SACD finally taking-off? non-classical listeners


It looks like SACD might finally lift-off this fall with the Rolling Stones releases. The engineer claims the SACD revisions sound 40% better than the standard on these hybrids.(Ice Magazine)
Meanwhile, there are some interesting releases on DVD-A that are too interesting to forego; Fleetwood Mac "Rumours", and "Crowded House". Both redbook versions of these discs are non-listenable with good equipment.
What is the answer for a "2-Channel Person" who wants great sound without the "snap, crackle, and pop" of the LP?
Is there confidence that both of these formats will exist in two years?
Is the purchase of a dual SACD/DVD-A player foolish, or the only answer?

Please advise,
CB
cbucki
This whole thread is kind of funny! I'm old enough now that I have a vast CD collection that has taken me 18 years to accumulate (got my first CD player in '84) and I don't have any intention of re-purchasing all of the same titles again!!! In addition, there isn't any new music worth a damn to even care about whatever scheme the record companies are going to push next! Watermarking sound degredations, discs causing hard-drives to crash, etc. - it makes me thank my lucky stars that I'm not "into" any music that's currently subject to this crap! Maybe I'm getting too old and cranky but as far as I'm concerned a good transport/DAC combo or one-box CD player is they way to go IF you already own your favorite music on CD. Same thing applies to you analog guys. If you own several hundred or more LP's you can snicker, along with me, about the new formats. I feel sorry for the young 'ens who are just now trying to figure out what road to go down (analog, CD, hi-rez, multi-channel, etc.) If you find yourself waiting impatiently for the next Britney or N'Sync release, go with the cheapest combo player you can find. That way, when you get older, you won't feel so bad that you blew so much dough on a player that became a footnote in the digital playback evolution - right beneath the footnote about the DIVX DVD format! Enjoy the music you have NOW - the stuff you have enjoyed for years - because by the time they do issue it on the next digital format you'll be too old and your hearing too bad to care! As for the Stones, I'll bet they release it in chronological order. That way you can hear "December's Children" in glorious hi-rez mono - over your multi-channel player of course!
I make my comparisons ala VHS vs Laserdisc. There are many parallels. Laserdisc was SO FAR above VHS tape from the day I saw a Pioneer demo in the mid 80's, and it never took off in the mainstream. I believe Pioneer absolutely dropped the ball by not marketing the software more aggressively!
SACD (2 channel) sounds great in my system. I bought my Sony player used (mint!) for less than half of the original price. The frosting on the cake is that unlike LD & VHS my Sony SACD plays all my red book cds & sounds very good with them too. So far, Sony is doing a dismal job of bringing software to the market...
Nevertheless, does anyone on this site really think the big manufacturers are going to rush to market with anything (especially 2 channel!) close to or better than SACD anytime soon, to please our small segment of the market?
I bet my investment in my SACD player & the discs I've purchased so far that digital will languish for some time right where it is now.
I've heard multi channel SACD. I'm convinced the reviewers who praise it now are the same shills who would have also praised early digital...
Long Live 2 channel SACD! Until I hear something better, this is my format of choice.
Would be nice to see a list of SACDs that you folks think
sound as good or better than their LP or CD counterparts.

Having tried both SACD & DVD-A, I can say the best recording
in both formats sound very good, but a good turntable set up
still has more musical information.

A lot of the remakes, like the DVD-A version of Rumors
aren't worth the price of admission, and who wants to listen to audiophile recording of no name groups recorded in some old church by wantabe engineers like JA.

It's obvious Sony is trying to save SACD with the release
of many low priced players, but they also have to lower the price of the software and increase the catalog.
Happily, both SACD's and DVD-A's are in the process of price reductions that make them comparable to cd's. This should help both formats.
What is sad to see is so much mis/disinformation about the formats themselves. Imin2u, DVD-A and SACD *both* use LOSSLESS compression, which means that the values of bits are regenerated exactly as they were originally recorded. There is nothing wrong with, and everything right with, lossless compression. If you are reacting to the advertising by DTS that they produce 'DVDA' discs, you are right about that one. DTS is a compressed DVD-Video format, whether used for music or not, and their advertising is baloney.