Sony releases entry level SCD-XE800 SACD player in Japan, 10 years too late
By Ben Bowers 
posted July 16th 2010 10:28PM
posted July 16th 2010 10:28PM
Many of us at Engadget -- being the audio geeks that we are -- have rooted for SACD to take off as a format ever since its release in 1999. So we're more than happy to see Sony release the entry level priced SCD-XE800 SACD player. We'd being lying though if we didn't admit confusion over Sony's timing of this release, in what seems to be the twilight years of the cherished audiophile format's life. Even more befuddling perhaps is that this device isn't compatible with multi-channel SACD discs, which was one of the most attractive selling points the medium had going for it to begin with. So if this is some strange underhanded way of Sony alerting the world they're resuscitating the format, it looks like it was thought out over several bottles of sake. If we see a press release about a new Beta Max player coming down the pipe soon, we'll know for certain someone at the electronics giant has clearly lost their marbles.
These guys were absolutely hammered! How 'bout making a unit for cars? That would make a lot more sense.
I had completely forgotten about the format. I wonder if there ever were enough people interested in the format at any given time where they might have accepted it, with the necessity of buying more expensive hybrid discs or replacing all their player hardware.
I'm not totally convinced that the extra resolution is necessary, I think it's at least as likely that most of the difference most people hear is actually do to less dynamic range compression (DRC) applied to the recording when making the audio master. DRC is used to "cook" the audio to make it sound better on crappy sound systems, at the expense of better ones.
The format is superior to any other, and the extra resolution makes a world of difference. It's like removing your fingers from your ears: bass is deeper, highs are like crystal. Too bad it came out when mp3 took the web by storm...
While I'm not an expert on Sony's offerings in Japan, here in the USofA we have all of Sony's BD players will play SACD's, even there entry level BDP-S370 which is currently selling for $199.99. So why would anyone who is looking for an 'entry level' price point SACD player not just purchase a BD player and use that?