Post by sammyh August 27, 2010 (11 of 32)
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Disbeliever said:
Whatever happened to Sony' Green SACD's announced in 2008 ?
They "blu" it!
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Post by Claude August 28, 2010 (13 of 32)
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I was questioning the technical possibilities of Blu-Spec, not the marketing opportunities. Why would SACDs whose glass master is made with a blue laser instead of an infra-red laser sound better?
I know japanese audiophiles have a fetishism for new disc manufacturing methods, but I don't think Blu-spec SACD would impress the US and european markets.
If you read the discussions on US message boards about the latest SHM-SACDs, they are about the fact that some of the albums are available in hi-rez for the first time, and about the mastering quality of the SACDs, but not about SHM manufacturing, which most US buyers consider irrelevant.
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Post by DSD August 28, 2010 (14 of 32)
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Disbeliever said:
Whatever happened to Sony' Green SACD's announced in 2008 ?
As far as I know these are the only Green-label SACDs Sony has released:
L.A. Allstars: Birdland (XSCL-10004)
L.A. Allstars “Afro Blue” (XSCL-10005)
Sacred Rhythm of Bali (XSCL-10007)
Masayoshi Takanaka “The Man With The Guitar” (XSCL-10006)
Allan Holdsworth “All night wrong” (XSCP-1000)
And one from Pony Canyon
Emi Fujita “Camomile Best Audio” (PCCA-60019)
Also the Getz/Gilberto SHM-SACD from Universal Japan is also Green-label. So there may be other stealth Green-label SACDs out there.
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Claude said:
I was questioning the technical possibilities of Blu-Spec, not the marketing opportunities.
Frankly the Blu-spec part is completely not important to me. It is probably just marketing, but if they need a new marketing tool to re-introduce the format on the market then why not?
What counts here IMO is that
1) apparently Sony knows what Grimm Audio Converter is (many companies are still ignorant),
2) Blu-spec is CHEAPER than SHM,
3) Sony has a huge catalogue of albums which screams for new 2010/2011 DSD transfers (in stereo and multichannel),
4) Sony owns the pressing plants,
5) they have Sonomas,
6) at any time they can consult with Gus Skinas (Super Audio Center).
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Claude said:
I know japanese audiophiles have a fetishism for new disc manufacturing methods, but I don't think Blu-spec SACD would impress the US and european markets.
If I saw an announcement of 100 new Blu-spec SACDs I would be highly impressed :-)
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Blu-spec SACD would be nice, but if it means single-layer stereo-only reissues of albums we've already seen on SACD before (Kind of Blue, anyone, however appropriate?) then I'm not interested.
And if they want to appeal to Japanese audiophile fetishists then why not make a Blu-spec SHM-XR-SA-CD?
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The Seventh Taylor said:
And if they want to appeal to Japanese audiophile fetishists then why not make a Blu-spec SHM-XR-SA-CD?
It would unnecessarily ramp up the price. SONY has the rights to SACD, and the blu-spec thing, they also own the SACD pressing plants. They don't need JVC (XR) or UNIVERSAL (SHM) help.
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The Seventh Taylor said:
Blu-spec SACD would be nice, but if it means single-layer stereo-only reissues of albums we've already seen on SACD before (Kind of Blue, anyone, however appropriate?) then I'm not interested.
Agreed. They would have to do everything better than Universal, so for example - instead of asking for sending SACD suggestions on post-cards (XIX century style), Sony should start a website where we could vote for Blu-spec SACD releases in each category: classical, jazz, rock, pop, blues. They should include multichannel and stereo tracks, they should use better DSD converters, better sources (master tapes), and offer the SACDs at a lower price than SHM-SACDs!
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audioholik said:
Agreed. They would have to do everything better than Universal, so for example - instead of asking for sending SACD suggestions on post-cards (XIX century style), Sony should start a website where we could vote for Blu-spec SACD releases in each category: classical, jazz, rock, pop, blues. They should include multichannel and stereo tracks, they should use better DSD converters, better sources (master tapes), and offer the SACDs at a lower price than SHM-SACDs!
Agreed. Agreed. The only obstacle being remixing non~multichannel master tapes for Blu~Spec SACD release. Would the original artists have to be involved with the final m/c remix, etc?
Or will they go the blu~ray audio route?
Sony"s new baby is 3D TV. The economy is still NOT great and they (SONY) have their priorities in so many different arenas.
And the bottom line today is making a profit.
If they did announce 100 new Blu~Spec SACDs that would certainly be a bonanza but the prices should be in line with blu~ray discs which are still far more costly to produce but are offered at substantial discounts.
IMO, Universal's SHM~SACD strategy of putting the moniker "Limited Release" forced many a reluctant buyer to take the plunge and pluck down $50+ for a single title or risk seeing it go OOP and regretting it down the road. IMO, charging such outrageous prices (some US companies are charging $65 to $75 for these same titles) for older catalog titles was a wicked ploy for consumers but a brilliant bonanza for Universal/Japan.
At least it can quell the critics (myself, included) that they're not releasing pop/rock/jazz titles any more.
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