OK, so it's just my confusion with the terminology. Cool, my digital vocabulary is expanding - thanks again for the info!
As far as diving into the new digital technologies -- Too late! Along with the Rotel unit I mentioned, I just acquired a nice "mid-fi" universal player (Yamaha S2300), and I've had an "el-cheapo" DVD player that also does DVD Audio for about half a year now (Please don't laugh -- Toshiba's $200 player. It's actually a cool little entry-level unit - surprisingly solid!). I haven't plugged in the S2300 yet - just got it out of the box, and I'm still waiting on delivery of the Rotel.
As an incurable geek, when a whole new media format comes out and at least appears to have staying power, I eventually just can't resist! Most of what I buy will remain solely content based, but when something I really like comes out in a higher-res format, I've got to check that out, too.
If SACD isn't quite up to audiophile-level CD "standards" yet, you can just about bet the farm that it eventually will be. One would have to argue against basic laws of physics to say that a lower resolution will beat a higher one, if all other factors are equal. (And they're not equal right now, hence the debate.) I think converters will get better and better, and eventually even smoke the Lector and some of the other killer CD players mentioned in this thread.
For now, I consider SACD and DVD-A to be in the experimental stage. Which is partially why I also picked up the Rotel player as sort of a reference. (I've actually heard from a couple of different sources that the Rotel does out-perform several SACD players, including the S2300. I'll have to compare it with my own ears, though.) However, I think this will be the last big blow I make on digital tech for a while. (Still drooling over that Lector unit though...)
Jack G:
...only DSD recorded SACDs really sound significantly better than redbook...
From what I've seen so far, it looks like DSD is the "standard" format for SACD. So you're referring to DSD-sourced recordings as opposed to conversions from analog or PCM (if that's being done), correct?
OK, I'll stop hijacking the thread. Although it sounds like we've beaten the "decent CD player" topic pretty much to death now anyhow.
- John