SACD vs DVD-Audio

I saw some of these at Best Buy the other day and I was wondering if either one was starting to gain some ground. Which is better and which one is the industry leaning towards?

The albums available were at Best Buy for both formats was nothing short of pathetic

If I were to get into this, is there somewhere on the net where I can get a full listing? I mean for god's sake ICP had a DVD-Audio disc, but none of my other favorites were around (from rap to rock, etc.)

I personally own both SACD and DVD-Audio formats. More SACD though, the hybrid SACDs are great since they still work in normal car CD players. The only reason I have some DVD-Audio is because that's all the Acura TL has in store. Both are really good formats with excellent sound, but I suggest SACD mainly because of the hybrid functionality and more diverse lineup of music (for my taste at least).

Dude, are you fuckin nuts. Don't post this thread here....just, please don't.
anyway, long story short:

SACD ,which is actually a dvd ironically, is better than DVDA.
To answer your other question: Neither, is gaining more ground than the other and probably never will. The formats only have a following in the high end market (as you need at least adequate equipment to take advantage of them both, especially SACD).
The industry got ready for a "format war" that never happened as they found out that the general public didn't give two shits about the quallity of thier music, they just cared about the easiest way to rip the shit for free (I.E. steal it using thier computers). In the end it was a surprise victory by a third, uninvited contender that destroyed all: MP3. Go figure.

Lets Gekiga In said:

I personally own both SACD and DVD-Audio formats. More SACD though, the hybrid SACDs are great since they still work in normal car CD players. The only reason I have some DVD-Audio is because that's all the Acura TL has in store. Both are really good formats with excellent sound, but I suggest SACD mainly because of the hybrid functionality and more diverse lineup of music (for my taste at least).

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edit: nice car, the TSX doesn't play them unfortunately as I was planning on buying one

ORPHEUS said:

Dude, are you fuckin nuts. Don't post this thread here....just, please don't.
anyway, long story short:

SACD ,which is actually a dvd ironically, is better than DVDA.
To answer your other question: Neither, is gaining more ground than the other and probably never will. The formats only have a following in the high end market (as you need at least adequate equipment to take advantage of them both, especially SACD).
The industry got ready for a "format war" that never happened as they found out that the general public didn't give two shits about the quallity of thier music, they just cared about the easiest way to rip the shit for free (I.E. steal it using thier computers). In the end it was a surprise victory by a third, uninvited contender that destroyed all: MP3. Go figure.

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duh

I still wouldn't mind having quality copies of my favorite albums, I'll use the mp3s on the go

with the popularity of digital media, i cant see this gaining much ground at all in the portable arena. with cd players as low as $10 now, cheaper and cheaper mp3 players, and even sattelite radio.

it just seems like an unnecessary advancement to me.

i wouldnt mind being proven wrong though.

it'd be nice to have multi channel formats where you can turn off specific parts of a song, like vocals or guitar, etc.

I figured most people have a nice home theatre system so having DVD-Audio discs for the house would be nice

meh

I just wanted to know which I should go for if I were going to get into this

I'm well aware of the current and dominating trend. You could say this is somewhat comparable to the Laserdisc. But I still want to buy a few.

i understand everyone's statements on the 2 formats but if you wanted to get into sacd/dvd audio i would go with sacd because it has a much better sampling rate than dvd audio and the selection is alot better than dvd audio.i have heard that they make a head unit that plays both (rumor thou) but it would mostly not do well until the formats becime more mainstream like in more head units and portable cd players where people would actully stop and try it out campared to there regular cd's because not everyone steals thier music off the internet or from there friends cds. sorry for the long post.

roke stAr said:

duh

I still wouldn't mind having quality copies of my favorite albums, I'll use the mp3s on the go

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Hey, you asked and I answered, thats the way it goes.
Sacd is better, and is more popular overall.
And yes, you should go with either (SACD preferably) as they make signifigant advancements.
End of story.

if you are looking for a good selection in either format i just read today is the nine inch nails is realesing his most well none album the downward spiral on dvd-audio and sacd for witchever route you choose.

