SACD is a fledgling and as yet widely misunderstood format, because Sony has no idea how or where to market it. It's difficult to push a transparent, audiophile-style system in a culture that thinks the CD is a transparent, audiophile-style system that's much bulkier than their iPod.

I don't know very much about the SACD or DSD in technical terms, but I know that the format is a step in the right direction. Quality control and consistency for SACDs are much better than those for the DVD-A format. This is partly because there are only a very few conversion systems available right now, all of which have been developed with very little marketing pressure. Also, the sampling rate / word length equation is fixed at 2.8 mHz / 1 bit. Which is a little bit of a misnomer, since the rate x depth = resolution formula doesn't work quite like it does for PCM formats. And since I'm now in over my head, I'll throw in the anecdotal, non-technical evidence; the format sounds amazing, in that it doesn't really sound like a 'format.' Tough to swallow, I know, but it's far less colored than anything I've ever heard. My band just did a hybrid SACD, and the difference between the PCM pre-CD master (DVD-A, essentially at 88.2 kHz / 24 bit) and the DSD master (which, remember, is preserved all the way to the consumer) was pretty stunning. We were going to press the vinyl (double 180g) from the tapes, but we chose to do it from the DSD files after we heard the master in order to preserve the cross-fades and whatnot. Both sound absolutely great. Having one's cake and eating it too, I say.

A hybrid disc will not sound better in your CD player than a regular CD. There are two layers in a hybrid SACD, one glued underneath the other, that are read at different focal lengths by the laser in your CD player. Your conventional CD player will ignore the SACD layer completely, which means the CD is just a CD. Which means that you're still at the mercy of whatever your transport, clock and analog electronics decide to do with the disc.

Everyone should audition the format, but if you have the ability, be careful about the source deck — many of the cheaper non-Sony decks convert DSD to mid-resolution PCM right before the RCA outs. All the Sony decks seem pretty alright, though, right down to their five disc CD / SACD / DVD player that retails for $250 or so... and the difference is even apparent with $39 headphones. But that's me, and I'm totally a 'source first' type.

I hope this provides a little clarity.

— Chris