SACD news from Sony

F1nut
F1nut Posts: 50,724
edited May 2006 in Music & Movies
http://www.sa-cd.net/shownews/41

I'm glad to hear that Sony is still supporting SACD, but enough classical already. I want blues and rock and I want it now!
Political Correctness'.........defined

"A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."

President of Club Polk

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  • aaharvel
    aaharvel Posts: 4,489
    edited May 2006
    great news, glad the format's still alive.
    H/K Signature 2.1+235
    Jungson MagicBoat II
    Revel Performa M-20
    Velodyne cht-10 sub
    Rega P1 Turntable

    "People working at Polk Audio must sit around the office and just laugh their balls off reading many of these comments." -Lush
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  • drew spelts
    drew spelts Posts: 310
    edited May 2006
    My novice question is.... If sony rules SACD who rules DVDA?
    Harman Kardon AVR635
    RTi10's Up Front
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    RTi6's Rear Surround
    Furman RA-1210:rolleyes:
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  • aaharvel
    aaharvel Posts: 4,489
    edited May 2006
    toshiba?
    H/K Signature 2.1+235
    Jungson MagicBoat II
    Revel Performa M-20
    Velodyne cht-10 sub
    Rega P1 Turntable

    "People working at Polk Audio must sit around the office and just laugh their balls off reading many of these comments." -Lush
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  • F1nut
    F1nut Posts: 50,724
    edited May 2006
    Warner (WEA) tried to rule DVD-A. In fact, they just released Morph The Cat by Donald Fagen on it. It's a very good quality redbook recording, would have sounded great on SACD.
    Political Correctness'.........defined

    "A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."

    President of Club Polk

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  • Danny Tse
    Danny Tse Posts: 5,206
    edited May 2006
    drew spelts wrote:
    My novice question is.... If sony rules SACD who rules DVDA?

    For software, amongst major labels, WEA (Warner/Elektra/Atlantic) was the primary DVD-A backer. Universal Music also released DVD-As for artists such as Diana Krall and Sting. Audiophile labels such as Chesky and Telarc initially released DVD-As, but SACD has gone on to claim "victory" as these labels cease releases of DVD-A and continued on with SACD.
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  • schwarcw
    schwarcw Posts: 7,341
    edited May 2006
    SACD clearly has the big lead in high rez. There is a lot of DVD-A stuff out there that is not on SACD. Eagles - Hotel California, Natalie Merchant, Beach Boys, Donald Fagan, Steely Dan, REM, Doors - LA Woman. Check out the selection on SACD-Net. I don't know if any of these will be re-released on SACD. As we know, SACD has been given just a marginal return to the big labels. I think a high quality universal player is still a very good investment.
    Carl

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  • AndyGwis
    AndyGwis Posts: 3,655
    edited May 2006
    just got a high quality universal, as you mentioned, Schwarcw.

    haven't tried DVD-A yet, is it similar quality to SACD? Also, purchased a new SACD yesterday (Incubus - Crow left of the murder) and can't get it to play in SACD. . . plays in redbook only on my dv-59.

    Other SACDs play great, but this one doesn't seem to read the SACD. . . any troubleshooting?
    Stereo Rig: Hales Revelation 3, Musical Fidelity CD-Pre 24, Forte Model 3 amp, Lexicon RT-10 SACD, MMF-5 w/speedbox, Forte Model 2 Phono Pre, Cardas Crosslink, APC H15, URC MX-950, Lovan Stand
    Bedroom: Samsung HPR-4252, Toshiba HD-A2, HK 3480, Signal Cable, AQ speaker cable, Totem Dreamcatchers, SVS PB10-NSD, URC MX-850
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  • Danny Tse
    Danny Tse Posts: 5,206
    edited May 2006
    schwarcw wrote:
    There is a lot of DVD-A stuff out there that is not on SACD. Eagles - Hotel California, Natalie Merchant, Beach Boys, Donald Fagan, Steely Dan, REM, Doors - LA Woman. Check out the selection on SACD-Net. I don't know if any of these will be re-released on SACD. As we know, SACD has been given just a marginal return to the big labels. I think a high quality universal player is still a very good investment.

