SACD Players in 2025?

[Power Pop 23]

Whoa there. Am I missing something here? Almost all of my SACDs handle surround; most are 5.1; some early ones are 5.0, 4.0., and even 3.0. Are you talking about CD players only? Many universal players can handle multi-channel BD, DVD, and Sacd. Especially those from Sony?

Select CD players that also support SACD playback have only a stereo output. AC4L dot com has three in stock:

CD & SACD Players | Accessories4less

www.accessories4less.com

 

[DMill]

Used market now. SACD is dead, but if you love it buy used. I have Denon player from 25 years ago that played most formats. 2910 I think in its box with remote? I’d have to go in the basement and check but last time I used it was working great. If I cared to sell it I’d take $50 bucks for it at a garage sale. My guess is it works perfect. The problem with this gear now is everyone thinks their player they spent $1k on 30 years ago has value. My thinking is give my kid this player along with 1000 CDs and say and sell it on eBay or geek out if you want.

 

[Scytales]

With a pinch of exaggeration, I would say that the death of SA-CD has been announced every 6 month almost since its birth date. Yet it is still alive as a niche format mostly in the classical music genre, which, incidentally, is where multichannel music has really caught on. That's must be the reason why SA-CD is still used by classical music labels dedicated to do the best possible recordings.

 

[Newman]

...It blows my mind that almost all of the current sacd players, costing thousands of dollars, can NOT play 5.1 surround!

Whoa there. Am I missing something here? Almost all of my SACDs handle surround; most are 5.1; some early ones are 5.0, 4.0., and even 3.0. Are you talking about CD players only? Many universal players can handle multi-channel BD, DVD, and Sacd. Especially those from Sony?

If you check the more expensive SACD players (those which seem to be targeted for the hifi market and not the home theatre market), you will find a good many that are 2-channel only, usually lacking any HDMI output. I think they are trying to meet the needs of the elitist audiophile who considers any player with multichannel to be 'unmusical HT' and unworthy of their music-oriented fancy audiophile systems.

CD-S2100 - Hifi - Yamaha Australia

Featuring a new circuit design for minimal signal loss, plus a high-precision drive mechanism for reproduction accuracy. This CD-S2100 is equipped with high-performance USB audio, DAC and other advanced functions.

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SACD 30n - Premium CD Player Powered by HEOS™ with Custom HDAM | Marantz - AU

SACD 30n was designed for the experienced audiophile who appreciates flexibility in format and expects the most realistic sound. Hundreds of hours of careful Sound Master tuning ensure the exquisite detail and musicality Marantz has always delivered.

www.marantz.com

Marantz - SACD 10 - Reference SACD Player Flagship available now

The reference-standard SACD 10 is crafted to be the very best using a fully Marantz designed SACDM-3 transport mechanism for maximum rejection of resonance. Marantz SACDM-3 transport mechanism DSD 256 and PCM 384 / 32 support Headphone amplifier Dual power supplies with toroidal transformers...

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etc

 

[MickeyBoy]

If you check the more expensive SACD players (those which seem to be targeted for the hifi market and not the home theatre market), you will find a good many that are 2-channel only, usually lacking any HDMI output. I think they are trying to meet the needs of the elitist audiophile who considers any player with multichannel to be 'unmusical HT' and unworthy of their music-oriented fancy audiophile systems.

CD-S2100 - Hifi - Yamaha Australia

Featuring a new circuit design for minimal signal loss, plus a high-precision drive mechanism for reproduction accuracy. This CD-S2100 is equipped with high-performance USB audio, DAC and other advanced functions.

au.yamaha.com

SACD 30n - Premium CD Player Powered by HEOS™ with Custom HDAM | Marantz - AU

SACD 30n was designed for the experienced audiophile who appreciates flexibility in format and expects the most realistic sound. Hundreds of hours of careful Sound Master tuning ensure the exquisite detail and musicality Marantz has always delivered.

www.marantz.com

Marantz - SACD 10 - Reference SACD Player Flagship available now

The reference-standard SACD 10 is crafted to be the very best using a fully Marantz designed SACDM-3 transport mechanism for maximum rejection of resonance. Marantz SACDM-3 transport mechanism DSD 256 and PCM 384 / 32 support Headphone amplifier Dual power supplies with toroidal transformers...

www.theaudiotailor.com.au

etc

Well, that clarifies things. Thanks for the post. But does not explain the stupidity of eschewing multichannel playback built into the Sacds.

 

[Newman]

Well, that clarifies things. Thanks for the post. But does not explain the stupidity of eschewing multichannel playback built into the Sacds.

I did explain it: a good percentage of audiophiles being elitist and 'anti-HT'.

