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Topic: Which is a better investment? SACD or DVD-A (Read 14076 times) previous topic - next topic
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Which is a better investment? SACD or DVD-A

Reply #25 –
As previously stated, both formats are niche formats and you won't find much support for them in either the hardware or software realms.  More and more studios are now starting to focus on Blu-ray audio releases thanks in part to Trent Reznor and him releasing Ghosts I-IV in that format.  Not only that but Blu-ray is a relatively new format and we all know that record companies like to support these newer formats for a little while and then abandon them (remember DualDisc?) in favor of the already established format: CD.

Either way, I wouldn't waste my money on any SACD/DVD-A player.  From my own experience I was not able to readily tell the difference between a DVD-A disc and a CD of the same release on a decent setup.

Which is a better investment? SACD or DVD-A

Reply #26 –
Quote
It's well known that sometimes the CD layer doesn't even remotely match the SACD layer in terms of quality. So that argument also falls flat.

I suppose I should've expected this, especially with mainstream discs (like my Goldfrapp hybrid disc), though I'd hope that the niche labels (e.g. Telarc) would have the same mix on both. It really depends on what music you're after.

Personally, I noticed an improvement in SACD over CD. My favourite disc is the Moody Blues' Days of Future Passed, which has lots of orchestral parts. They definitely sounded better, switching between the two layers on my Sony SACD player. However, I've since decided that it's inferior as a CD player and swapped it for a dedicated CD player. I don't have that many SACDs, they're all hybrids, and they all have decent mixes on the CD layer (except DSOTM apparently).

I suppose I'm an example of why you shouldn't bother investing. I still think hybrid SACDs are likely to have better CD mixes though, so I'll continue to buy them even if it's a naïve pursuit.

Which is a better investment? SACD or DVD-A

Reply #27 –
Quote from: greynol on
Quote from: M on
In a few occasions when the label tried to take a shortcut - such as on the SACD of Norah Jones' first album, when they mastered the DSD layer directly from the SACD layer! - it only served to undermine the perceived quality of the format.
What do you mean by DSD layer?

Do you really mean CD layer, and if so, wouldn't that be the preferred method for the customer?  It would certainly be the most honest one when making claims about the superiority of the SACD layer.

Oops! Typo. I meant to say, with the Norah Jones disc, they mastered the DSD (that is, the SACD layer) directly from the Redbook CD audio source... which is definitely not the preferred method for the customer.

    - M.

Which is a better investment? SACD or DVD-A

Reply #28 –
Especially if the 16/44.1 version was given the hard-limiting treatment!

http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index....st&p=312746

EDIT: Trying to make better sense out of my response.

Which is a better investment? SACD or DVD-A

Reply #29 –
I guess you could also look at this discussion in terms of the collector's value of the two formats, which I guess is going to matter more in the coming years.

Certainly DVD-Audio will the more easily read format, because it requires no changes in the physical transport in order to read it, and the encryption is more or less broken. SACD player costs are going to appreciate as player support is reduced. That, combined with the general weirdness of the format and the magical powers audiophiles have tended to ascribe to DSD, means I'd suspect SACD will hold its value better.

Which is a better investment? SACD or DVD-A

Reply #30 –
Interesting, I hadn't thought of that. Well, would a MFSL Ultradisc II release sound better than a SACD release of that same album (not by MFSL)?

p.s. For example Eat a Peach has been released by MFSL and as a deluxe edition SACD

Which is a better investment? SACD or DVD-A

Reply #31 –
There's no way of knowing that a priori.

Which is a better investment? SACD or DVD-A

Reply #32 –
OP there are plenty of titles to find on both DVD-A and SACD and if you like surround music, it's hardly a waste of time given the pricing on some standalone players right now.
The Oppo 980H for example, with DSD over HDMI, is only $169.

Quote from: sshd on
Quote from: Chjmu on

Yet, one of the two formats will likely become the mainstream for audiophile releases.


Audiophile label Mobile Fidelity Sound Labs seems to have dropped SACD in favour of CD.

There has been almost no SACD or DVD-A releases the past two years.



That's peculiar, because I just picked up "Doolittle" by The Pixies on Ultradisc UHR SACD from MFSL and it was released last month - http://www.mofi.com/productcart/pc/viewPrd...p;idproduct=128

Bossanova is next - http://www.mofi.com/productcart/pc/viewPrd...p;idproduct=144

Which is a better investment? SACD or DVD-A

Reply #33 –
I can't see any of these formats reaching a critical mass ever. I think the Compact Disc will be the last mainstream physical consumer format for music.

What is the point of releasing these audiophile "niche" productions on a physical medium anyway? With broadband being universally available in the west and audiophiles being a minority, digital distribution of hi-resolution audio releases would seem like a more viable option.

Which is a better investment? SACD or DVD-A

Reply #34 –
Quote from: sinspawn on
I think the Compact Disc will be the last mainstream physical consumer format for music.
I share your point of view fully.

Quote from: sinspawn on
What is the point of releasing these audiophile "niche" productions on a physical medium anyway? With broadband being universally available in the west and audiophiles being a minority, digital distribution of hi-resolution audio releases  would seem like a more viable option.
Man! Do you have any idea how much cleaning and conditioning the dirty signal from the internet has to undergo until it is ready to be feeded into my $65k amp! It's bad enough I have to condition the AC with my custom aligned USP! Besides there aren't any audiophile broadband modems and LAN cables yet! (edit: or are there?!?)

Which is a better investment? SACD or DVD-A

Reply #35 –
I have some SACD and DVD-A titles and they sound great for the surround sound capabilities.

If Sony was a smart company they could have pushed for a replacement of CDs by SACDs hybrid, But…


Quote from: Fandango on
...Besides there aren't any audiophile broadband modems and LAN cables yet![/i] (edit: or are there?!?)


Unfortunately there are:

http://www.digitalhomethoughts.com/news/sh...oat-hangar.html

Which is a better investment? SACD or DVD-A

Reply #36 –
I don't think SACD and DVD-A were meant to be niche products.  They were meant to be mainstream to replace the CD to recover expiring patent revenue at Sony and Philips while adding DRM to protect the content for the studios.  I am impressed at how they have both failed at almost everything they tried to do - mastering compromising any technical sound quality advantage, encryption making them incompatible with a shift in consumer preference to iPod and PC based listening, hardware incompatability making them useless in cars, goofy premium pricing on HW and SW at launch, format war confusing consumers....I don't think it could have been screwed up worse if they tried.

At any rate, they both stink as consumer formats for the reasons above and more, as proven by their market failure, so to the OP, "investment" depends on whether you mean as collector's items or as a next generation format.  On the prior, I guess SACD has audiophile "floofie dust" approval, on the latter they are poor investments.

May SACD and DVD-A rest in peace.
Was that a 1 or a 0?

Which is a better investment? SACD or DVD-A

Reply #37 –
Oh, and don't forget DVD-A watermarking.

Which is a better investment? SACD or DVD-A

Reply #38 –
For the watermarking to have a serious effect they have to persuade all sound card manufacturers to search for it. Is this happening?