SACD WINS!

Dustin, Sounds like SACD puts up back to the days of 78's and AM radio. In the couple instances where there's both 24/96 and SACD versions of the same master recording, why have the reviewers preferred SACD? Why does everyone prefer SACD over CD. Why is SACD getting almost universal praise? Why does SACD sound great on my system--superior to LPs, CDs, and 24/96? Why does Sony claim that SACD is capable of 100K HZ, while CDs claim 20K, and DVD-Aduio 24K? Your 1 bit explanation is interesting, and I do not understand the engineering, but it seems difficult to believe that SACD has 7 bit resolution at 20K. It would appear to me that at higher frequencies, a detailed resolution would be much more critical.

FYI. I just mail ordered 2 SACD's from HMV.COM from Canada. They only stock the Sony SACDs, but the price was $18.42. Shipping was about $5 for two, and the shipment arrived in exactly one week. I live near Washington, CD. I'm pleased.

I went in Tower Records in Fairfax Virginia. I asked if thay had any SAcd recordings. Confused, the salesman got the manager. Neither had heard of SACD. I then asked about DVD-Audio. They hadn't heard about that either. Hey, maybe CD WINS!

I agree. I can't see the industry giving up a 2.8 million/second sampling system, for a 96K/192K per second system. DVD-audio will survive, just like DTS is surviving, but it's not for audiophiles or master recordings. It is an improvement over CDs. DVD-audio is only showing up in midfi equipment, and for those who think SACD has no software, where's the DVD-audio software? The $400 (list) Sony CD/SACD multichannel player should lead to an explosion in SACD demand.

I also read a review of CES somewhere that stated that there were "almost 300" SACD CDs. I can't find that many in my catalogs. By the way, the battle between SACD and DVD-audio is not over--and won't be for some time. So far, both sides have played on different battlefields: Sony/Marantz with $3,500 plus machines, and DVD-audio with mid-fi equipment (e.g. Panasonic A7 and JVC 723). Only the Technics and Denon approach something above mid-fi. It's been unfair to compare. Sony now sells a $1500 DVD/SACD player, and within the next year, Sony will offer a $400 player and DVD-audio will be seen in $2,000 plus players. That's when the real comparisons will begin. My first impression is that SACD will always sound better than DVD-audio. SACD is preferred over 96/24 in every comparision I've read, and I don't expect DVD-audio to be much better than 96/24. If SACD is superior to DVD-audio, it will survive, even if the mid-fi market gobbles up DVD-audio players. I bet they co-exist just like DPL, DD, and DTS, but that audiophiles will prefer SACD.