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Manufacturers Push CD Replacements
Sunday, October 13, 2002
(12:34 PM ET) (16:34 GMT)
The Associated Press

So far, there are about 300 albums available in DVD-Audio and about 450 in SACD -- a minuscule amount of the thousands of CDs released each year. Sony Music Group and Universal Music Group have backed the SACD format, while Warner Music Group has backed DVD-Audio.

NEW YORK CITY, N.Y. -- AP
First, vinyl records were relegated to the nostalgia pile. Now, CDs may be headed for the same fate.

Over the last couple of years, manufacturers and record companies have rolled out two new musical formats -- DVD-Audio and Super Audio Compact Discs (SACDs) -- that they hope will replace the CD.

"It's really getting rolling. The number of titles is increasing rapidly," says John Trickett, chairman of the 5.1 Entertainment Group, which has produced almost 100 DVD-Audio titles. "If you compare it to the launch of the CD ... It's actually following the same pattern, but actually a lot faster."

SACDs and DVD-Audios, when coupled with the right speakers, sound superior to regular CDs. Parts of a recording that were buried in layers of music -- a drumbeat, an extra guitar, perhaps some backup vocals -- are now revealed, crystal clear.

Yet the new formats require an investment from consumers -- many of whom seem satisfied with CD sound and have not even heard of SACDs or DVD-Audios. While the new discs cost about the same as a CD, or a tad pricier -- about $19 -- you'd likely need to upgrade your entertainment system to hear their advantage.

"Most people aren't looking for a multichannel experience. They are just looking for a convenient, good-sounding, inexpensive format," says Jon Iverson of Stereophile magazine.

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2002 © The Associated Press.

Dan