Vote

There might just be 100 of my favorite titles on CD now.

+50 titles is a minimum for me to consider taking the plunge. Even then I will hold out if I hear too many rumors of new formats on the horizon.

I won't rush into a new or improved format until I see associated gear from class "A" manufacturers

I will duplicate only 10% of my CDs.

I'd buy a player when I have no choice because all the discs would be DVD/SACD (whichever wins). Then and only then would it make sense. Remember, we all have "Red Book" players because we had no choice. CDs were all there was digitally available. So until that revolution happens again, neither format will be around anyway. Remember MD, DAT, DCC? New formats with limited selections that have died. Thank God I didn't waste software money or hardware money on these. I surely won't on the new formats either.

dvd audio will definetly "beat" sacd in the current format war due to its dual purpose capability. The sound? Not bad at all to my ears if not on par with sony sacd

For any new formats to replace existing CD, my belief is that you would have to reissue greater than 90% of all recorded music available on the existing CD format. Why? To cater to all musical tastes; consequently, I do not believe the improvements in sound quality that any new formats offer over existing CD will warrant such a program. Indeed, it is unlikely that the consumer will be as gullible the second time around in replacing a format in which they have probably invested the majority of their collection with something offering, at best, marginal improvements in quality. Perhaps it would be prudent for manufacturers of D/A processors to invest their efforts in upsampling existing CD sound. But, of course, this is always dependent on the fidelity of your source material!

When DG is releasing DVD-Audios this fall. It also depends on what kind of player will be available!

As soon as I can get the Stereophile Test DVD.

The question is, how many new, interesting releases need to be out there before I'm inspired to buy a new player? Because I sure ain't gonna buy my favorites once more! The money is better spent on music that's new and interesting to me. Remember what they did to Miles? It took them 15 years or so to release "Kind of Blue" in a way that didn't make an audiophile's ears bleed!! There's no reason things are gonna be done better this time. I'm sure gonna be a late adopter on this thing!

I've got maybe 200 titles that are "must haves" for me. If there are even 10 of those released on a new format, then I know that eventually most of them will be there. Let the next generation of great sound begin!!!!

never! i believe that audio companies have already come up with another improvement in sound after dvd becomes the standard. i'll wait until the smoke clearts before i make that kind of investment in sound

We're talking classical and jazz here. It'll be a while. In the meantime, I feel no hesitation about buying CDs.

But they should be mastered in native DSD, not remasters from old tapes. Then we will really hear what SACD can sound like.

I jumped on the CD bandwagon early (1983). The result was that I spent about twice as much on a player as I should have, and had very little music to listen to on it for quite a while. I'll wait a bit longer this time before even considering a DVD-Audio player.

I'll get a player as soon as it's clear that 500 useful titles is inevitable.

I dont by any new hardware before I can buy a lot of exiting music. And I mean a lot!

It isn't simply a question of the sheer # of reissued titles appearing on one or both of the new formats. Which format will prevail? Will both stay alive with the introduction of a combi player of sorts? The fact is, not many of the studios, engineers, technicians, and others involved in the recording chain have any experience in what one might refer to as the accurate reproduction of music in a multichannel format! I attended an SACD demo at a local dealer's shop some months ago and was impressed with the Sony rep's two-channel presentation. Yet I remember thinking that it would take a bit more before I would think of replacing a Theta front-end with one of these systems. I can't imagine DVD-A being anything more than a whole lot of gimmickry for quite some time to come. Besides, how much information is really available beyond what one hears in front of one in a quality concert venue? 5000 or more titles, 4-5 generations of players, high-end involvement, and I might consider it.

If Record companies have any interest in this format, they have to release top bands and artists in the format. I'm afraid that some classical and Jazz (although I love both) titles, nomatter how good, will have much impact.

I'm a struggling medical resident with a stereo system equivalent to a well equipped Camero in price. It would take a helluvalot of exquisite recording on DVD to make me drop my ARC DAC and transport.

What I am looking for is NOT major-label recordings, as they sound overprocessed and phony; I don't want that kind of sound in high resolution. I am buying SACD because of the wonderful recordings from AudioQuest, Telarc, Water Lily, Delos, and DMP. And I am buying DVD-A because of the proposed recordings from Reference Recordings and Classic Records.

I am a diehard analog addict. Why should it make the least bit of difference to me what the digital standard might ultimately be? After all, I have attained audio nirvana with my vinyl and playback system.

I hope DVD-A makes it. Away with all the legacy stuff. There are others out there who should be making money.

I won't buy a new player till I can hook it into my existing system. My AVP doesn't have provisions for 5.1 input. I've shelled out too much money to go down this road again. I'm waiting till DVD Audio/SACD players come out that can hook into my existing system.

Waste of money, You just need Transparent Wire.

It's not so much how many titles as it is how much each costs. If I wanted to pay $20 to $30 per title for a hi-rez recording, I'd be buying vinyl reissues. I'm not. And I won't pay that for a hi-rez digital recording either! Maybe when the discs hit an average price of $10–$12, I'll consider a player.

They just don't get it! I have not met one person who is not into high-end that has even heard of SACD or DVD-A. The most common response I get when I tell someone about the new formats is, "I thought CD was perfect sound forever." Audiophiles are such a small segment of the market, and most I know will not pay $25 for an SACD; how the hell do they think the average Joe Stereo guy will fork up the extra cash? I have heard SACD and it sounds magical, but the corporate giants will never release enough titles at a low enough price for me to spend the extra cash on both a player and the software. My CD player recently died and I am in the market for a new player, but there is no way I'm buying into these new formats. The software costs too much and the mass market doesn't even know it exists. That spells failure to me. EVERYONE I know who is even in the remotest way involved with music has heard of MP3 and Napster, and they are very happy listening to that over their computer speakers. It's too bad these new formats will fail, but my question is: Who is the market??

What with vinyl and CDs, I have a lot invested in my music. In order for me to consider a new format, the selections and quality would have to be superior.

And the should be players in $100 - $300 range.

The Bruce Springsteen catalog.