[dngl]

I emailed Sony about the current state of SACD and got the following response:

"Thanks for your feedback John,
as with any new format, the SACD catalog of titles takes awhile to build. But
titles are now becoming easier to make, which will enable us to rapidly
increase our catalog. We are concentrating on putting out 4-6 titles per month
right now, and that number is expected to go up as the year progresses. We are
also focusing on multichannel/surround sound mixes at the moment, which
originally took more time and money to create, but the process is becoming much
quicker. We apologize, we hope you are not disappointed, and please expect many
more titles as the year goes on. As soon as titles are released, all of our
titles are available for purchase online at thestore.sonymusic.com (or via
www.sonymusic.com/sacd) We can't speak for the other labels, but the rock genre
is very much a priority for us at this time."

 

[RickG]

Cool, thanks for that....Jon...

 

[mbriant]

That's good news.

Especially the rock genre part.

Except I just checked their website and this is what they have listed under "upcoming releases"




Murray Perahia Bach: Keyboard Concertos, Vol. 2

John Williams, Composer/Conductor The Magic Box

Celine Dion A New Day Has Come

Indigo Girls Become You


If that's what they call "especially the rock genre", I'm not impressed.

 

[dngl]

In my letter to them, I recommended that they release "some Pink Floyd, Iggy Pop, Simon and Garfunkel, Clash, and
Ben Folds Five SACDs" because those are the real standouts from their catalogue that I feel that they have ignored. I browsed through their entire catalog quickly and likely missed a few.

 

[acidtripwow]

My prediction is if the software isn't there then both SACD and DVD-A will die. I am losing interest in both these formats really fast.

 

[DanG]

I was at one point a staunch supporter of SACD and the idea of higher-resolution formats in general... I don't know if anybody still remembers the debates between me and Thomas (and others) as to which was better -- souped up PCM (as in DVD-A) or DSD (as in SACD).

Now it's a moot point, and I'm unlikely to purchase an SACD player until SACD practically becomes a standard. I couldn't care less about how much crappy rock music comes out on SACD since I don't feel there's a real sonic benefit. But what I would like to see is far more 20th-century classical music, and entire cycle of Beethoven string quartets (and the Bartok string quartets) as well as just plain more music! And it'd be great to see some original recordings, not just some half-assed remasterings which I would not buy in any case.

I'm afraid SACD really is dying...

 

[thomas]

i remember

The format (if any) that survives will be determined by anything BUT sound quality...

The audiophile community (of which only a fraction use SACD) is way to small to pay for the development costs of the technology, remastering a large catalog of recordings, and marketing. The only way SACD can survive if it taps into the large general consumer market- That is why sony is bundling SACD with garbage-sounding home-theatre in a box systems, and "focusing on multichannel/surround sound mixes at the moment". These recordings will probably be filled with gimmiky "surround sound" effects rather than have better sound quality.

All of this will alienate the elitist audiophile community, killing SACD for good...

 

[Joe Bloggs]

Quote:

Originally posted by thomas The audiophile community (of which only a fraction use SACD) is way to small to pay for the development costs of the technology, remastering a large catalog of recordings, and marketing... <snip> All of this will alienate the elitist audiophile community, killing SACD for good...

I see a contradiction here...

Going by your first premise, whether the elitist audiophile community likes SACD or not matters very little to the SACD bottom line...

 

[DanG]

Quote:

Originally posted by thomas i remember

Good times, "eh?"

Quote:

The format (if any) that survives will be determined by anything BUT sound quality...

Yup, seems we've established that...

Quote:

The audiophile community (of which only a fraction use SACD) is way to small to pay for the development costs of the technology, remastering a large catalog of recordings, and marketing. The only way SACD can survive if it taps into the large general consumer market- That is why sony is bundling SACD with garbage-sounding home-theatre in a box systems, and "focusing on multichannel/surround sound mixes at the moment". These recordings will probably be filled with gimmiky "surround sound" effects rather than have better sound quality.

Makes sense. But whether or not you think DVD-A is better or SACD is better, SACD seems quite clearly better, if properly implemented, than CD. It seems to me that anything that will allow SACD to survive is good... which leads me to my next point...

Quote:

All of this will alienate the elitist audiophile community, killing SACD for good...

How's this for a possible solution... pop/modern rock/punk/etc. music, which is not usually listened to by the elitist part of the audiophile community, can be recorded in large part with these gimmicky special effects you describe, thus subscribing a large number of non-audiophiles. With classical music and jazz which is more likely to be listened to by people who care little for gimmicks and more for the music itself, recording principle could stay pure throughout the catalog.

This might sign on a large number of people who would otherwise care little for high-quality sound, but given that they hear something new, they may start buying in. Thus the audiophiles have their format and since the money is already there and the hardware more or less ubiquitous, high-quality classical and jazz titles can be produced.

Nice naive solution?

 

[thomas]

If a business doesn't grow, it dies

right now SACD's depends entirely on the audiophile community, but in order to compete with dVD-A, and to release new software/improve the technology, they will need to expand...

but in their attemps to grow, they will cut off their core market, while failing to attract new customers...

 

[jaghouse]

Maybe SACD will be successful. Sounds like they are dumping cash into multichannel recordings that would sound "good" for the home theater fanatics.

I can see it now from the Best Buy sales rep: "Hey come check out the SACD multichannel recording of Kid Rock using a Sony DVD player and Bose Acousticrap speakers."

 

[Beagle]

We seem to only view the status of a format by what is happening in our own community. Fact is, things like MiniDisc and SACD can stay alive with the Japanese market alone. And they can only grow elsewhere. We forget that the world population is growing and "small markets" are now "large".

 

[morphsci]

Quote:

Originally posted by thomas If a business doesn't grow, it dies right now SACD's depends entirely on the audiophile community, but in order to compete with dVD-A, and to release new software/improve the technology, they will need to expand... but in their attemps to grow, they will cut off their core market, while failing to attract new customers...

But do not forget, Sony is not an octopus but many octopi.

 

[mbriant]

Quote:

We seem to only view the status of a format by what is happening in our own community. Fact is, things like MiniDisc and SACD can stay alive with the Japanese market alone. And they can only grow elsewhere. We forget that the world population is growing and "small markets" are now "large".

Very good point. We sometimes forget that North America is no longer the center of the economic universe.

Perhaps we could force Japan to step up SACD production with military threats.

 

[ponzio]

I've heard that Sony Music is working on remastering at least 60 SACD titles - I eagerly anticipate Fiona Apple's "Tidal"

I've received so much pleasure from the few SACD's I own, that it has made my purchase worth it. The incredible attacks, the harmonics, and the dead silence all contribute.