[aos]

Well, at least this is news to me. I haven't been buying any SACDs since last fall - and I had a few to begin with - prices were steep and combine that with fact they'd play only in one of many players I have... Anyhow, there seems to be a batch of new cheap hybrid SACDs coming from Philips (and DG?). I remember reading quite a while back that a new factory was to be opened and that it should drive the prices down. Anyhow, in my local A&B store in Vancouver, they now have quite a few SACDs, including some with Philips label - new DSD recordings from year or two ago. I got Dvorak 9th and Mahler 3rd, and I must say they sound pretty good, all at about CDN$20 (Mahler is even a 2 disc set) which is on par with regular priced CDs. Then again I haven't listened to my Sony 775 player for a while so last weekend I finally opened it and upgraded capacitors and opamps and then decided to look for some more SACDs. It sounds good on redbook too. I can't say I can notice much difference - haven't paid too much attention anyway - but even if the only benefit of SACD is that they now properly master recordings, I'm happy.

Anyhow, the recordings are good - the imaging is much better than typical CDs and I feel more "there", to use a cliche. And performances are not bad either, fresh and different.

775 is good though it is not as transparent as I've heard from good Redbook DACs. Its insides are suprisingly elaborate for something this cheap.

So, if they keep giving out these well recorded and engineered CDs / SACDs, at a price of a regular CD, I won't mind getting more of them. People back then claimed that this strategy would work out well for SACD format and I have to say it looks good so far. I can rip them and listen on my iPod, make a copy for my megachanger and have the original play in the SACD player when I fell like it.