SACD....by the numbers

[soundboy]

If there is a significant downturn in SACD releases it can easily be traced to the Classical labels which in past years released more SACDs than Pop, Rock, Jazz and world music COMBINED....currently opting to release their music via download vs physical disc.

But looking at Japan Tower Records' website, there are upcoming SACD titles available for pre-orders up until November 2021. Almost all classical music titles....and most of them are from the likes of Sony Classical, Warner Classics, Deutsche Grammophon, RCA Red Seal, etc.

 

[soundboy]

On January 1, 2021, there were 13,736 SACD titles listed at hraudio.net.

On October 1, 2021, there are 14,113 SACD titles listed at hraudio.net. That makes an addition of 377 titles for the first 9 months 0f 2021. In addition, there are about 70 new SACD releases from Hong Kong that didn't make it onto hraudio.net. So, there were about 450 new SACD releases worldwide from January - September 2021. Currently, there are approximately 100 SACD releases, with release dates in 2021, accepting pre-orders at Japan Tower Records.

For reference, there were over 600 new SACD releases worldwide in 2020.

The total number of SACD releases worldwide is very close to 15,000....possibly within 50 titles of 15,000.

 

[soundboy]

I want to clarify one thing and it is that number of 15,000. The number refers to releases and not individual titles. For example, to the best of my knowledge, there are (at least) six SACD releases for Miles Davis' "Kind of Blue"....that would be six SACD releases of just one title. I have no idea of how many individual titles were released on SACD.

 

[Mr. Afternoon]

@soundboy Aren't there a couple of SACDs not on hraudio.net? How could people track those? (Especially some Japanese ones.)

 

[4-earredwonder]

@soundboy Aren't there a couple of SACDs not on hraudio.net? How could people track those? (Especially some Japanese ones.)

From experience over at HRAudio.net, a lot of SACDs which have been OOP for a long time have disappeared from the website and yes, Japanese titles as well. In some instances and because of their limited edition status, some were pressed in very limited quantities so it's not surprising they're absent from the website.

 

[soundboy]

From experience over at HRAudio.net, a lot of SACDs which have been OOP for a long time have disappeared from the website and yes, Japanese titles as well. In some instances and because of their limited edition status, some were pressed in very limited quantities so it's not surprising they're absent from the website.

Since I have been checking into the totals shown at both sa-cd.net and (its successor) hraudio.net for over 10 years, I see the overall numbers of SACD releases has always been increasing. If these 2 websites have deleted titles that are now out-of-print, then the total would at some point be decreasing....and it hasn't been for the last 10 years.

 

[soundboy]

@soundboy Aren't there a couple of SACDs not on hraudio.net? How could people track those? (Especially some Japanese ones.)

A couple? The number of SACD titles not shown on hraudio.net runs anywhere from 800 to 1,200 releases. If you add the total number of SACD releases listed at hraudio.net as of this post....14,123 releases....to even just the low end number 800, we are already at 14,923. Therefore, we are very close to the 15,000th release on SACD.

So, where did all these numbers come from? That 800 number....I actually have those 800 SACDs (and more) that are not listed at hraudio.net. Vast majority of those are of Hong Kong pop music. However, within those 800+ SACD releases not listed at hraudio.net also include titles such as....

Japanese SACD titles are hard to track because no one seems to have a full listing of what got released. I typically use the list at cdjapan.co.jp, but Japan Tower Records also does SACD reissues that no one else have. Same goes for Stereo Sound (a Japanese audio magazine dedicated to 2 channel stereo).

 

[Mr. Afternoon]

A couple? The number of SACD titles not shown on hraudio.net runs anywhere from 800 to 1,200 releases. If you add the total number of SACD releases listed at hraudio.net as of this post....14,123 releases....to even just the low end number 800, we are already at 14,923. Therefore, we are very close to the 15,000th release on SACD.

So, where did all these numbers come from? That 800 number....I actually have those 800 SACDs (and more) that are not listed at hraudio.net. Vast majority of those are of Hong Kong pop music. However, within those 800+ SACD releases not listed at hraudio.net also include titles such as....

Japanese SACD titles are hard to track because no one seems to have a full listing of what got released. I typically use the list at cdjapan.co.jp, but Japan Tower Records also does SACD reissues that no one else have. Same goes for Stereo Sound (a Japanese audio magazine dedicated to 2 channel stereo).

Do you think another database exclusive to SACD tracking should be created, or do you think this data should just be included in HRAudio.net, regardless of whether Amazon links for purchase are available or not? Also, THAT'S A LOT OF MISSING SACDs!

 

[soundboy]

Do you think another database exclusive to SACD tracking should be created, or do you think this data should just be included in HRAudio.net, regardless of whether Amazon links for purchase are available or not? Also, THAT'S A LOT OF MISSING SACDs!

