Why no "SACD" button at Amazon classical? (1 Viewer)

[Dennis Nicholls]

Amazon's classical department search engine is pretty good, but only has two buttons for media type: "CD" and "DVD Audio". Does anyone know why they don't have a third button for "SACD"? I've sent them some feedback but am curious. I'm considering buying a SACD player because (1) they cost about $400 as compared to $900 for a hybrid player and (2) I only am interested in classical music. But I would sure appreciate being able to browse for SACD titles first.

 

[ManW_TheUncool]

Yeah, you and me both, but it seems like Amazon doesn't have much of a selection anyway. Maybe that's why they have not felt compelled to separate SACD from their regular CD search criteria. Also, their prices aren't that great for most titles either. In most cases, might as well shop at Towerrecords.com instead or use a search site like PriceGrabber.

_Man_

 

[Sathyan]

Go to Music Direct nearly 800 titles, many of them classical. And if you buy the Philips 963 there you get 10% off all SACDs purchased there in 2003.

 

[Dennis Nicholls]

The problem is that Music Direct wants $500 for the DVD963, whereas J&R or OneCall only want $400. You would need to spend $1,000 on SACDs to make up the difference. And they want $25 for the Tilson-Thomas SACD of Mahler's 1st: Amazon only wants $23.50.

Amazon said this in their response:

"Greetings from Amazon.com.

Thank you for writing back to us with your inquiry. Unfortunately, at this time we only offer CD and DVD Audio, in our Classical Power Search field.

Please note, we currently offer a limited number of SACDs in our online Music store. Conducting a keyword search for "sacd" or "super audio" will bring up the titles that are available.

However, I should caution you that our web site does not currently specify whether a particular SACD title is single-layer or hybrid. Therefore, it is possible that some of these titles will not be compatible with standard CD players.

We appreciate the time you've taken to send your suggestion. I have passed along your comments to our developers; customer feedback like yours is essential in helping us determine what additional features our visitors and customers want most."

Actually their individual listings are very clear as to whether a SACD is hybrid or not.

 

[Dennis Nicholls]

Actually www.arkivmusic.com does have a search on SACD function. I'm finding them a really good source for more obscure classical recordings.