and just out of curiosity how where you trying to start with this venture with either format because they do make alot of dvd player that will play both formats.

and here are some good cds on both of the formats.

dvd-audio
1.outkast - stankonia
2.stone temple pilots - core
3.queen - a night at the opera

sacd
1.pink floyd - darkside of the moon
2.aerosmith - o yeah ultimate collection
3.nine inch nails - the downward spiral (coming soon this is the version i am getting)

but what ever route you choose be happy with it as there are differences but a little hard to tell without the proper equipment.you should also run a search thru google to see if there are any faqs about the different formats.

$hockwave said:

and just out of curiosity how where you trying to start with this venture with either format because they do make alot of dvd player that will play both formats.

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I think I'm going DVD-Audio

I thought if any DVD player plays DVD-video, it'll play audio also

I guess I'm wrong, thanks for the recommendations, I'm buying the NiN DVD for sure

I got an upsacan dvd player player at best buy for under $200 , it plays both sacd and Dvd audio jpegs mp3's photo cd's vcd's svcd's ect ect . I would suggest going this route , then if you dont have an hdtv when you get one youll be ready !
Samsung DVD-HD841
I got it because component wasnt watchable on my panasonic ae-500 and I found the upscan dvi output is a giant leap forward . And the Sacd and DVD-A playback was a plus .

Cd's have been around going on 23 years , I know for one I am sick of them as ive been listening to them for 17 years . And am looking forward to the next format . I for one hope some people would like to crank out music on thier component stereos and playing a 128 kbps mp3 on anything other than computer speakers in just pathetic .

To take advantage of DVD-a or SACD all you need is a $300 amp and $150 speakers you dont need some high end $5,000 stereo to reap its benefits though im sure it would sound nicer .

I would guess dvd audio will do better because people can play it in thier dvd player but it wont sound any better than a regular cd . Its hard to say though because im sure as we speak theres players out there that will play both for under $100 . It took dvds 5 years to get off the ground and damned near a decade for cd's . These formats have been around for 4 years or so ....

Next audio format im getting is a hi-md mindisc player , I think its 1 gig per mini disc ..the average person could fit there eniter music collection on 1 disc ha

To make the most out of SACD you really need a 1 bit digital amp, D class pulse width modulation, thats digital from source to speaker.
Im running a Sharp SM-SX1 (yes Sharp actually made high end gear)
http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/volume_9_1/sharp-1-bit-system-2-2002.html
unfortunately dont have the accompanying player, but it still sounds good via optical digi. To make the most of it a dedicated bitstream interconnect is required.
The optimum set up is better than audio dvd imho. But for normal interconnect the difference would be hardly noticable.

Xavier said:

I for one hope some people would like to crank out music on thier component stereos and playing a 128 kbps mp3 on anything other than computer speakers in just pathetic .

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....english?

Xavier said:

To take advantage of DVD-a or SACD all you need is a $300 amp and $150 speakers you dont need some high end $5,000 stereo to reap its benefits though im sure it would sound nicer .

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Absolutelly wrong. You have to get an amp/reciever that has analog 5.1 imputs. You are also going to need a decent, mid-line speaker set up. A competant soundsystem sound system will run you $1000-$1500.

Xavier said:

I would guess dvd audio will do better because people can play it in thier dvd player but it wont sound any better than a regular cd .

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Agan, WRONG: SACD is actually a DVD in reality. Just take a look at the bottom of one if you get a chance. They BOTH play in DVD players. So many people here try to get into high end aspects of a particullar market and do so while being the biggest cheapasses. If you want to go that rout (and if you must be a best buy bitch) then go DVDA cause as toddy explained you won't notice the difference between the two with lower quallity set ups. Get SACD if you are truly seriouse about it and will drop a bit of coin on your equipment.

Xavier said:

Its hard to say though because im sure as we speak theres players out there that will play both for under $100 .

