Sony Revs SACD Effort - Super Audio CD - Brief Article - Statistical Data Included

Brandweek, Sept 20, 1999 by Todd Wasserman

With units priced at $3,500 and $5,000 set to hit store shelves in mid-October, Sony Electronics is stepping up its efforts to popularize the new Super Audio CD high-end audio format with a magazine insert targeting audiophiles, a print campaign and a 15-city tour of retailers.

The eight-page FSI, to run in audiophile books like Sound and Vision, Stereophile and Jazz Times on Oct. 4, explains in detail a format billed as "the highest-quality stereo sound source available today." Print ads in the same books Nov. 1 will focus on the number of titles available: 40 by mid-October, with 40 more due by year-end.

This week, Sony reps begin a 15-city tour of audio retailers to explain the format, jointly developed with Philips, and offer advice on how to sell it. SACD will vie with DVD Audio, a format using digital versatile disks that is the focus of an ad effort from Panasonic (Brandweek, Aug. 9).