most SACDs are dual disk. Meaning, it has two layers. A standard CD layer so it can be played in any regular audio CD player, and underneath that is the Super Audio CD layer which can then be read by the SACD players. DVD-Audio and SACD are two different formats though, so your DVD-A player won't play SACDs unless it was designed to. On a sidenote, SACDs sound SO much better in my opinion. I've heard DVD-A several times and have just not been impressed. SACD however is amazing. It sounds so close to an analog 2" studio tape machine its scary. I shelled out $3500 for my SACD player a few years ago (the first one Sony ever made) and have been satisfied with it ever since.
okay I just researched online, and there is ANOTHER form of dual disc. For DVD Video and CD Audio, there is a type of disc that has DVD material on one side, and you flip it over and there is CD Audio content on the other side. This is propbably the new format you have heard about.
Sony will never let people burn SACDs (as long as there profitable). Thats the main reason for the new formats (SACD and DVD-Audio) there un-cracked.
It seems as if the older stuff (on SACD) have only an SACD layer while the newer stuff come in hybrid layer formats. What really bugs me is that all DVD audio discs are DVD-Audio/Video discs. They boast support on all DVD players but in truth only DVD players with a DVD-Audio/Video icon (not a DVD-Video icon) can actually decode the multi-channel AOB files (found in the Audio_TS directory).
I think that having one presentation encoded in AC3 or DTS and another in MLP will confuse consumers. People with DVD-Video (only) players will think that they are listing to DVD audio quality music because it is in sourround sound but they arn't. Only the audio nuts (us) and manufactures will know the real difference.
_...
Also which format (Dual-Disc, SACD, DVD-Audio) do do you think is the best and why (everyone)?
DualDisc just sounds dumb to me and conforms to neither the red or scarlet book standards, nor does is it backed by the DVD forum!
SACD has more of the titles that I listen to (mostly Island of Def Jam and Columbia (Sony)) while DVD-A has more hardware support (in my eyes). The main dif between DD and Hybrid-SACDs is that Hybrid-SACDs don't have to be flipped. DDs contain a CD side and a DVD side (You do realize that an SACD is just a DVD with DSD (Direct Stream Digital) files on it right!).
