Underlining its intention to launch a Super Audio CD player onto the market in the near future, Marantz and Philips demonstrated prototype multichannel player at the IFA exhibition. The first SACD player will be introduced by Marantz in Japan thisAutumn , followed by a European launch later in the year.

Super Audio CD is an enhanced CD format that uses the latest DSD (Direct Stream Digital) technology to deliver superior sound reproduction quality, with the ability to render all the nuances of a live performance. This technology more closely reproduces the original analog waveforms, producing a clearer, more natural sound that captures the musical atmosphere of the source material with outstanding realism. Using a sampling frequency 64 times higher than that of CD, Super Audio CD offers a frequency response of up to 100 kHz and a dynamic range of 120 dB across the entire audible range, ensuring true reproduction without the omission of any naturally occurring sounds.

"Introducing a Super Audio CD player at an early stage is a logical step for Marantz as a leading high-end audio company", says Terrie O'Connell, Marantz Europe's Managing Director. "This new format offers significant quality benefits for audiophile consumers who will appreciate its unmatchedcapability to reproduce the original source with state-of-the-art fidelity. At the same time, with the use of the hybrid disc, its full backwards-compatibility will protect their investment in existing CDs and CD players, while enabling them to get the full benefits of the new SACD discs."

"Everybody who hears the pure and realistic sound quality that SACD delivers, is captivated," says Frank Pauli, General Manager Philips Disc Systems. "SACD is able to deliver all the qualities that bring the music alive. This really gives you the feeling that you are sitting in the audience at a concert. SACD delivers an audio dimension never experienced before"

The Super Audio CD player which was shown by Marantz and Philips at the IFA was a multichannel model, demonstrating the inherent capability of the Super Audio CD system to reproduce up to six full-bandwidth channels to create a realistic, all-round sound experience. However, the production players to be launched during 2000 will be stereo models, targeted at the audiophile who typically has a high and stereo installation today. This will be followed later by Multichannel versions to allow audiophiles to migrate to surround at their convenience.

Following the introduction of a Super Audio CD player by Marantz in Japan and Europe during 2000, Philips is actively developing its Super Audio CD technology so that it will be able to introduce competitive products quickly at the appropriate time.Phili ps expects to introduce its own audio products when price levels appropriate to a mass market launch are reached. The first SACD products introduced under the Philips brand will be DVD-Video players that include SACD as a feature. Frank Pauli of Philips Disc Systems adds: "We are very pleased to announce that we will be putting DVD-Video players on the market that will feature SACD playback. We are very excited by the potential offered by SACD for audio reproduction, especially multichannel audio, which of course will be included in our players. This product is the first step in our goal of reaching the truly universal player, able to deal with all formats."