As much as I like to see a dedicated database that tracks every single SACD release, such an endeavor would be very time consuming. And I don't know if the return is worth it. As far as I know, hraudio.net is a one person operation and much of the information on the website is from users of the database. Aside from its information, the purpose of hraudio.net is also to generate revenue for the owner of the site through the use of links to various e-tailers from purchases. Now, if Sony is willing to spend money to build a dedicated website to one of its "babies", I would be very happy. I would imagine Sony has all of the information on how many titles were releases worldwide. My numbers are all estimates.

If you are interested in seeing the approximately 750 SACDs that I have, but not listed at sa-cd.net or hraudio.net, you can go to the below link:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/ematcion/albums/72157600427174428
It's a work in progress, therefore some have missing album information (i.e. catalog number, year of release, etc.)

 

[soundboy]

As of this post, there are 14,199 SACD releases listed at hraudio.net. Based on other sources and websites, the total number of SACD release have exceeded the 15,000 mark.

As for this year, total number SACD releases worldwide will exceed 550 titles....but not sure if it will exceed the 600 SACD titles released in 2020.

Next update will come in early January 2022

 

[kfbkfb]

"Laser Rot" [reflective surface damage caused by faulty manufacturing, can show up years after manufacture]

I have several SACDs (began buying in 2001), has anyone experienced "laser rot" on their SACDs (either SACD single layer or SACD + CD dual layer)?

Other than some of my 12" LaserDiscs, the only optical discs that have suffered from "laser rot" are 1 CD, several 5" CD Videos and 1 Blu-ray.


Kirk Bayne

 

[Mr. Afternoon]

As of this post, there are 14,199 SACD releases listed at hraudio.net. Based on other sources and websites, the total number of SACD release have exceeded the 15,000 mark.

As for this year, total number SACD releases worldwide will exceed 550 titles....but not sure if it will exceed the 600 SACD titles released in 2020.

Next update will come in early January 2022

550 titles! Woo! That's a lot!
SACD ain't "dead" after all, huh?

 

[fredblue]

"Laser Rot" [reflective surface damage caused by faulty manufacturing, can show up years after manufacture]

I have several SACDs (began buying in 2001), has anyone experienced "laser rot" on their SACDs (either SACD single layer or SACD + CD dual layer)?

Other than some of my 12" LaserDiscs, the only optical discs that have suffered from "laser rot" are 1 CD, several 5" CD Videos and 1 Blu-ray.


Kirk Bayne

there were the infamous "Crest Crackers", SACDs from the Crest factory.

i have 1 or 2 of those (where the SACDs start separating out from the hub!) but they all still played ok last time i tried them, so i guess its maybe not as catastrophic as was first thought back in the day?

either way its less than ideal and slightly nerve-wracking putting a disc into a player that's in that kind of condition, i have to admit but if the music's retrievable then they can just be backed up/ripped so the discs need never be physically spun again.

 

[fredblue]

550 titles! Woo! That's a lot!
SACD ain't "dead" after all, huh?

i imagine the figure might have been closer to 600 if Dutton Vocalion had been able to release some more of the titles they had planned for this year.

 

[soundboy]

i imagine the figure might have been closer to 600 if Dutton Vocalion had been able to release some more of the titles they had planned for this year.

The 550 SACD releases I mentioned above have been achieved already. Whatever titles added in December at hraudio.net will only boost the overall total.

 

[soundboy]

550 titles! Woo! That's a lot!
SACD ain't "dead" after all, huh?

Actually, 550 new SACD releases would be a new "low" in recent years....

 

[4-earredwonder]

Actually, 550 new SACD releases would be a new "low" in recent years....

Chalk it up to COVID and its MANY variants. Dutton Vocalion alone would've added another 3 dozen titles to the list [some of them 2~fers] but that damn plague has ravaged the various supply chains immeasureably!

 

[4-earredwonder]

Coming January 14, 2022 from Analogue Productions

https://store.acousticsounds.com/d/...rful_Sounds_Of_Male_Vocals-Hybrid_Stereo_SACD

 

[GOS]

Coming January 14, 2022 from Analogue Productions

https://store.acousticsounds.com/d/...rful_Sounds_Of_Male_Vocals-Hybrid_Stereo_SACD

Damn, I may have to nab that one.

 

[soundboy]

At the beginning of 2021, there were 13,736 SACD releases on hraudio.net. One year later, as of this post, there are 14,258 SACD releases on hraudio.net. That represented an increase of 522 new SACD releases worldwide for 2021.

After accounting for the releases that have already been added to hraudio.net during 2021, there were an additional 103 SACD releases in Hong Kong. Together with the new SACD releases listed in hraudio.net, that makes a total of 625 new SACD releases worldwide for 2021. In case you want to know how that compare to previous years....

I want to mention that the above tally is based on what I can verify through sa-cd.net and its successor website, hraudio.net, various e-tailers' websites around the world, and my own SACD collection.

As noted in one of my previous posts, SACD has surpassed 15,000 releases worldwide during the last quarter of 2021.

For 2022, I hope MoFi comes through with the Eagles and the Van Halen SACDs.