Happy Birthday, SACD! You're 20 Years Old Today!

[Perp]

I forgot to mention in my post that DTS Entertainment CDs were my way into cheaper surround while I waited for DVD-A players to drop below $700. Yes, $700 was the lower end of those players, as regular DVD players were heading south to the $99 range, the DVD-A versions were not dropping.

That is, until the OPPO universal players were born.

 

[leevitalone1]

The thing that DROVE ME CRAZY about these sections is that the Best Buys NEVER EVER EVER EVER EVER restocked them. Say a pop/rock title that everyone wanted came out on a Tuesday. They got 3 or 4 copies. SACD and DVD-A fans were there, bought them, and that was it. Gone. Never to return. Well, this meant that the racks were filled with the stuff no one wanted. Many copies of Silverline DVD-A's and no copies of WB DVD-A's or Sony or UMG Pop/Rock SACDs. Why? Because they were all sold and only on some bizarre occasion when one store dumped their section did the stock get redistributed to other stores. Otherwise, nothing great.

So many times I would be sitting in the Acura dealer waiting for my car to be service, strike up a chat with some folks who had 5.1 in the car and told them about Best Buy. They would almost all say, "Yeah, we know. We looked and there was nothing there we wanted".

As much as I was annoyed at SACD for splitting the market (Sony? Nah, they'd never do that!), they really threw their own format under the bus with DualDisc. SACD deserved a better fate. I sound like a broken record on this one, but DSOTM just came out, Rolling Stone had the free SACD sampler in the issue, the press was all ga-ga about the Pink Floyd with articles in many national and local papers about it, and at that very moment when Joe Public awareness was at it's height (even if it was an over all blip), Sony stopped most pop/rock SACDs. For the fucking DualDisc!! The SACD was ALREADY a dual disc!! And a better one at that.

I could scream.

Ya they just sold what was there, then when it went bust, they just stuck the sacd in with the CD's, I never did find any more dvd audio. With a lousy what was it? 6 months? They has the setups out? No promotion- other than that. unless you were really paying attention. I think quad was promoted more! It was a fluke I found out about them. They just never allowed it to be appreciated, made it way too f ing complicated, CC just took them down and don't know what they did with them. makes me wonder, like stuff that does not sell -wonder if there are a box of new dvd a sitting somewhere in a warehouse? New -old stock!

 

[soundboy]

Happy Birthday, SACD! You are 25 years old today!!

Sony Group Portal - Sony Launches the First Super Audio CD Player

 

[Tribby2001]

 

[marpow]

I love SACD's. They where the very first surround discs I ordered.

As a super newbie in 2014, I assumed that SACD meant surround sound, I purchased one SACD, what was it, I just can't remember, but it was stereo, and I got so frustrated and perplexed, even thinking my brand new SACD player and brand new MCH AVR was wrong. I realized after about at least an hour that it was a stereo SACD, so that got me to purchase SACD #2 and the rest is history.

I always want to say thanks to so many people who have helped me learn about surround sound over the years, super great hobby and friendships.
Hopefully I can give back to others what has been so graciously been given to me.