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Um, NO. Even if there were any players at that price point you would be an absolute sucker to buy it. look to spend $200-$300 on a quality universal piece. Look to spend $400-$500 for one that will do all audio permats and your prograssive scan video VERY well (such as pioneer elite's and denon's models)

ORPHEUS said:

....english?

Yes I speak english , I guess I typed to fast for you to understand . If people dont mind listening to a shitty mp3 on a real stereo , because its free then I feel sorry for them. Its not even cd quality .

Absolutelly wrong. You have to get an amp/reciever that has analog 5.1 imputs. You are also going to need a decent, mid-line speaker set up. A competant soundsystem sound system will run you $1000-$1500.

Yeah maybe if it was currently the year 1999 . I got a pioneer amp vsx-db11s for around $400 2 years ago I think from circuit city it has dts 6.1 or 7.1 dont remember and when I play a sacd or dvd-a on it , it tells me what khz its currently running at the default signal and speaker specs . I can clearley tell a difference on this amp between the new formats and old cd's .

Agan, WRONG: SACD is actually a DVD in reality. Just take a look at the bottom of one if you get a chance. They BOTH play in DVD players. So many people here try to get into high end aspects of a particullar market and do so while being the biggest cheapasses. If you want to go that rout (and if you must be a best buy bitch) then go DVDA cause as toddy explained you won't notice the difference between the two with lower quallity set ups. Get SACD if you are truly seriouse about it and will drop a bit of coin on your equipment.

Agan im wrong ? I am truly seriose about it though.
Last sacd I had wouldnt play in any of my 5 dvd players so I dont know what your smoking .
I guess ill go that rout
All im saying is that moores law applies to stereos as well, and some things have changed since you worked at the audio video department at JC Penyy's in 1998 .

Um, NO. Even if there were any players at that price point you would be an absolute sucker to buy it. look to spend $200-$300 on a quality universal piece. Look to spend $400-$500 for one that will do all audio permats and your prograssive scan video VERY well (such as pioneer elite's and denon's models)

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Me thinks you're just qouting somthing you read in a crutchfield catalog , I mean really why would you need progressive scan video to enjoy a sacd or dvd-a ?
Well my player does upscan video so I suppose that makes it even better .

Xavier said:

I mean really why would you need progressive scan video to enjoy a sacd or dvd-a ?

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Because I said so. When you (the cheapass) talks about a universal DVDA/SACD player what the hell do you think you are talking about. Your talking about a DVD player which has the added abillity to play back SACD and DVDA. almost all of these univeral players will be progressive scan as that is the targeted domographic. They are meant to be one piece solutions for bot audio (music) and video (movies). So your above qoute shows just how ininformed you are on the subject.
You also seemed to neglect the topic of speakers dispite talking up your amp so much. A decent set of speakers will run you AT LEAST $500 but probably more like $1,000.

I never been to J.C. penny by the way, perhaps thats where you like to shop but not me.
I have about 5 years in the A/V industry:

The Wiz
Best Buy
Circuit City
and most recently Tweeter Home Entertainment Group. I was trained proffesionaly over there for over a month and listened to DVDa and SACD on systems worth probably more than you have to your name.

Ask Orpheus for the hook up he gets the good stuff

ORPHEUS said:

Because I said so. When you (the cheapass) talks about a universal DVDA/SACD player what the hell do you think you are talking about. Your talking about a DVD player which has the added abillity to play back SACD and DVDA. almost all of these univeral players will be progressive scan as that is the targeted domographic. They are meant to be one piece solutions for bot audio (music) and video (movies). So your above qoute shows just how ininformed(I dont believe this is a real word sounds like somthing Dubya say..naybe you meant uniformed ?)you are on the subject.
You also seemed to neglect the topic of speakers dispite talking up your amp so much. A decent set of speakers will run you AT LEAST $500 but probably more like $1,000.

I never been to J.C. penny by the way, perhaps thats where you like to shop but not me.
I have about 5 years in the A/V industry:

The Wiz
Best Buy
Circuit City
and most recently Tweeter Home Entertainment Group. I was trained proffesionaly over there for over a month and listened to DVDa and SACD on systems worth probably more than you have to your name.

