Just wondering if anyone on here buys SACDs or any other multi-channel music.  If so, where did you get it and which ones would you recommend?

Also, I wonder if SACD is slowly dying?  I went into Fry's the other day and found that the SACD section is getting smaller than what I remember it use to be.  Having listened to it now, I must say that it is far superior to regular CD.  Especially the fact that it is multi-channel as well.  I think that it may have come out premature and the hardware was much too expensive.  I'm only just starting to delve into it because I have an original 60GB PS3.  I read on a website that not all PS3 support SACDs so that is a bummer, otherwise it might have driven a higher adoption rate.  I really do not see any other formats, besides possibly DTS Master Audio or TrueHD disks being sold to replace SACDs.  But even still, I think SACD's sound is superior (though I don't know the specs of DTS MA or TrueHD to compare with SACD's 2 million/sec sample rate).  Anyways, it would be interesting to find out who else listens to this stuff after purchasing their Aperion speakers.

It does seem to be on it's way out which is unfortunate, but if only a tiny segment of the market is interested in the technology I can see why Sony could view it as a waste of money/energy.

Beck's Sea Change SACD is one of the most incredible recordings I have ever experienced, unfortunately it's out of print these days and usually costs a pretty penny when it pops up on Ebay. 

Others I enjoy are:  Pink Floyd- Dark Side

                             Steely Dan- Goucho

                             Can- Tago Mago

                             Miles Davis- Kind of Blue

 

I'm also a big fan of Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab's Original Master discs and have Pink Floyd- Meddle and Atom Heart Mother, Steely Dan- Aja, and Santana- Abraxas. 

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Jason Hicks
Aperion Audio Guru

Cool.  Ya, it's too bad that it's going away.  There really isn't anything right now for audiophiles to listen to if SACD dies.  If SACD dies, I really hope they start publishing TrueHD or DTS MA music.  I'd like to get the latest music on any of those formats.  What would be even better is if I could buy music online like with iTunes and get them in the same quality as SACDs.  I've searched Amazon and really don't like too many offerings they have for SACDs.

Hey Ya'll,

 Thought I would jump in here.

SACD has been, IMHO, dying since it came out. To be sure it's been slowly fizzling out for  the last 4 years. It is certainly higher quality than standard CD and, as you noted JonL, is capable of Multichannel (thought SACDs often come in stereo mixes only)

Fry's is my local choice for SACD, but you can still get them online from a few good retailers. I like getting stuff at Acoustic Sounds: http://store.acousticsounds.com/store.cfm

Not only do they carry a good selection of SACDs, but are a great place for Vinyl if you're into that. I'm way into Vinyl. Jason could care less but... you know, that's Hicks for ya.

I just visited Acoustic Sounds and noted that there are some new Blue Note records releases. Possibly in celebration of Blue Note's 70th anniversary?

Oh yeah.. and for high res music downloads, you can check out HDtracks. There are a few others out there, but pickin's seem slim.

 Good Times.

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CD

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Caleb Denison

Caleb Denison:

Not only do they carry a good selection of SACDs, but are a great place for Vinyl if you're into that. I'm way into Vinyl. Jason could care less but... you know, that's Hicks for ya.

 

Heh, it's true I have only a passing interest in my 2000 or so LPs.   

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Jason Hicks
Aperion Audio Guru

Caleb, thanks for the info.  I will check out HDtracks. 

Jason, so I take it you're not really into vinyl then?  LOL.

Hey JonL,

 My pleasure. Also, be sure to check out Music Giants Their selection is quite a bit better. Check out their SUPERHD section, where you can get b oth 2.0 and 5.1 mixes of some pretty popular albums from Beck to Thelonius Monk to Norah freakin' Jones.

I stumbled on this during a search, too: 

Linn Records Studio Master files: http://www.linnrecords.com/linn-formats.aspx#download

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Caleb Denison

I just bought the 30th anniversary SACD version of Pink Floyd's "Dark Side of the Moon" from DeepDiscount (via Buy.com) for $14 with free shipping. Some of the new surround effects remind me of stereo's early days where you could actually buy records of sound efffects (and I did), like ping pong balls bouncing from speaker to speaker (yes, I'm an old guy), but I still like PF in surround much better. The talking voices are MUCH easier to localize and understand in this version.

Who can disagree with Floyd's Dark Side SACD.  I buy a lot of music from SecondSpin.com.  Although used,  I've never had a quality problem and they will back up their product should any anomolies pop up.  DVD Audio CD's (SACD's counterpart) are available as well...and an option.  Queensryche's "Tribe" in this format is sensational.  There's nothing you can't find on the internet.   BTW -  I just gotta throw this in (on the subject of good audio) - check out Within Tempation's DVD concert "Black Symphony".  This has not left my Yamaha DVD-C750 since Xmas.  Believe it.  The best DTS suround I've heard to date.  Sharon Den Adel's vocal for most of the songs on my 5C puts a tear in your eye.  It doesn't get any better. 

I know this is kinda of an older post, but it got me thinking about the fact that I actively seek out SACDs, especially for classical, and try to do my part to ensure the format's survival. So I decided to post something in Aperion's blog about it. You can find the post here. If you have any suggestions for other outlets or titles, hit me up!

 -Oliver

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Oliver Amnuayphol
Home Theater/Audio Guru
Aperion Audio