Help me pick a great SACD player.

[BentonF]

I’d welcome some advice. I’m considering getting a SACD player. I mostly listen to classical where the material is on average better recorded and prepared without all the modern loudness war antics. A good proportion of the classical CDs are hybrid CD-SACD versions. The number of manufacturers making SACD players is ever shrinking. From what I can see the transport and DAC contribute little to the sonics (as both these elements are highly competent) in the audio chain but it is the analogue output stage than can make a discernible difference in sonic quality. Forgive me, I am not electronically qualified, nor an expert in audio acoustics but I do value your collective advice which is grounded in solid science. I have seen a number of SACD machines but can’t determine from their interiors which have been built using quality parts and well designed analogue stages. What would you pick between say:
Denon DCD-1600NE
Denon DCD-2500NE
Denon DCD-A110
Oppo-205

 

[BentonF]

DCD-1600NE

 

[BentonF]

DCD-2500NE

 

[BentonF]

DCD-A110

 

[JSmith]

I’m considering getting a SACD player.

You may want to go through these threads;

Marantz SA-10 Review (SACD Player & DAC)

This is a review and detailed measurements of the Marantz SACD player and USB balanced DAC. It is on kind loan from a member and costs US $7,499. The industrial design is good although usability is poor with super tiny fonts for various settings (e.g. filter number top left). Disc tray opens...

www.audiosciencereview.com

Marantz SA-10 SACD Player Review (Video)

Follow up video to the written review of the Marantz SA-10 SACD player.

www.audiosciencereview.com

Octave Music Don Grusin High Resolution Music Analysis (Video)

PS Audio has a private music label called "Octave Music." I got a request yesterday to look into their high-resolution offering and see what they are doing in that regard. So I downloaded the Don Grusin "Out of thin air" album ($29) and performed analysis both on the DSD version and PCM...

www.audiosciencereview.com

JSmith

 

[BentonF]

Oppo-205

 

[BentonF]

You may want to go through these threads;

Marantz SA-10 Review (SACD Player & DAC)

This is a review and detailed measurements of the Marantz SACD player and USB balanced DAC. It is on kind loan from a member and costs US $7,499. The industrial design is good although usability is poor with super tiny fonts for various settings (e.g. filter number top left). Disc tray opens...

www.audiosciencereview.com

Marantz SA-10 SACD Player Review (Video)

Follow up video to the written review of the Marantz SA-10 SACD player.

www.audiosciencereview.com

Octave Music Don Grusin High Resolution Music Analysis (Video)

PS Audio has a private music label called "Octave Music." I got a request yesterday to look into their high-resolution offering and see what they are doing in that regard. So I downloaded the Don Grusin "Out of thin air" album ($29) and performed analysis both on the DSD version and PCM...

www.audiosciencereview.com

JSmith

Thank you for the links. The summary of the review of the much audiophile praised SA-10 is that it is well built but underperforms in measurements given the immense price. So this not something I’d be keen on. I think the foundation for any pricey gear is that it must have a minimum of exemplary measurements.

 

[Mart68]

unless you have a lot of dedicated SACDs (i.e not hybrids) I'd not bother, just listen to the CD layer, you're not missing anything.

Otherwise if you are prepared to buy used look for a Sony SCD XB790 QS. has multi-channel too if you want that.

 

[Elkerton]

unless you have a lot of dedicated SACDs (i.e not hybrids) I'd not bother, just listen to the CD layer, you're not missing anything.

Otherwise if you are prepared to buy used look for a Sony SCD XB790 QS. has multi-channel too if you want that.

What is wrong with the hybrid CD/SACD? I have some 140 and cannot hear anything bad, but have not compared the one against the other with the same performance(s). I don't have any, and have few dedicated SACDs.

Having listened now to multichannel, classical recordings for 2 years, I only wish all of my collection was recorded thus.

BentonF, consider the used market as well, or to play, as I love to do, by a cheap Sony. I will likely do so myself as a backup to my other 2 machines.

Enjoy!

 

[Mart68]

What is wrong with the hybrid CD/SACD? I have some 140 and cannot hear anything bad, but have not compared the one against the other with the same performance(s). I don't have any, and have few dedicated SACDs.

