SACD or HDCD? Which CD player to grab?

[Bill]

Sony supports SACD, but HDCD might be more established? Any audiophiles out there...?

Bill

 

[Spendthrift]

i dunno.......^bump

 

[Eug]

The comparison should be SACD vs. DVD-A.

And neither is great, because the music selection so far is too limited.

 

[luv2chill]

HDCD doesn't add very much to the music. I've heard comparisons and it's hard to tell a difference (to my ears anyway). As Eug said, what you'll be looking to compare is SACD to DVD-A. Both offer multi-channel, high bitrate audio that sounds AWESOME. It finally bridges the gap between warm-sounding analog and harsh-sounding digital (CD et. al).

My money goes on DVD-A, just because of the "name recognition" aspect of DVD. Technically (and most audiophiles will tell you) SACD is the better format. But then again so was betamax, and look where it ended up. DVD-A also has more industry support than SACD.

But it will take a long time for either of these to catch on. Most consumers see nothing wrong with CD-DA and aren't looking to drop $$$ on a new format, especially when the selection is so limited.

But don't get me wrong, SACD and DVD-A both sound noticably better than CD-DA... the little nuances really stand out. Go have a listen at Circuit City or something. Then decide whether it's worth your money.

l2c

 

[Flashram]

Look at the catalog selection for each (SACD, Dvd-Audio) and go with which ever has a better selection of titles you like. I've had Dvd Audio for a few months now and only 1have cd. There wasn't much I cared for on SACD either so I went with the cheapest solution.

 

[tigerbait]

DVD Audio