Coping in an Age of Uncertainty

Money aint for nothin, but your chics are free. That's for sure (Dire Straits)! I say technology is great but, at the same time what a headache.
This whole thing about SACD vs DVD Audio-24/96 is driving me crazy. I was just about to buy the new Sony 9000 SACD/DVD player but thought about it after I had a Martini (shakened not stirred please). Why the hell am I going to buy something that I have absolutely no sacds and a few thousand cds. I have a damm good digital front end now and it's paid for. I walk into all the record stores, Best Buys of the world etc, and ask if they are getting sacds or dvd audio cds and they look at me like I am a whacko trying to cause trouble for the uneducated sales person, SECURITY! I am sitting tight and waiting til the major lable companies make a big investment $$$$ and are committed in a long term. You heard it before, but these formats could turn into the next Dinosaur- Sony Beta, even though the quality was better than the standard VHS format. But if you have money to burn and want to pay $25 a pop from such a limited library, go for it and we'll have our fingers crossed for you if there is a future.

Great thread. I've made the decision to keep my current Sonic Frontiers T3/P3 combo until the whole thing gets sorted out. It's pretty close to perfect at reproducing the info on my 1,000 CDs. However, I've also decided that it is worth jumping into analog NOW. I just bought a decent analog set-up that actually cost more than the digital front end. I figure that there are enough great titles floating around and the format will not be obsolete for at least another 10-15 years. One unexpected thing that I'm learning is that some of the titles that I really want (e.g. MFSL records) are costing me twice as much as any of the new digital formats.

cornfedboy, the only way i'm gonna replace my $500 nad cd-changer is if it breaks. if/when a new format emerges w/software awailable like current redbook cd's, then isle consider an upgrade. i tried cd-players up to $3k that offered no improvements over my nad player in its current set-up, plugged into my melos preamp.

for anyone wanting to upgrade their digital format, i'd say to them: upgrade your preamp! this will improve the cd-sound more cost-effectively than getting a gnu cd-player, it will also upgrade your other sources, & ya don't have to worry about spending money on a hardware system that may become extinct in the future, & has limited software now.

regards, doug

The smart thing to do is to wait and let other people dictate which format will survive. If the history of CDs and DVDs shows anything, it will be a about 2 years before vast numbers of software titles are widely available. So, if you're smart, you have two years to do nothing. Stand along the sidelines and let the world pass you by. Alternatively, you could get involved. Make a commitment. Take a risk. Maybe, you'll make the wrong decision and get stuck with a dead format. So what! Despite 20 years of CD, vinyl playback is alive and sounding better than ever. Was I really supposed to dump my laserdiscs because DVD came along? I recently purchased a Sony SACD player along with 10 discs. The sound quality is definitely superior to standard CD playback. Why wait when you can have great sound now?

I had pondered this question for three years, waiting for one of the new formats to become dominant. I had an older CD player, one that worked fine(until recently), but left me wanting more sonically. I went back and forth so many times, I was totally confused. Finally, I decided that SACD and DVD-A were moving at a snail's pace. And that neither would be replacing CD in the next year, or more... So, I decided to buy a better CD player. I saw one that I wanted, but my girlfriend insisted on buying me one as a Christmas gift. The one I wanted was $1200. There was no way I was going to let her spend that much money. I then auditioned all the sub-$1000 price category. I found two that I thought were worthwhile. I bought the one that had a 24 bit DAC(192 kHz). The Cambridge D500 SE. As it is a $450 player, I will not feel as if I threw money down a hole should one of the new formats take control in the next couple years. And, it is still up in the air whether either will displace CD(see Sam Tellig's article in the February Stereophile). I more or less agree with Sam. I also went to my local record stores to check out exactly where SACD/DVD-A were, in the "real world". To say that they yet to make an impact was a supreme understatement. The stories I could give you... Put it this way, neither is even known(literally) to people outside of our world. I am happy I got a great sounding, cheap player. If you are of the opinion that our solace will be found in upsampling(and that our players will ultimately become transports), then my smile may never stop growing. The music I want is only on CD(even NEW releases). If one of the new formats becomes dominant, of course I will welcome it. Until then, I will simply sit back and enjoy my system.