 

[aagstn]

Used market now. SACD is dead, but if you love it buy used.

Deadish. If you like the format and like classic rock and pop albums, Mofi and Analogue Productions are still putting them out in stereo for $35 a pop. I honestly think the good mastering they do on those CDs is more important than the DSD part, but that might just be me. However, it is mostly classic albums so you can get a modern SACD with good mastering for $35 or find a used copy made before loudness war remastering started for a few bucks and that CD will also sound great. I've opted mostly for the $2 CD from the 80's and early 90's.

 

[BJL]

Deadish. If you like the format and like classic rock and pop albums, Mofi and Analogue Productions are still putting them out in stereo for $35 a pop. I honestly think the good mastering they do on those CDs is more important than the DSD part, but that might just be me. However, it is mostly classic albums so you can get a modern SACD with good mastering for $35 or find a used copy made before loudness war remastering started for a few bucks and that CD will also sound great. I've opted mostly for the $2 CD from the 80's and early 90's.

Also Dutton Vocalion with a large selection of classical, some jazz, pop, rock and easy listening including numerous beautifully remastered quad recordings, and Sony Japan, mostly older rock, pop & some jazz, also superb remastered quad recordings & some more recent 5.1 remixes.

 

[aagstn]

Also Dutton Vocalion with a large selection of classical, some jazz, pop, rock and easy listening including numerous beautifully remastered quad recordings, and Sony Japan, mostly older rock, pop & some jazz, also superb remastered quad recordings & some more recent 5.1 remixes.

I would personally be much more interested in these where I get a quad or surround mix included. That ads value over just another stereo version of an album.

 

[BJL]

I would personally be much more interested in these where I get a quad or surround mix included. That ads value over just another stereo version of an album.

I recommend the Dutton and Sony quad SACDs without reservation (assuming the music is to your liking). The Sonys are a bit expensive, but exquisitely packaged in a 7" format perfectly reproducing the original album jackets and all inserts (as they were in Japan). The Dutton reissues are bare bones, just a jewel case with the usual microscopic liner notes you can read with a magnifying glass, maybe, but the remastering is exemplary and done from the original quad tapes. They both seem to license from CBS primarily. Dutton charges about 13 GBP per disc, and shipping to North America is 11.50 GBP, but it isn't per SACD, it is per package, so quite reasonable. The Sony Japan reissues are often available from Amazon US with free shipping, I always check there before ordering from Japan.

Please be aware that to my knowledge, both of these companies do just one pressing run, so the titles eventually go out of print.

EDIT: I forgot to mention, Denon (Japan) is also producing SACDs.

 

[krabapple]

I did explain it: a good percentage of audiophiles being elitist and 'anti-HT'.

and some other words

 

[krabapple]

Deadish. If you like the format and like classic rock and pop albums, Mofi and Analogue Productions are still putting them out in stereo for $35 a pop. I honestly think the good mastering they do on those CDs is more important than the DSD part, but that might just be me.

It's not.

And if 'audiophiles' understood it, the 'stereo only' SACD market would collapse.

 

[rocknroll]

If you check the more expensive SACD players (those which seem to be targeted for the hifi market and not the home theatre market), you will find a good many that are 2-channel only, usually lacking any HDMI output. I think they are trying to meet the needs of the elitist audiophile who considers any player with multichannel to be 'unmusical HT' and unworthy of their music-oriented fancy audiophile systems.

CD-S2100 - Hifi - Yamaha Australia

Featuring a new circuit design for minimal signal loss, plus a high-precision drive mechanism for reproduction accuracy. This CD-S2100 is equipped with high-performance USB audio, DAC and other advanced functions.

au.yamaha.com

SACD 30n - Premium CD Player Powered by HEOS™ with Custom HDAM | Marantz - AU

SACD 30n was designed for the experienced audiophile who appreciates flexibility in format and expects the most realistic sound. Hundreds of hours of careful Sound Master tuning ensure the exquisite detail and musicality Marantz has always delivered.

www.marantz.com

Marantz - SACD 10 - Reference SACD Player Flagship available now

The reference-standard SACD 10 is crafted to be the very best using a fully Marantz designed SACDM-3 transport mechanism for maximum rejection of resonance. Marantz SACDM-3 transport mechanism DSD 256 and PCM 384 / 32 support Headphone amplifier Dual power supplies with toroidal transformers...

www.theaudiotailor.com.au

etc

Could be, but most sacd discs are hybrid, featuring a redbook cd layer that can be played on a cd player, and a 2 channel sacd layer, which should satisfy the audiophiles. There is a smaller catalog of hybrid sacd discs that are mixed for 5.1 surround, but these often have 3 layers: redbook cd, sacd 2 channel, and sacd 5.1 channel. The way I see it, if Sony can make truly universal disc player capable of 5.1 in a machine that cost $328 (and oh yeah, is also a great dvd and 4k blu ray player), then all of these multi thousand dollar machines should also have that capability which apparently doesn't cost all that much to have on board.

