SACD Player Sales Top 2 Million

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bmoura

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At the recent AES Convention in Europe, the SACD Project announced that worldwide SACD Player Sales have topped 2 Million sold.

Also of interest, the International Sales of the Rolling Stones SACDs (outside the U.S.) have increased from 1 Million units through December to 1.65 Million units as of March.

Check the story on High Fidelity Review at
www.highfidelityreview.co...r=10587062 for more details.

 
Considering things in a big picture , that's not really a lot we need more exposure for both formats for it to be a viable new format ... Surround that is !
0] Rob
 
I wonder how many of those buyers even know they have an SACD player, or what an SACD is???

Same holds true for DVD-A, by the way... :(

:-jon
 
It's progress. Last year at the AES Europe event, the SACD folks had sold 1 Million players - this year it's 2 Million.

At the same event, the DVD-A folks announced they had hit 1 Million players sold.

Perhaps the more impressive numbers are the Stones SACDs. Another 650,000 copies sold since December outside the U.S.

That says to me that the SACD folks are on to something here with Single Inventory, Hybrid Layer SACDs. Could lead to more of such releases !




 
Brian Moura wrote: <blockquote><strong><em>Quote:</em></strong><hr>
Perhaps the more impressive numbers are the Stones SACDs. Another 650,000 copies sold since December outside the U.S.
[/quote]

Brian,

The problem I have with proclaiming the success of the Stones SACDs is that the are (to the buying public) NOT SACDs, they are "The New Rolling Stones Remastered CDs". That is why people are buying them.

Sure, You know, and I know they are SACDs. But they are not marked on the package that they are SACDs, they are not placed in the "SACD" section of any store that I have been in. Heck, when they first came out, I went to Best Buy to get a few, and I had the discs in my hands but did not buy them because I thought they were just regular CDs, and I wanted the SACDs.

I am not trying to be anti-SACD here, or rain on any good news for either SACD or DVD-A, but you can't honestly proclaim this as a great benchmark for SACD when the discs are not even marketed as SACDs.

At least the DSOTM is marked as an SACD (in tiny, tiny letters).

I would be more impressed if one of the "REAL" SACDs sold that many copies, like say the David Bowie "Heathen" SACD or the James Taylor "Hourglass" disc.

I have yet to hear anyone address this fact when referring to the sales figures for SACDs. Like I said, if these figures create more releases in this format, then that is good. However, I would have liked it more if these were at least <strong>MULTI-CHANNEL</strong> discs.

:-jon
 
Okay I can't help but agree with this. Most people don't know that they are buying SACD's. In fact I went to a friends apartment a few days ago and they had a Sony theatre in abox "thing" and I saw the "SACD" symbol on the front of the unit and read their manual and told them they had SACD capability and they stared at me blankly. I told them I would bring some discs next time. I'm not sure whether there will be a huge difference due to the size of the speakers on this unit but anyway....
 
heh, most people don't know they're buying SACD -players-, let alone discs... my Dad recently got a Sony HTIAB (wasn't my pick), but, being Sony, it plays back SACD. Thin tower speakers and a 8" sub doesn't quite have the same impact, hey, it plays the discs. I'm pretty darn sure that just as 99.9% of the Stones discs are being listened to in Redbook stereo, 90%+ of those players sold are inadvertantly SACD (or, of course, DVD-A).

How many out there own RP-82s without owning a single DVD-A? :)
 
Well, the Stones Remastered Series discs certainly are SACDs. It clearly says so inside the jacket of each one.

Moving over 2.65 Million of them is very impressive. And has led to other single inventory, Hybrid SACD releases - such as Dark Side of the Moon, Police Greatest Hits and the upcoming Bob Dylan SACD series to name but a few.


 
Granted it's a lot of discs, but you'd have to agree that the majority are not being purchased or played back as SACD.

The Stones have been on tour (always helps), their old CD catalog was in abysmal shape, they opted to release both US & UK versions for the fans, all great reasons to purchase but not the SACD aspect.

In all seriousness, the numbers probably break down like this:

Because it's the Stones = 100%
Remastered catalog CDs replace junkers = 60%
New packaging, UK versions, etc. = 40%
Knowingly bought as SACDs = 10%

Played as CD = 97%
Played as SACD = 3%


 
timbre,
your figures add to 110%. Did you mean to do that? :D I know, math is not your strong point. You are correct however on the 10%, but I think it may be actually 1 or 2 percent. In my past experience I think people that buy DVD-A discs know what they are buying. They know that they can play the Dolby/DTS but not the DVD-A layer. This is because in most stores you actually have to seek out these discs in a different section. The hybrid SACD's on the other hand are usually mixed in with the rest of the CD's and therefore it is a lot easier to buy one of these without knowing what you are getting. Especially if you have to take the shrink wrap off to actually see if they are an SACD.
 
Tim probably has it correct :D .

Brian, as you stated, the Stones discs are marked SACD <strong>inside</strong> the jacket.

As I've said before, just because "The Best of the Doors" sold millions of LPs, that did not mean that CD-4 was a great success!

:-jon
 
Hey Jon,

<blockquote><strong><em>Quote:</em></strong><hr>As I've said before, just because "The Best of the Doors" sold millions of LPs, that did not mean that CD-4 was a great success![/quote]

How wrong could you be??????? Don't you realize that those same buyers immediately picked up Elvis's Aloha from Hawaii after hearing it!! And, that was enough to push CD-4 over the top.......a format that has survived to this day!!!!:lol:

I even picked up a Nakamichi CD-4 CD player just to be ready for those upcoming releases!!!!:rollin:

QuadBob:cool:
 
To sell media you need players. To sell players you need media. Its a classic catch-22. They hybrid players and media are the answer. Who cares that most people don't know they are buying SACD players and media right now... It doesn't matter. What matters is getting the stuff out there. People will catch on. By this time next year SACD will be the next hot thing in audio just like CD's were twenty or so years ago, count on it. And a year after that or so the surround aspect will be getting a lot of positive press and word of mouth as well.

Thats my prediction anyway. :)
 
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