Another sign SACD is dying

I haven't taken the time to wade through all this animus, but when companies like dcs continue to make new SACD and have plans to release another next year, can the future really be soo bleak?

All that can be said of Circuit City and Best Buy is that they are barometers of what the mass market is buying.

Like it or not, Joe and Jane Normal aren't going to pay $30 for what they are told is a "better" CD. Their desire is for a handheld device that can hold 4000 CD's, and the audio quality is almost entirely irrelevant to them.

Really, the only surefire omen that SACD is doomed is that it is Sony's baby, and Sony has a long and proud history of dropping the ball. ;) Although, in all fairness, DVD-A is a pretty big non-event to the general public as well.

On the other hand, there are many small specialty labels, such as Channel Classics in Holland, that have dived into SACD with both feet, and are doing great work, not to mention bigger labels like Telarc and Deutsche Gramophon who are pressing in CD, SACD, and DVD-A. It doesn't hurt to cover your bases, for sure.

I guess the feeling I got when I left CC was that if it was going so well, they would continue to carry players, etc., regardless of it being highend or just midfi. I also went to the only local highend dealer in town and the salesclerk basically told me the same thing, that it just wasn't doing well. That doesn't mean that it's dead, but will probably just be a niche market. I think a lot people felt like me, that they were being pulled in 2 different directions without a clear path. It wasn't really the machines as much as the software. I would like to see a better format survive, but I also just want to go into any store in town and buy CD's for my player, not have to special order them. I walked into Sam Goody's approx. a year ago and the manager had never even heard of SACD's. (They may have them now, I haven't been there since) A universal machine just didn't appeal to me either, possible because there could be glitches about playing certain discs, etc.

Smw30yahoocom, I understand your point. My audio dealer gave me an advise - which is a very nice from customer point of view - don't go for SACD. He asked me to stick to the RBCD and enjoy the music rather than jumping into a format which has not taken off. But it was my decision based on my listening preference that I decided to go for the SACD. I have exchanged emails (friendly ones) with fellow audiogoners/audio-asylum inmates, who claim that when the CD players go upwards of $2000 the difference between SACD/CD ceases to exist. I listen to advices and make up my decision.
Robm321 and Nrchy have a good points here. And that lead me to find out more on the newer formats coming up. I am not starting a debate here - but just an analogy or thinking loud - if you may. I think the Blu-Ray is based on PCM because Sony feels that if they had gone the DSD way, then they would loose the market share. This means that SACD is the only medium with DSD. One more thing - whenever I think of DVD - I think of VIDEO. The same applies to Blu-Ray...it is psychological. What I am trying to say is that a new format doesn't mean that it will take off in the AUDIO department. It may be a hit in the VIDEO department. Look at DVD-Video and DVD-Audio.
So, I believe that SACD will remain a niche market.

Circuit City? Best Buy?? You've got to be kidding me that these outlets ever carried any audiophile audio gear or recordings. They are MASS MARKETERS. Certainly they impact the market. But look to the creativity / quality coming out of the smaller producers. These guys/gals don't have a chance at getting into the bins of the mass retailers. They're reaching us through the internet and to some degree in the larger metro areas through the single-outlet music stores. Did anyone here think that JC Penny's was the trendsetter in music selection in the 60's? Who needs a Britney Spears SACD?? If you love music then support it.