more major players jumping on the sacd bandwagon

Sony keeps coming with hardware that most people can afford but that is not the only answer - we need more software of music we do not already have the LP, cassette, cd and gold cd of - it will unfortunately be only a high end adventure for those jazz, classical, and blues entusiast - us rockers may not be able to hang in there. I have a player but get tired of listening to the 30 discs I have. Sony needs to give away software with the players - like 10 or so for this to advance.

Sugarbrie, there actually are a good number of new classical SACD releases now coming out from Telarc, Delos, Hyperion, Lyrinx, Bis and Sony Classical, among others, most of which are DSD recordings or 20/24 bit recordings converted to DSD and all of which sound better, to me, than their CD counterparts. The major problem, I think, based on the threads I've seen here and elsewhere, has been no or few new pop recordings being issued in the format, which will be where the money can be made by the record companies. Not sure if this is because there are not that many DSD recording machines or a lack of DSD editing equipment at this time, but that seems to me to be the biggest stumbling block Sony will have to overcome. Sony may be succeeding in getting the public to buy SACD players, but the public also likes to buy pop recordings; hopefully Sony and the new companies joining the SACD bandwagon will address this, as I really like the format and am disappointed in the way DVD-A is being handled.

I am always looking for better sound, but it has to make economic sense for me. I hope it succeeds.

Well in the timeless SACD vs. The World battle there are those who support it, and those who deplore it. It does not matter what you tell these folks they will not budge, they like it or they don't, not much middle ground in the SACD battle very little gray area its either black or white. I am relatively young(not that you guys are old) and am into anything that will improve sound quality, I already have a SACD player and love it, I am a little too young for vinyl and I have a lot of CDs but often felt they sounded...digital. It seems to me that with SACD that is yet another level of resolution reveled and I don't think any audiophile can say they don't like better sound, and with the ease of use as a CD, it can't be beat. Yes if you are affraid of making the comitment then by all means wait, the gray area is a great place to be right now, but I would not rush out and buy a new state-of-the-art CD player. Anyone who will not admit to SACD's superior qualities over CD is simply not an audiophile.

In case anyone is not aware the Betamax reference refers to Sony introducing superior technology to JVC (VHS) and then being too greedy to share (license) it to competitors. ...So greedy it cost them the mass market. ...Yes! Beta was and still is used for high quality video production, but it has always been (to use an audiophile familiar term) "down sampled" to lower res. media. ...Apple did the same thing with their MAC & OS... Wouldn't license it and lost out on years of mass market $ -why most businesses (save graphic design) use PC's.

It really doesn't matter whether Sony convinces ALL of the recording companies to buy-in or not. ...It takes the public to perceive a need. ...And right now they've got CD players - old crappy sounding one's with harsh DAC's, and they are blissful in their ignorance.

Now if you talk DVD... people ARE buying these... Replacing their old VHS's as they wear out. ...But most (all?) of these players won't/can't record, and the media isn't reusable. ...So it's got to be harder to sell than a VCR was.

What else are people doing? ...Listening to Mp3 and similar low-res formats… again blissful in ignorance. ...Some folks are even buying players for this software - despite exorbitant costs/lack of options. …Motivated by portability and what is logically the REAL evolution of the digital format. YES! MP3 sounds like crap... but the audio/production industry doesn't control software developers. ...And computer companies have access to the same parts that the audio industry uses. Texas instruments IS Burr-brown after all. ...How long will it be before this type of format comes calling on the heels of all of the disc related technologies?

As for DVD... While there's no music available for DVD-A at least the equipment manufacturers are selling DVD players. ...If they WERE making DVD/-A/CD players they would sell - regardless of DVD-A software availability. ...Maybe THIS would bring about a need for software...? …But will the recording industry jump into a media that has already been compromised by pirating? …THIS friends will be the hard-sell for DVD-A… Not sound quality! …Do you really think they care about sound quality like any of us do? …Certainly, the shareholders of these stocks -as a whole- do not. …Not while in a slumping technology market. ...Profitability is rarely, if ever found by pursuing the few.

I would pose the argument that the ONLY reason SACD is being embraced is because of its security & the (current) difficulty of duplicating it. THIS may be its saving grace - if any. ...But this still doesn't change things. ...Where's that ever-important NEED?

Unless Sony/Phillips/competitors can "play nice" together both formats may die. …And we'll have to hope that MP3 or similar improves. YIKES!

...So I'd say buy em now (SACD's) like you'd buy any collectable music. If you can afford a player that plays SACD then ENJOY whatever titles you can find. ...But don't hope for this format to catch on. …Not unless they start making all-in-one machines DVD/-A/CD/SACD. ...Then we might be getting somewhere. ...But then they’d stop selling CD players… :-)