    The titles you've mentioned were released either on a WEA label or on Capitol, and has seen no re-releases on SACD. However, Steely Dan's "Gaucho" was released by Universal Music on both SACD and DVD-A. Jackson Browne, The Talking Heads, Elvis, Britney Spears, etc. are on DVD-A instead of SACD as well.

    On the other hand, SACD has Bob Dylan, The Rolling Stones, The Moody Blues, The Who, The Police, Peter Gabriel, etc.
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  • speakergeek
    speakergeek Posts: 555
    edited May 2006
    That's great news! SACD is really taking off and should be here for a while.
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  • schwarcw
    schwarcw Posts: 7,341
    edited May 2006
    AndyGwis wrote:
    just got a high quality universal, as you mentioned, Schwarcw.

    haven't tried DVD-A yet, is it similar quality to SACD? Also, purchased a new SACD yesterday (Incubus - Crow left of the murder) and can't get it to play in SACD. . . plays in redbook only on my dv-59.

    Other SACDs play great, but this one doesn't seem to read the SACD. . . any troubleshooting?

    I can hear no difference between SACD and DVD-A, either in multi channel or two channel play. Both formats sound great.

    Hmmm! I don't know why your Incubus won't play in SACD mode. Do you have a friend or an audio store that you can take the disc and check it?

    I have had a couple that I forced the player to re-read as it didn't recognize the hi rez format initially.

    Carl
    Carl

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  • schwarcw
    schwarcw Posts: 7,341
    edited May 2006
    Danny Tse wrote:
    The titles you've mentioned were released either on a WEA label or on Capitol, and has seen no re-releases on SACD. However, Steely Dan's "Gaucho" was released by Universal Music on both SACD and DVD-A. Jackson Browne, The Talking Heads, Elvis, Britney Spears, etc. are on DVD-A instead of SACD as well.

    On the other hand, SACD has Bob Dylan, The Rolling Stones, The Moody Blues, The Who, The Police, Peter Gabriel, etc.

    I was actually thinking about Gaucho when I was typing the thread. I do have Gaucho on SACD. No doubt many more titles on SACD. I was simply praising the universal player as an alternative to the SACD only players. Fleetwood Mac's Rumours is great on DVD-A!!!!

    Carl
    Carl

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  • schwarcw
    schwarcw Posts: 7,341
    edited May 2006
    F1nut wrote:
    http://www.sa-cd.net/shownews/41

    I'm glad to hear that Sony is still supporting SACD, but enough classical already. I want blues and rock and I want it now!

    Ditto that! Sony has a huge catalog of good jazz and rock that could be on SACD!

    Carl
    Carl

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  • crazy
    crazy Posts: 443
    edited May 2006
    What about DualDiscs? There seems to be a recent push around these DualDiscs and some even have multi-channel music. I wonder if the DVD side is as good as a DVD-A
    Distant Dream - A New Beginning
    www.distantdream.com
    (Now also available on iTunes)
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  • F1nut
    F1nut Posts: 50,724
    edited May 2006
    DualDisc's can have a problem playing in your player as they are a tad thicker than SACD's or CD's. However, the biggest issue that I see is there is no standard spec for a hi-rez layer. As I understand it, most of them are no better than DTS or DD, which are far from hi-rez.
    Political Correctness'.........defined

    "A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."

    President of Club Polk

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  • Danny Tse
    Danny Tse Posts: 5,206
    edited May 2006
    crazy wrote:
    What about DualDiscs?

    I read that Sony is currently the only label releasing DualDisc. All other labels have abandoned the, ahem, format. And even Sony is considering doing the same.
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  • F1nut
    F1nut Posts: 50,724
    edited May 2006
    I knew that one wasn't going anywhere fast, good riddance!
    Political Correctness'.........defined

    "A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."

    President of Club Polk

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  • Danny Tse
    Danny Tse Posts: 5,206
    edited May 2006
    From earlier this year, in Billboard magazine....
    NEW YORK (Billboard) - The DualDisc marks its one-year anniversary of mass distribution this month, but the new hybrid CD/DVD once expected to become the physical successor to the CD may already be on life support.

    A year after a consortium of major and indie labels announced they would back the product, its future appears to be riding on the one leading music company actually pushing it as a priority: Sony BMG Music Entertainment.

    All the majors are sold on the notion of using bundled audiovisual experiences to add value to physical goods. And hit-starved retailers are clamoring for more combo products. They are charging anywhere from the same price for both versions of an album to $3 more for DualDisc.

