More Hybrids than You Think! (1 Viewer)

[Lee Scoggins]

Friends,

Stephen Best of SACDinfo.com has compiled an interesting list of breakdowns of the type of Super Audio discs available in hybrid format and in pure DSD recording.

Check out: http://www.audioasylum.com/forums/hi...es/125164.html

I am surprised how many hybrids are in his survey. He has most of the European and US discs but not all of Asia.

I think this indicates that there are more than is commonly believed.

I also was surprised to see the large number of DSD recordings but then again, many DSD recording have been going on since 1999 and particularly picked up speed in 2001 according to my sources.

The hybrid count will only grow given Sony's recent commitments.

 

[Lee Scoggins]

There are rumours of 4 albums of Jefferson Airplane coming to Super Audio on Audio Asylum.

http://www.audioasylum.com/forums/hi...es/125069.html

Looks real with Jeff Tamarkin responding to several in email.

 

[Rachael B]

I hope this is all accurate and I hope that BLOWS AGAINST THE EMPIRE by Jefferson Starship is amongst the second wave. It be's me's favourite. Best wishess!

 

[Marty M]

This is great news. JA was one of my favorite 60s group. I will definitely be purchasing some of theirs in SACD format. I am anxious for Crown of Creation, my personal favorite.

 

[Mike Broadman]

At least speaking for myself, I wasn't as concerned with the pure number of hybrids vs not, it was with which titles were not hybrids and from whom, particularly Sony, the co-inventor and largest producer of SACDs.

NP: Tomas Bodin, Pinup Guru

 

[Lee Scoggins]

JA was one of my favorite 60s group.

Yes and if we get the Beatles and Hendrix maybe Sony has the 60s locked up...

Joplin, The Who, Bob Dylan, Rolling Stones, etc.

 

[KeithH]

Mike, excellent point. It's also worth noting that for the vast majority of hybrid SACDs, a standard CD counterpart is more readily available. The standard CDs are usually cheaper than the hybrids too. Therefore, one can't really say that hybrid SACDs are seeing significant market penetration.

 

[Mike Broadman]

The standard CDs are usually cheaper than the hybrids too.

Also, most of said CD "counterparts" happen to sound great, since they are usually remastered, often around the same time the SACD is produced. Heck, even most of Analogue Productions, my favorite SACD label, seems to produce SACD of albums that have great CDs out.

Mobile Fidelity is releasing Sonny Rollins' 4 (or maybe it's already out- gotta check), an album that only has a older, mediocre CD representation on digital. This is exactly the kind of material where SACD can seriously cash in- people can say, "Oh, finally, a good sounding version of this album!"

See, if I were the King of the Music Empire, things would be much better.

 

[KeithH]

Mike, I agree with you. Many of today's remastered CDs sound excellent. This is not to say that the corresponding SACDs are no better. They are. However, no one is going to convince that today's CD technology is inadequate for the average listener.

The Sonny Rollins SACD is an unusual case since it is coming from a specialist label and not the major label. I still feel that the average jazz listener will buy whatever CD the major label provides, regardless of sound quality, and not the SACD for $25-30 through Elusive Disc, Acoustic Sounds, or Music Direct. The fact remains that the average listener is not aware of MFSL or SACD. MFSL SACDs are not available at Best Buy and Circuit City. Availability aside, the average music listener is not going to pay $25-30 for one disc. Such people, and I know and respect many, do not place a premium on sound quality.

I work with someone I would place in the "average jazz listener" category. He loves jazz and is quite knowledgable. He owns loads of jazz CDs. Given his love of jazz, he had never heard about SACD until I mentioned it to him, and he showed no interest in it. He knows I enjoy audio, so he asked me recently about stereo equipment. It turns out he is looking to get a shelf system with a 50-disc CD changer. It should be obvious that this individual would be perfectly happy with the standard Rollins CD for $10.

You said:

See, if I were the King of the Music Empire, things would be much better.

Agreed.

 

[Lee Scoggins]

he showed no interest in it

Will the court please note that said individual has never visited my listening room.

