Is this misleading? There are no SACDs only CDs as far as my understanding goes.

Correct. See my comments here:

Pépin: Les Eaux Célestes - Orchestre national de Lyon, Glassberg

I am afraid I am with hiredfox here - I find the listing of items which are not on any form of hi-res physical disc misleading to say the least. My impression, as someone who doesn't have the slightest interest in streaming or downloading, is that a very great deal of recorded material indeed is available in higher resolution in this way from one vendor or another. However this is a site devoted to physical hi-res discs, and to suddenly start littering it with a few randomly selected virtual items seems as pointless as it is misleading and annoying. Having said that, I am sure that it is here to stay and simply the thin end of a very big wedge, since everything the site owner has wanted to do in the past he has done, irrespective of anyone else's opinion.

Sad to see what is happening to physical media on presto. Very disappointing. pentatone is also a disappointment. I guess this is a reflection of what consumers want? Or are these releases just there to save money for presto and the big labels? I really miss being in a store where people are also buying a physical disc or album where that human connection happens. Vinyl is there in stores but classical music on disc... are they trying to get us to buy a download instead of an actual disc? This is not a good time for classical music fans to buy a disc. Sad.

The listing clearly states “DIGITAL”. It is high(ish) res (24/96) and can be purchased as a download from Presto or Qobuz for those who do not like to stream. I much prefer to do that than pay an inflated price for a SACD from companies like Chandos where their master is only 24/96 to begin with. As for talk of “misleading”, I consider PCM-recorded SACDs to be a prime example of misleading consumers.

The word DIGITAL has, helpfully, only just been added by the site owner to avoid confusion.

Why single out Chandos for criticism when, for example, the new Walton Symphonies release on DGG costs £ 14 for the CD and £22.19 for the Hi-Res lossless download (24/96)? Surely an inflated price? The Pentatone Mahler cycle costs £54.25 for the CDs and £83.04 for the downloads (24/96) no packaging, no printed booklets. Progress?

I agree with Graham's points. Perhaps the previous contributor simply prefers virtual carriers to physical ones, which is fair enough - it's a free world. But we SACD supporters must surely support and encourage the hard core of companies who maintain a commitment to physical hi-res.

I suspect though, ultimately, this decision has been driven by the need to make the site pay for itself. Income from buying links must have declined over the years, and presumably Presto are offering a financial incentive to having their service promoted here.

That's just the realities of life, and if that's it, I have no issue with that.

My comment is on the performances. I've seen Bychkov live in opera houses (well, the Metropolitan in NYC, conducting multiple operas) and with symphony orchestras. And I've listened to many of his recordings. And I want to like him, but he always leaves me bored. It's the same with several of these Mahler symphonies from this cycle. Carefully prepared, beautifully played, maybe even thoughtful, and with the personality of a doorknob. It's just how Bychkov always leaves me.

Does the download trend reflect what consumers actually want? Whenever changes happen like this, I wonder how much of it is a reflection of what customers want, or is it imposed? Do we have any numbers or data about this shift? After all, classical music is an older crowd that I think would prefer physical media. Does anyone have any insights on this?