Nothing, but the SACD layer doesn't sound any different to the CD layer so it's not worth getting a dedicated player just for that - unless they are also multi-channel and you want that facility.

 

[rolloj]

Another SACD player you may want to look at are those made by Yamaha. Several models, and prices to choose from. Refurbished B stock units are sometimes available on Ebay.

 

[Elkerton]

Listening to classical music with 5 channels is wonderful. The speakers disappear. One is immersed, bathed in sound.

Revel M105s and original PSB passive subs

 

[itz_all_about_the_music]

No regrets here having used a Denon DBT-3313UDCI input via "Denon Link" to my AVR-X4000 (used as a pre-pro) for several years. Yes, it's out of production.

 

[muslhead]

Oppo 205 gets my vote as it does everything .... very well. If you can afford it.

 

[Tom C]

Picked up one of these a couple months ago at the local Wally World. Was looking for a 4K player. The SACD capability was a bonus, and it’s the only way to get my Denon AVR to play multichannel SACD. The Denon will play DSD and DSF from USB or net server, but only two-channnel. If you want multichannel DSD from the Denon, it’s only available over HDMI from a player. Couldn’t get it to accept multichannel from dsf files on PC over hdmi. And they don’t tell you that, except deeply buried in the fine print of the owner’s manual.

Sony UBP-x700

 

[DonH56]

^^^ That's what I did recently as a backup for my Oppo. The Sony x700 was $200 on Amazon a few weeks ago so I grabbed one. @Tom C found it $10 cheaper at Wal-Mart -- it was higher there when I looked then so prices vary.

 

[GD Fan]

Oppo is a no brainer from a performance perspective. But prices have gotten absolutely silly.

Another to possibly consider is the Arcam CDS50. I was happy with one but eventually bought a used Oppo 203 to have video capabilities as well.

 

[dadregga]

Help me pick a great SACD player.​

As someone who listens to multichannel classical SACDs, my advice would be to not do this if you want the best.

1. Get a used Sony BDP-S5100 ($35)
2. Rip all your SACD stereo and multichannel layers with SACD-extract ($0)
3. Use Roon to stream the DSF files through a Denon x3600 or equivalent AVR (or any recent MCH DAC with DSD support) and feed the output to whatever amp stage you like. (Roon server box (can be a simple Linux NUC) + Roon endpoint box w/HDMI OUT (can be a simple/cheap Linux NUC)+AVR with HDMI IN)


Nice thing about Roon is it will dynamically resample MCH DSD to MCH PCM for output over the HDMI port, so you don't have to worry about finding an AVR with DSD-HDMI support (pointless, difficult, expensive, you will not hear a difference between DSD properly converted to PCM so it is completely not worth the trouble)

If that's too much effort, or you really want a physical transport, the Oppos are your best bet, but they are $$$ on the secondary market. Most of the current SACD transports are expensive, not very good, and don't have MCH analog out.

 

[al2002]

I’d welcome some advice. I’m considering getting a SACD player. I mostly listen to classical where the material is on average better recorded and prepared without all the modern loudness war antics. A good proportion of the classical CDs are hybrid CD-SACD versions. The number of manufacturers making SACD players is ever shrinking. From what I can see the transport and DAC contribute little to the sonics (as both these elements are highly competent) in the audio chain but it is the analogue output stage than can make a discernible difference in sonic quality. Forgive me, I am not electronically qualified, nor an expert in audio acoustics but I do value your collective advice which is grounded in solid science. I have seen a number of SACD machines but can’t determine from their interiors which have been built using quality parts and well designed analogue stages. What would you pick between say:
Denon DCD-1600NE
Denon DCD-2500NE
Denon DCD-A110
Oppo-205

My pick of this group would be the Oppo 205, but where do you find one now at a sensible price?

Do you have a DAC that will decode DSD? Then the inexpensive Sony 6700 might be worth a punt. It will play SACD, digital out only.

 

[Rick63]

It will play SACD, digital out only.

NO player will output DSD over digital out(*), HDMI or analog ONLY.

*converted to PCM yes, Pure DSD no.