Remember, Sony was losing money on every one of the PS3's so there were some cuts made to make it more profitable. The SACD function was one of the first frills they cut. Don't know the technical aspects well enough to understand the cost savings, but you would think it was a hardware change as the software and firmware are essentially free. But I agree, it is odd that after the long SACD v. DVD-A battle, Sony just gave up. The PS3 put BR over HD-DVD and could have kept SACD alive, even if only in the audiophile realm. (Of course any self respecting "audiophile" would want a stand alone unit, right?) Then again, this is good news for used PS3 sales, the old models have some frills the new models can't get!


Panny 3000 PJ, 118" Carada, Denon 3300, PS3, Axiom QS8, PSB 5T, B&W sub, levitating speaker wire