I bet if you played his favorite jazz album in Super Audio on a good system, he would think twice.

 

[Rachael B]

Lee, he would proably think twice, thrice, and beyond about spending on equipment what you have and the average music buyer doesn't want to pay more than $10 for an audio disc. You've never come to accept these simple truths. I am an audio-vidiot, you are an audio-vidiot. We're on a different wavelength than the average consumer, or maybe a parallel universe...?:alien: The record companies wish everybody was like us!

 

[Mike Broadman]

I still feel that the average jazz listener will buy whatever CD the major label provides, regardless of sound quality

Yes. Sorry if I wasn't clear, but the idea of having an SACD of an album that only has a "mediore" version on CD would still only appeal to an audiophile-type.

While we often break the music audience down into two groups- audiophiles and casual listeners- the shades of grey are infinite. There are plenty of people who do care about sound quality but still don't feel the need to, or even know about, high-res. And I'm sure there are plenty of people for whom the Rudy Van Gelder deluxe remastered CD of Blue Train is not only "good enough," but as good as they had hoped for, without shelling out for the SACD.

 

[KeithH]

Lee, the individual I was referring to loves jazz but is not enamored with sound quality. I have not him over to hear jazz in my systems at this point. I'm sure he would be impressed. Actually, I am confident that he would be impressed with the sound quality of CD in my systems. However, as I have said numerous times, it's one thing to be impressed. It's something completely different to be impressed enough and to care enough to then go out and make an investment in quality audio equipment. My colleague has hundreds of jazz CDs. I could play some of his music on my better system, and I am confident that it will sound far better than anything he has ever heard. However, I am quite certain that will not drive him to upgrade. Likewise, I could play some Miles Davis SACDs, but I know it would not get him to upgrade. Remember, he is looking to get a shelf system. He just wants something that is cheap and can play CDs.

Most people are happy with the sound from mediocre systems. So long as they work (no static, no skipping, etc.), they are happy. They are also unwilling to spend big money on equipment.

 

[Lee Scoggins]

Most people are happy with the sound from mediocre systems.

This may be true to a large extent, but I have always felt that it is spartly due to two things:

1. Lack of education about what is possible and how better recordings can help.

2. An over-emphasis in our culture on brand names which steer people to midfi brands where the sonics are horrible and help mask differences in recording.

My point is that it may be possible to improve the whole process by introducing high resolution recordings. This will take take a very coordinated effort but if more major bands keep issuing superstar albums in the SACD format, then enough titles may push some fence-sitters over the edge.

In other words, I believe we can get people on high-rez much like DVD started off but over a longer period of time. I base this in part on the large number of people in web chat forums who resisted and then bought into SACD based on big titles. There are a lot of threads and posts to this effect on the audio boards of late, with particular mention of Dark Side of The Moon.

One thing that may help tremendously are increasingly cheaper DSD chipsets which are coming out that may eventually make SACD capability a standard feature for CD and DVD players.

By the way, according to Audio Revolution, there are 500 million CD players out there! I think this reinforces why hybrids are important for either format to move beyond a niche.

 

[robertLP]

I'm not quite sure if what a few thousand music freaks are thinking in chat rooms today is going to translate what the rest of us will think in the future.

I really can't picture my 85-year old grandmother asking me if I know of any good polka SACDs, because the midrange on her old cassettes is just unacceptable. (But she *does* own a DVD player, b/c of all the many improvemants over VHS; but this has more to do with the convienence factors & extras more than anything else). The improvements of DVD over VHS are enormous compared to the improvements of SACD over CD for the general population.

Hi-rez music (either SACD, DVD-A, LPs, or whatever comes next) will always be for the music hobbiest. Multi-channel? Maybe it'll fly, but I sure as hell wouldn't put any money on it.

Rob

 

[Lee Scoggins]

I'm not quite sure if what a few thousand music freaks are thinking in chat rooms today is going to translate what the rest of us will think in the future.

Read The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell. Early adopters, which are often found in chat rooms of a particular hobby, often are a critical step toward mainstream acceptance of new things.