KeithH
Senior HTF Member
- Joined
- Mar 28, 2000
- Messages
- 9,413
This thread will amount to a rant. For me, shopping for SACDs and DVD-Audio discs in brick-and-mortar stores is continually met with nothing but frustration. I live in Delaware, and the stores I frequent to buy music are Best Buy, Circuit City, Borders, and Barnes and Noble. If I am willing to drive 45 minutes into New Jersey, I can shop at Tower Records or Compact Disc World. I also have Tower Records about an hour away in the Philly area. However, most of my shopping is done in Delaware. Besides the fact that I live in the Diamond State, I don't pay sales tax here. Here are my peeves about shopping for SACDs and DVD-Audio discs at local stores:
1) Finding new SACDs is near impossible. Borders and Barnes and Noble have no SACDs. Period. Best Buy has a smattering of Sony titles and a handful of Telarc discs. Circuit City has a smattering of Sony titles. The Best Buy and Circuit City stores in my area rarely get in new Sony SACDs. One Best Buy store had a copy of the Janis Joplin Cheap Thrills SACD for $19.99 and two copies of the Bruce Springsteen Live in New York SACD for $29.99 last week. Sure the discs were there, but I would like to see lower prices. $19.99 is just too high for a single disc in my opinion. Also, neither Best Buy nor Circuit City stores in my locale got the Miles Davis In A Silent Way or Aerosmith Oh Yeah! SACDs this week.
The vast majority of SACDs at Best Buy and Circuit City are the older stereo titles in cardboard sleeves. I was encouraged by Best Buy stores in my area getting in the new Joplin and Springsteen SACDs last week, but that was an aberration, and as I said, the prices are still on the high side. Circuit City stores near me got new Sony titles last winter and spring, but that has stopped. It's really sad. :frowning:
2) Finding non-Sony SACDs, which are hybrids, is practically impossible. Now, before anyone plants the flag for the forthcoming Stones discs that will supposedly be available everywhere, let's be honest. The Stones discs will be an abberation (my new favorite word). Outside of the four or five Telarc hybrid discs at Best Buy stores, there are no hybrids to be found anywhere. I am still stupid enough to look in the Alison Krauss section at local stores in the hopes that a hybrid disc version of New Favorite will have slipped through the cracks. Of course that doesn't happen. All I see are the CDs. The same goes for Philip Bailey Soul on Jazz. Just CDs. Furthermore, I have hoped that the MFSL Patricia Barber SACDs would make their way to stores in my area just as MFSL gold CDs used to, but that hasn't happened.
3) Buying DVD-Audio discs at local stores is completely impossible or impractical. Borders has a handful of titles, and prices are high. Barnes and Noble has none. Circuit City has Warner discs for $13.99 on its web site, but has no discs in the stores. Best Buy stores have Warner discs for $22.99. Gee whiz, Warner only dropped the retail price 4-6 weeks ago. Circuit City now has the Panasonic DVD-CP72S DVD-Audio changer for $250, but has no DVD-Audio discs to go with it.
Yes, I know I can order discs online anytime I want. However, I like the ability to walk into a store on a whim and walk out with new music that I can enjoy at home that day. I just can't do that in my area with SACD and DVD-Audio. As I said, I can venture to Tower Records or Compact Disc World stores that are out of state, but not far away. Tower Records probably does the best job of stocking SACDs and DVD-Audio discs in my area, but their prices are not favorable. The nearest Compact Disc World stores to me in New Jersey have been doing a horrendous job of stocking SACDs over the past six months. I have bought a number of Sony titles that they have never restocked. It's pathetic.
Well, I guess that's enough venting for now.
1) Finding new SACDs is near impossible. Borders and Barnes and Noble have no SACDs. Period. Best Buy has a smattering of Sony titles and a handful of Telarc discs. Circuit City has a smattering of Sony titles. The Best Buy and Circuit City stores in my area rarely get in new Sony SACDs. One Best Buy store had a copy of the Janis Joplin Cheap Thrills SACD for $19.99 and two copies of the Bruce Springsteen Live in New York SACD for $29.99 last week. Sure the discs were there, but I would like to see lower prices. $19.99 is just too high for a single disc in my opinion. Also, neither Best Buy nor Circuit City stores in my locale got the Miles Davis In A Silent Way or Aerosmith Oh Yeah! SACDs this week.
The vast majority of SACDs at Best Buy and Circuit City are the older stereo titles in cardboard sleeves. I was encouraged by Best Buy stores in my area getting in the new Joplin and Springsteen SACDs last week, but that was an aberration, and as I said, the prices are still on the high side. Circuit City stores near me got new Sony titles last winter and spring, but that has stopped. It's really sad. :frowning:
2) Finding non-Sony SACDs, which are hybrids, is practically impossible. Now, before anyone plants the flag for the forthcoming Stones discs that will supposedly be available everywhere, let's be honest. The Stones discs will be an abberation (my new favorite word). Outside of the four or five Telarc hybrid discs at Best Buy stores, there are no hybrids to be found anywhere. I am still stupid enough to look in the Alison Krauss section at local stores in the hopes that a hybrid disc version of New Favorite will have slipped through the cracks. Of course that doesn't happen. All I see are the CDs. The same goes for Philip Bailey Soul on Jazz. Just CDs. Furthermore, I have hoped that the MFSL Patricia Barber SACDs would make their way to stores in my area just as MFSL gold CDs used to, but that hasn't happened.
3) Buying DVD-Audio discs at local stores is completely impossible or impractical. Borders has a handful of titles, and prices are high. Barnes and Noble has none. Circuit City has Warner discs for $13.99 on its web site, but has no discs in the stores. Best Buy stores have Warner discs for $22.99. Gee whiz, Warner only dropped the retail price 4-6 weeks ago. Circuit City now has the Panasonic DVD-CP72S DVD-Audio changer for $250, but has no DVD-Audio discs to go with it.
Yes, I know I can order discs online anytime I want. However, I like the ability to walk into a store on a whim and walk out with new music that I can enjoy at home that day. I just can't do that in my area with SACD and DVD-Audio. As I said, I can venture to Tower Records or Compact Disc World stores that are out of state, but not far away. Tower Records probably does the best job of stocking SACDs and DVD-Audio discs in my area, but their prices are not favorable. The nearest Compact Disc World stores to me in New Jersey have been doing a horrendous job of stocking SACDs over the past six months. I have bought a number of Sony titles that they have never restocked. It's pathetic.
Well, I guess that's enough venting for now.