Two part question.

I am considering buying a SONY DVPNS755v progressive scan DVD. (250.oo) Because my current RPTV can not use the progressive input I am interested in a player primarily for MP3 audio playback - the video may not be used at all.
This model looks like a bonus since it also plays SACD.
If I go with this unit I would like to start collecting some SACDs. I tried searching online some to see what titles and places to purchase SACDs might be available. I did not find very many SACD titles or purchasing sources, online or B&M. I found one website that gives music reviews of SACD and DVDA titles, It included links to the various record companies producing either SACD or DVDA titles. It listed about 40 record labels that produce SACDs (many more DVDA sources) so I searched through most of these but it seems like most of the labels only offer a hand full of titles on SACD. There appears to be more DVDA availble but even these titles are limited.
I have not looked in any of the bigbox electronics retailers to see if they carry any SACDs od DVDAs yet and thought I might ask here to see if anyone knows of a good source for SACDs - DVDas online or B&M.
I am thinking, given the apparent lack of SACD titles, It would be a better idea to look for a comparably priced player, Say + $200ish ? that supports DVDA and MP3's on CDR/RW.

Any model suggestions or comments on SACD -vs- DVDA are welcome.
Thanks in advance for the feed back.

:MILD RANT:
Pretty bad when SONY who helped to develop this audio format and is a major record label only has 30-40 disks available instead of hundreds.

I, like so many others, have been waiting for this whole "format war" to be settled.
It's like the old Betamax VS. VHS. My impression is that the companies are waiting,too. Limited or no bass management in hardware devices (hence the need for Outlaws ICBM), limited releases, and a lack of widespread, mass market retailers.
Personally, if I had to choose today, I'd go DVD-A. Mostly because the discs that are out there are more to my liking/tastes. SACD does have alot of titles, but these tend to be alot of classical, symphonies,etc. Not really my cup of tea.
I've seen Amazon listed as having a pretty good selection, but their descriptions are sometimes vague. I think Elusive Disc has a selection, and Barnes & Noble may have gotten in on the act.
FWIW, it seems that we're seeing more and more companies producing universal players. Ones that will play nearly anything. I guess even the companies are tired of this whole thing.

I'ld have to agree on DVD-A. I have both a DVD-A player (Denon DVM 4800) and a SACD player (Sony CE775). I have been very dissapointed by SACD. To me it just sounds like a very loud CD. DVD-A gives me a real feeling of "being there"...far more then SACD does.

Denon's DVD-1600 is twice the price of the Sony, however it is highly reccomended by Secrets of Home Theater and Hi Fi, and you can read about it at the following link http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/volume_9_2/denon-dvd-1600-6-2002.html

Hope this helps...

Jason

Another thing which may be a factor in the "format war," if one ever develops, is that DVD-A is natively PCM, which will be much easier for processors to handle once we finally get rid of all this analog bullshit we've got going on now in our interconnects. Sony's DSD stuff may have a harder time.

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Matthew J. Hill
matt@idsi.net

I just picked up the Sony DVP-NS500v Dvd/SACD player for $160. I put on the SACD sampler that came with it and actually had to sit down to listen to the whole James Taylor track on it. I was really amazed at how it made my system sound.

Here's my two cents with this "format war." The sound of these formats is highly dependent on the source material. Remastering classic albums onto these formats does not truly show them off properly. Also, I'm not a fan of multi-channel music. That said, adding some ambience into the surrounds, not instruments, is an interesting idea. Finally, SACD is made to work at such a high sampling rate that it makes sense why there's not a digital connection for it.

One more thing, as a sound engineer DSD is a much more appealling idea to me than PCM at higher rates. I get nice headaches when listening to regular CDs for longer than one song at a time. I don't get these when listening to analog at a comparable volume level. I hope DSD allows for longer listening periods.

To finish my ramble, I think it's too early in the game to see where these formats are going. I like the idea of hybrid discs at this point. Give the listener the option if they want it. If you can pick up a not too expensive player in either format, have fun and experiment.

FYI,

http://store.acousticsounds.com/store.cfm

These guys have the best catalogue of DVD-A / SACD / Records that I have come across on the net so far. Prices seem so-so, $17 - $25 for SACD disks. I live in a city with a population near 200K, But the only place carrying any SACD's is Best Buy with a lame SONY SACD display / Lame group of titles.
I picked up the remastered Rolling Stones - London Years 3 disk Boxset - Hybrid CD/SACD. most of this set's music dates from the 60's or earlier 70's and still sounds like it on the CD layer. The SACD version is so much cleaner it really surprised me that the CD layer did not sound better. Very good example to compare CD-SACD and what can be done with remastering. I'm looking forward to picking up some of the Creedence Clearwater Revival Remastered albums on SACD next, I hope the results are just as good.

Steve

Try this link for more info on SACD. On page 7 of this document, they list SACD purchasing sites online.

http://www.airshowmastering.com/sacd.html

The Stones SACDs are a great introduction to SACD. Hybrid layer discs that can be played as either a regular (Redbook) CD or as a SACD. It gives the user a chance to hear the difference if their system is set-up correctly.
Interesting Side Note: In a recent issue of Mix Magazine (a high-end recording publication), they interviewed the producer of the Stone's remasters. He said that as they were doing the transfer from the original masters; the path to the new analog master sounded good, the path to the new 16/44.1 master sounded better, and the path to the DSD/SACD master wasn't any different sounding than the original master!! He had a switcher to switch to any of the formats and he thought that the SACD button on it was broken because he didn't hear a difference. Pretty interesting stuff.

Local Best Buy's here in the sticks have two shelves of DVD-A. But they are usually hidden in the DVD Special interest section, bottom of the racks, turned sideways in poorly lit areas so you can't see the titles. But they have a couple of hundred titles, including some very nice DTS Audio (Dave Grusin's West Side Story is terrific) that bypass the format wars.

But you gotta search for 'em or find a clerk who has worked at BB for longer than the holiday crush.

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DB