at least I have yet to find a counterexample.)

It's also reasonable to assume that somebody could buy a good DVD-Audio player and use it for DVD-Audio and Video, while having a separate player for high quality redbook. If you "need" a DVD player anyway and would like to try a high-res format, it wouldn't hurt to go that route, and is probably easier than trying to buy a player that does well on SACD AND redbook to go along with a video only DVD player.

 

[Alex Altorfer]

Music Fanatic,

Quote:

Originally posted by Music Fanatic I feel compelled to point out that just as SACD players can play CDs, so can DVD-A players play CDs (at least I have yet to find a counterexample.)

Unfortunately, redbook players don't play DVD-As (though they play SACD hybrids), but I hear that's about to change with the advent of two faced DVD discs.

Cheers,
Alex

 

[Welly Wu]

I think 2004 will mark the turning point for both DVD-Audio and SACD in terms of greater acceptability and hardware developments especially in the universal player front. However, it's not going to be a night and day difference but one of gradual progress.