Is Sony Abandoning SACD?

MattCPT · 07-09-2006, 11:48 PM

I know a lot of people have commented on the lack of new SACDs (of interest anyway) and difficulty finding them in stores, but I was surprised by a recent experience.

I live in south Florida and was recently at the mall in Palm Beach Gardens when I noticed a Sony store. Not being a fan of Sony since their hidden rootkit debacle and now with what appears to be a premature release of Blue-Ray (MPEG-2, 25 vs 50 GB discs, etc...) I entered the store with the hopes of seeing a SACD display that finally markets the product to the average consumer. I figured that this was a sure thing since the "Sony Style" store sold only Sony products and would have a self serving interest in marketing SACD.

To my disbelief and extreme disappointment in Sony there was no such thing. They had a computer section, home theater section, clock radios, Mp3s, and a couple areas marketing Blue-Ray, including multiple players and movies. I asked a sales rep. that approached me where the SACD section was and he said "I'm not sure what your looking for... hold on a second" he then located another sales rep. and asked him. The second sales rep. asked "Do you mean an ES receiver?" I said no I mean SACD and then proceeded to explain what SACD was to a SONY SALES PERSON!! He then asked a third person who said "It's not like we carry everything here, Sony has a lot of products".

I agree that Sony has a lot of products but I must say that if Sony doesn't have any signs or SACD software located in their own stores, and their salespeople aren't even educated on the SACD product line then I would consider SACD to be either DEAD or unworthy of even basic marketing to Sony. I can't understand how Sony would have a home theater set-up in their own store and they don't take advantage of the opportunity to excite the public about their own high res surround sound audio products. There is NO EXCUSE!

The lack of support that Sony provides for it's own format has only reinforced my decision to wait for either a winner between HD-DVD and Blue-Ray, or a universal player that also includes SACD and DVD-A capabilities.

I would like to hear from anyone else that has been to other Sony stores to see if they carry SACD there or if Sony has completely turned their back on the format. Just for fun ask for SACD and see if the salespeople know what your talking about.

Danny Tse · 07-10-2006, 12:29 AM

A couple of weeks ago, my gf and I were at the Metreon Sony Style store in San Francisco. No SACDs but I did see a couple of SACD-capable players on display. To be honest, I have given up on reps at retail outlets regarding SACD.

Has Sony given up marketing SACD? I'd say yes....those of us who were interested in the format have already committed ourselves to it. For those who are aware of SACD, I doubt any marketing campaign will sway them over.

Has Sony given up on SACD? I'd say no. Until they make a formal announcement otherwise, Sony/BMG will most likely go ahead with the upcoming Living Stereo SACD releases. I don't know about future pop/rock titles though. Maybe Sony should license some of its catalog to companies such as Mobile Fidelity.

All is not lost though. The fact that Universal Music has decided to market 2 of the Moody Blues SACD titles domestically gives us SACD fans a glimmer of hope. Of course, we still have Telarc and Mobile Fidelity releasing SACD titles.

Rommel_L · 07-10-2006, 07:46 AM

Just probably here in the US market. SACD isn't really making a huge dent here but it is doing very well in the Asian and European markets, dare I say (almost) a standard for audiophiles and enthusiasts.

JediFonger · 07-10-2006, 12:19 PM

rommel, foreign nations seem to adopt formats fairly quickly (except for DVD, VCD&SVCD had too long of a stay, imho)... the problem comes when you try to validate the quality of those releases. just because it's SACD does not automatically mean it's high-resolution. they may have just dumped the stereo 16/44 PCM directly into stereo DSD.

re: popularity. what i'd like to see is format creators offering musicians more incentive to try these formats. i wouldn't mind rap artists (like M&M?) try their hands @ 5.1. how about groups like radiohead? they're like the modern day pink floyd equivalent. etc. there's not enough push on the musicians side. once the musicians latch on (like REM or Elton John) their phenomenal releases will truly make the format.

as with any format, it's ALL about the content.

Lee Scoggins · 07-10-2006, 01:10 PM

Sony has announced some new SACD titles recently so I think they are from abandoning the format. Several going on in the pro division as well...

Especially in classical I find there is enough of an audience for many boutique labels to do well. Costs of production should continue to drop.

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Rommel_L · 07-10-2006, 04:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by YiFeng

... the problem comes when you try to validate the quality of those releases. just because it's SACD does not automatically mean it's high-resolution. they may have just dumped the stereo 16/44 PCM directly into stereo DSD...

You're right, it all depends on the quality of the source before it was converted to DSD, but DSD itself is high resolution. This is in relation to the good you topic you started (SACD flawed...)

JediFonger · 07-11-2006, 08:32 AM

what i'm most interested in... is titles. so far, i've only got 4, 5 titles that interest me. not too much into classical and stuff. i'm more into pop. not much pop on SACD...=(... especially new stuff.

i'd have a hard time imagining somn like the beatles catalog on SACD or when i see stuff like miles davis, elvis, etc. the quality of the content is great... but fidelity of the audio is limited because of the platform they made their recording on NO MATTER how one remasters. that's why i'd like to see NEW material on SACD because with the right tools today, audiophiles can make a FAIR and more accurate assessment of the benefits of high-res audio because the original master will have been recorded at better than 24/192 or 24/96 and thus, when duplicated via SACD or downconverted to CD's 16/44, you would be able to make a fair comparison between the formats =).

dany · 07-11-2006, 09:32 AM

I have a Sony player and have 2 SACD's and 10 DVD-A{i use the DTS} and 5 DTS discs. Sony failed with SACD titles except for classical and jazz,neither that i'm into. I'm looking for a universal player now.

Lee Scoggins · 07-11-2006, 10:03 AM

"but fidelity of the audio is limited because of the platform they made their recording on NO MATTER how one remasters."

It's not really a big problem for older works done on analog tape and many sessions did analog and PCM for a while. Analog to DSD transfers sound fabulous!

John Garcia · 07-11-2006, 12:33 PM

They likely don't market it in their stores because the average consumer has no clue about it anyway, just like their sales people don't. Therein lies the problem - a public that isn't on the cutting edge, nor desires the highest resolutions available to them... The reality is, most people probably don't need higher resolution, and that is fine. I am not the general public though

I have more SACDs than DVD-As, but that is irrelevant to me. Both have their pros and cons, but both are solid formats if you ask me.