Stereophile takes heat for their SACD coverage
F1nut
Posts: 50,734
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
"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
Post edited by F1nut on
Comments
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Its not a bad article. I think the problem is many in the general public have poor reading comprehension skills. The web-site you reference has a number of posts that focus on the phrase audiophiles in the US continue to declare it a dead format, as if that is the opinion of Stereophile, or all audiophiles. Yet, right before that phrase, they say Despite the recent affirmation by Stereophile's Kalman Rubinson that the Super Audio Compact Disc remains "the best available all-around physical medium for music"
To me, at this point, only audiophiles are even aware of SACD, and there is no denying it is not popular, despite its benefits. So, that appears to support the statement audiophiles in the US continue to declare it a dead format, even if their declaration is non-verbal, as in not buying SACDs, or SACD players.
They do say Beyond the borders of the US, much of the rest of the world continues to buy and play SACDs., and Sacks faulted Sony, Philips, and the major labels for abandoning SACD too soon in America, before they had adequately communicated its benefits to the public.
That said, although I subscribe to, and like, Stereophile, I sometimes feel thay are stuck in the 19th century with tubes and turntables.
http://www.stereophile.com/news/channel_classics_continues_with_sacd/Lumin X1 file player, Westminster Labs interconnect cable
Sony XA-5400ES SACD; Pass XP-22 pre; X600.5 amps
Magico S5 MKII Mcast Rose speakers; SPOD spikes
Shunyata Triton v3/Typhon QR on source, Denali 2000 (2) on amps
Shunyata Sigma XLR analog ICs, Sigma speaker cables
Shunyata Sigma HC (2), Sigma Analog, Sigma Digital, Z Anaconda (3) power cables
Mapleshade Samson V.3 four shelf solid maple rack, Micropoint brass footers
Three 20 amp circuits. -
Seems a shame not to check SACD out, since Vanns is practically giving Denon 1940CIs away. (Purchase solo @ $92, bundled with various other packages of theirs at < $75.) Now if I can just get enough time free for me to get both the SurroundBar50 and the PSW connected some afternoon or evening!
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They do say “Beyond the borders of the US, much of the rest of the world continues to buy and play SACDs.”, and “Sacks faulted Sony, Philips, and the major labels for abandoning SACD too soon in America, before they had adequately communicated its benefits to the public.
Unfortunately, in the US, the only major labels to show support for SACD were Universal and Sony. Warner Music was a proponent of SACD's rival, DVD-Audio, and EMI was never a big player in the hi-rez game. I remember both Universal and Sony putting some efforts into promoting SACD, such as the giveaway sampler in Rolling Stones magazine and full page ads in Sound & Vision. Not to mention those demonstration booths at Circuit City stores.
It's ironic that SACD is declared "dead" by the most audiophile publications just as the format approaches its 10th anniversary and 6,000th title. Don't expect any of these publications to celebrate the anniversary though; none of them can even get the correct date of CD's introduction during that format's 25th anniversary 2 years ago. -
Shouldn't Sony take heat for their SACD advertising?....or lack thereof......~ In search of accurate reproduction of music. Real sound is my reference and while perfection may not be attainable? If I chase it, I might just catch excellence. ~
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Shouldn't Sony take heat for their SACD advertising?....or lack thereof......
At this point, it's a little too late.
I suppose Sony and Universal could have made major releases single-inventory SACD releases....like those from Springsteen, the Dixie Chicks, etc. In fact, Sony did release several titles as single-inventory SACDs, such as the 2 SACD set for "War of the Worlds", a jazz album from James Carter, etc. However, these titles will not generate much buzzes for the format.
I really don't know what's the big deal with the SACD coverage in Stereophile. SACD has received some very positive coverage in their last 2 issues (Sony 5400 and a new McIntosh SACD player). As for Sam Tellig's monthly column....isn't he there for the joke effect?