    Sony BMG is set to release more than 100 DualDisc titles in 2006. The shipment total is expected to surpass its 2005 output of more than 13 million units on 102 titles. Among the acts with DualDisc titles in the first half of this year are Pink, Dixie Chicks,
    Barry Manilow, Teddy Geiger,
    Miranda Lambert,
    Clay Aiken, Weird Al Yankovic, the Fray, the Jonas Brothers and London Pigg.

    On the other hand, Universal Music Group, Warner Music Group and EMI combined did not come close to Sony BMG's DualDisc output last year. The prospects for 2006 do not look any better.

    While all three majors are officially reviewing the product, few, if any, DualDisc titles are on the way this year. "It's just about a dead issue," a source at one major label says. "We'll put out a few here and there, but it's not anywhere near a major initiative."

    The rub in the debate over DualDisc remains cost. The price of manufacturing a DualDisc is double the average CD -- about $1.20, versus 50 cents-60 cents for the traditional CD with jewel box and booklet, distribution sources say.

    Universal, Warner and EMI all are balking at the notion of dramatically increasing their manufacturing costs for a product that they say lacks clearly defined consumer demand. An NPD study of DualDisc usage published in August found that nearly half of all DualDisc buyers did not realize they were purchasing the configuration until after they left the store.

    Other roadblocks to acceptance include mixed enthusiasm from artists about producing DualDisc content, the long lead time to properly produce the hybrid titles and a limited number of manufacturers that can actually make the discs.

    The three holdout labels are more attracted to 2-in-1 CD/DVD combo packages, which are cheaper to produce than the all-in-one DualDiscs. They also are releasing combo packs in greater numbers.

    Still, Sony BMG is not dissuaded by the resistance of the other majors. The company's executives are heartened by another set of NPD stats, indicating that 72% of consumers that own a DualDisc title would buy another one in the next six months.
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  • AndyGwis
    AndyGwis Posts: 3,655
    edited May 2006
    I took the Incubus SACD back to BB today. They didn't have another copy in SACD, but they did have a Dual Disc. I thought I would try it out given it would cost too much time, gas, and trouble to find another BB with the SACD version in stock.

    SACD is definitely better in sound quality and usability when compared to the Dual Disc. I still haven't had a chance to try any DVD-As. Also, the Dual disc is basically a DVD-Video with audio on it, and I had to have my tv on to navigate. Just different static images for each song (lyrics), which is pointless, and, when in two channel (PCM stereo), sound quality was same as the cd.

    Basically, don't even bother with Dual Disc unless you want basic CD / DVD (Dolby) sound quality with the added bonus of background images that don't do anything.
    Stereo Rig: Hales Revelation 3, Musical Fidelity CD-Pre 24, Forte Model 3 amp, Lexicon RT-10 SACD, MMF-5 w/speedbox, Forte Model 2 Phono Pre, Cardas Crosslink, APC H15, URC MX-950, Lovan Stand
    Bedroom: Samsung HPR-4252, Toshiba HD-A2, HK 3480, Signal Cable, AQ speaker cable, Totem Dreamcatchers, SVS PB10-NSD, URC MX-850
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  • crazy
    crazy Posts: 443
    edited May 2006
    I have a version of Miles Davis' Kind of Blue in the DualDisc format, which I bought since I wanted multi-channel music. It was great but the SACD version is far superior and in multi-channel.

    I'm a huge fan on multi-channel music and there are album which are available in multi-channel in the DualDisc format only - in which case purchasing those are worth the extra money. If they were also available in the SACD or DVD-A format, I would obviously go for that. However DualDisc isn't bad for multi-channel stuff.

    I have a Bon Jovi DualDisc and the quality is truly amazing.
    Distant Dream - A New Beginning
    www.distantdream.com
    (Now also available on iTunes)
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  • Danny Tse
    Danny Tse Posts: 5,206
    edited May 2006
    You want some rock SACD?? How about going back to the very beginning....way....waaaaayyyyyy back......

    Coming in August - Little Richard on Mobile Fidelity mono SACD
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  • F1nut
    F1nut Posts: 50,724
    edited May 2006
    Danny, I just saw that one.
    Political Correctness'.........defined

    "A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."

    President of Club Polk

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