 

[Scytales]

I just want to mention that an SACD disc can only have two different physical layers:
-1) either a CD layer+an SACD (actually a DVD type disc with special formatting suitable to the SACD specifications), what is called a hybrid disc;
-2) or two SACD layers (to increase playing time).

2.0 DSD program material and 5.1 DSD program material are not situated in separated layers, but in two different areas of a same SACD layer.

By the way, multichannel SACDs do not form a small part of the catalogue, but on the contrary a significant majority of the catalogue.

 

[rocknroll]

I just want to mention that an SACD disc can only have two different physical layers:
-1) either a CD layer+an SACD (actually a DVD type disc with special formatting suitable to the SACD specifications), what is called an hybrid disc;
-2) or two SACD layers (to increase playing time).

2.0 DSD program material and 5.1 DSD program material are not situated in separated layers, but in two different areas of a same SACD layer.

By the way, multichannel SACDs do not form a small part of the catalogue, but on the contrary a significant majority of the catalogue.

Thank you for the clarification regarding the sacd layer. Regarding your last point, when you say 'multichannel', are you including 2 channel? I believe that the majority of commercially released 'hybrid' sacd discs are cd layer + 2 channel sacd (especially classsical and jazz), with a significantly smaller number of 'hybrid' sacd releases that are cd layer + 2 channel/5.1 channel sacd layer.

 

[aagstn]

Thank you for the clarification regarding the sacd layer. Regarding your last point, when you say 'multichannel', are you including 2 channel? I believe that the majority of commercially released 'hybrid' sacd discs are cd layer + 2 channel sacd (especially classsical and jazz), with a significantly smaller number of 'hybrid' sacd releases that are cd layer + 2 channel/5.1 channel sacd layer.

I don't know the total numbers, but classical made up a significant portion SACDs and even the living stereo releases from the 50's had 3.0 tracks on SACD. I would imagine most classic SACDs have a surround track.

 

[rocknroll]

I don't know the total numbers, but classical made up a significant portion SACDs and even the living stereo releases from the 50's had 3.0 tracks on SACD. I would imagine most classic SACDs have a surround track.

When I think surround sound, that pretty much began with quadrophonic in the late sixties/early seventies, which never really got off the ground. You had 2 speakers in front of you and 2 speakers behind you. 3.0 on sacd would still have all of the sound in front of you...left/center/right speakers, and of course no LFE channel. I'm sure some of those sound amazing! Nowadays, 5.1 and greater truly surround you with sound. I still think most classical/jazz music titles in sacd are mostly 2 channel, some 3 channel. If you look at available hybrid sacd titles at Acoustic Sounds, there are lot more stereo titles available than there are 5.1 titles. Luckily for me, some of my favorite classic rock titles are available in 5.1, such as Pink Floyd (if ever there was a band meant to be in surround sound, it's this band!).

 

[Kal Rubinson]

I still think most classical/jazz music titles in sacd are mostly 2 channel, some 3 channel. If you look at available hybrid sacd titles at Acoustic Sounds, there are lot more stereo titles available than there are 5.1 titles.

That's far from an unbiased source. Try hraudio.net.

 

[Scytales]

HRAudio.net was formerly sa-cd.net, that used to have a much better search engine than its successor in that it made it possible to seek specifically for multichannel SA-CD releases. I recall that last time I was able to check, many years ago, close to half of almost 10,000 SA-CDs produced at that time were multichannel. And nowadays, there has been a more than 50% increase of the number of SA-CD releases according to HRAudio.net.

Let's play some maths with the help of the lesser capable search engine of HRAudio.

As of today (October 5, 2025), HRAudio lists 17,272 titles, of which 1,262 are released on other formats that SA-CD (1,090 Blue Ray Audio discs, 80 Blue Ray Video discs, 44 DVD Audio and 42 MQA-CD).

That means a grand total of 16,010 SA-CD titles are listed on HRAudio.

HRAudio search engine is able to find 9,805 multichannel releases. If we take the conservative approach to assume that all releases on other formats than SA-CD are all multichannel releases (save for the 42 MQA-CDs, which are not multichannel-capable), that would mean that, by subtracting 1,220 from 9,805, there are 8,578 multichannel SA-CD releases. That is more than 50% of all releases on that format.

But in reality, there are even more, because some 2.0 stereo only titles have been released on DVD Audio or Blue-Ray discs.

 

[guy soundy]

Are there any dedicated SACD players with HDMI? Any that still get produced?