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Ok so lets verify some facts shall we ?
No you're standard $40 Apex DVD player at Walmart doesnt play sacd ok .
According to your logic if you look on th bottom of a PS2 DVD and Xbox dvd there the same thing and will play on each other right ?
There were stand alone units that would play SACD or DVD-A . Then they made units that would play both . First gen single systems cost upwards of $1,000 now today theres units that play everything and they do progressive scan standard dvd playback for just a few hundered dollars , thats like what I got except mine does upscan as well up to 1080i .

So lets see ive driven Vipers , Nsx's , new corvettes and shelby cobras what does that mean ? It doesnt mean shit . The sales reps at most of the places youve named off above dont know there ass from a whole in the ground , one month training doesnt impress me my friend worked at a place that was a little bit more high end than say best buy and they made him train for almost three months .
What would matter to me more is actually what kind of system you yourself own

So how am I a cheapass ? I understand Ive spent 10K or a little less on my system, and yeah I didnt buy the $700 polk center channel speaker , but I guarantee my systems nicer than say 95% of the general population .

GEEK FIGHT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


(in a bitter twist of irony, I started the thread)

roke star i just to let you know that i have heard that not all dvd players willl play every dvd-audio disc.i think that the player has to be compatible with dvd-audio to play every disc just like sacd or mp3 on any dvd player wher most of them will play on all players but not all just be sue your player can play the dvd-audio disc because this is the way you want to go.

roke stAr said:

GEEK FIGHT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Damnstraight. I've got my propeller cap on and i'm not afraid to use it.

$hockwave said:

roke star i just to let you know that i have heard that not all dvd players willl play every dvd-audio disc.i think that the player has to be compatible with dvd-audio to play every disc just like sacd or mp3 on any dvd player wher most of them will play on all players but not all just be sue your player can play the dvd-audio disc because this is the way you want to go.

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That is absolutely correct. Only DVD players that are specificaly made to play DVDA will play back the format.

ORPHEUS said:

Damnstraight. I've got my propeller cap on and i'm not afraid to use it.
That is absolutely correct. Only DVD players that are specificaly made to play DVDA will play back the format.

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Not true .
dvd-a has many audio tracks available including the same track that a dvd video disc would have . Its in DD but samples at only 44khz or somthing versus 96khz so if you played the disc in a standard dvd video player you wouldnt notice much difference vs. cd except maybe the music is remastered and in Dolby Digital .

http://www.disctronics.co.uk/technology/dvdaudio/dvdaud_intro.htm

DVD-Audio offers at least 74 minutes of very high quality, surround sound, plus additional features (such as video and limited interactivity) that are not available on CDs. Capacity of a single layer DVD-Audio is of high quality full surround sound audio. In addition the disc can accommodate the same audio encoded as Dolby Digital for playing on existing DVD-Video players. In early 2004 the major music companies carried out a limited trial launch of a double-sided version with a CD compatible layer to play on DVD and CD players. These discs are called Dual Discs, but another name is DVDPlus.

ORPHEUS said:

Because I said so. When you (the cheapass) talks about a universal DVDA/SACD player what the hell do you think you are talking about. Your talking about a DVD player which has the added abillity to play back SACD and DVDA. almost all of these univeral players will be progressive scan as that is the targeted domographic. They are meant to be one piece solutions for bot audio (music) and video (movies). So your above qoute shows just how ininformed you are on the subject.
You also seemed to neglect the topic of speakers dispite talking up your amp so much. A decent set of speakers will run you AT LEAST $500 but probably more like $1,000.

I never been to J.C. penny by the way, perhaps thats where you like to shop but not me.
I have about 5 years in the A/V industry:

The Wiz
Best Buy
Circuit City
and most recently Tweeter Home Entertainment Group. I was trained proffesionaly over there for over a month and listened to DVDa and SACD on systems worth probably more than you have to your name.

Click to expand...

nerd