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SACD question

Kgveteran

Kgveteran

Active Member
Hello, im interested in a SACD player, my budget is about $350 but i have a question.

Some players are DVD players also, to which i dont really need, its a 2.0 music system, is there any real difference i will notice in a SACD player that plays CD’s and DVD’s, and a Player that is only SACD/CD…..

Thank you
 
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Kgveteran said:
Hello, im interested in a SACD player, my budget is about $350 but i have a question.

Some players are DVD players also, to which i dont really need, its a 2.0 music system, is there any real difference i will notice in a SACD player that plays CD’s and DVD’s, and a Player that is only SACD/CD…..

Thank you
Click to expand...
If you are connecting said player to your 2.0 music system via analog outputs from the player, then any sonic difference will mostly be a function of the quality of the analog section in that player. It really depends on the specific players you are deciding on.
 
ok ok if you insist, jeezaloo

not going to get into a long story here, only that I was underwhelmed for yrs with CD playback until stepping up into $1000 decks.

Did I pay that much? Hell no, $80 each, if patient these can still be had cheap, $120 if not willing to wait.

Sony DVP NS900V, recently saw one sell on eBay for $45, mine are both black
sony900v.gif

Sony DVP NS999ES, I have one in silver, these are harder to find as cheap due to being part of the ES line
x158dvp999s-f_LD.jpeg

looks good with my vintage silver stack bedroom system
20211120_193401.jpg
 
Grenadeslio said:
ok ok if you insist, jeezaloo

not going to get into a long story here, only that I was underwhelmed for yrs with CD playback until stepping up into $1000 decks.

Did I pay that much? Hell no, $80 each, if patient these can still be had cheap, $120 if not willing to wait.

Sony DVP NS900V, recently saw one sell on eBay for $45, mine are both black
View attachment 2461983

Sony DVP NS999ES, I have one in silver, these are harder to find as cheap due to being part of the ES line
View attachment 2461984

looks good with my vintage silver stack bedroom system
View attachment 2461988
Click to expand...

Thanx so much, jeezaloo really got a laugh out of me :0)
 
Is there more to be had sonically if i bump up my budget to $500, possibly just a build quality improvement.

i own a Parasound Hint6 and the DAC did miracles for my Sonos Port, i use for Pandora background music.

can SACD signals be passed to a DAC, or the DAC needed is in the deck.

Decks and DAC’s Lol
 
Kgveteran said:
Is there more to be had sonically if i bump up my budget to $500, possibly just a build quality improvement.

i own a Parasound Hint6 and the DAC did miracles for my Sonos Port, i use for Pandora background music.

can SACD signals be passed to a DAC, or the DAC needed is in the deck.

Decks and DAC’s Lol
Click to expand...

A SACD capable player can only transmit the DSD bitstream of a SACD using a HDMI (version 1.2 and above) output....and I doubt your Parasound has a HDMI input.
 
soundboy said:
A SACD capable player can only transmit the DSD bitstream of a SACD using a HDMI (version 1.2 and above) output....and I doubt your Parasound has a HDMI input.
Click to expand...
You are correct, i have been looking at Oppo 103’s, any thoughts on this
 
Kgveteran said:
You are correct, i have been looking at Oppo 103’s, any thoughts on this
Click to expand...

An Oppo universal player would expand the variety of recording formats that you can play, to include Blu-ray audio/video. The Oppo units with a model # that ends with “5” have “audiophile-grade” DACs and analog circuitry built-in (i.e., UDP-205, BDP-105, BDP-95.)

FWIW - for the classical music that I love, there are many modern Blu-ray recordings available.

What genres of music do you like?

The genres of music will determine which digital formats are relevant:
  • CD (stereo only)
  • DVD (stereo and 5.1)
  • DVD-Audio (stereo and 5.1)
  • SACD (stereo and 5.1)
  • Blu-ray (DTS-HD MA 5.1, plus stereo track, and sometimes additional audio tracks)
  • Pure Audio Blu-ray (DTS-HD MA 5.1, plus stereo track, and sometimes additional audio tracks)
  • Ultra HD Blu-ray (DTS-HD MA 5.1, plus stereo track, and sometimes additional audio tracks)
  • Hi-res downloads
    • 24bit/192kHz PCM (stereo and 5.1)
    • Hi-res DSD (stereo and 5.1)
  • Additionally, a universal player may be able to support streaming (e.g., internet radio, Spotify, etc.)
Following are just a few examples of resources for hi-res recordings. (FWIW, I often buy Blu-ray and SACD discs from amazon.)
Once you’ve made an informed decision about the formats you want to employ, and if you’ve made your decision about stereo vs. surround-sound (e.g., 5.1), you can narrow your search for a player.

Given your $500 budget, my advice is to buy a good-quality player with built-in DACs and analog audio outputs. This will avoid the issues and expense associated with an outboard DAC.

If you want to be able to play Blu-ray, then consider an Oppo BDP-95 or BDP-105. (I own both, plus the UDP-205.) I have no experience with the following units that you might research: Sony UBP-X1100ES, Sony UBP-X1000ES, Yamaha AVENTAGE BD-A1060, and probably others.

If you do NOT want Blu-ray, but only CD and SACD, then others have suggested CD/SACD players that have built-in DACs. If you haven’t already done so, I suggest that you google: “SACD player site:audiokarma.org”
 
I know that early SACD players ONLY did analog out. Sony/Philips tried to make it impossible to rip SACDs. I believe you can play an SACDs over HDMI to a receiver that can decode DSD. But don't quote me on that. I bought a Sony Blu-Ray player that does SACD and has analog outs.

I know some Sony DVD players would play SACD and only had HDMI out on them.

You can often find Sony DVD players with SACD playback in thrift stores for $10 or less. It's a cheap way to get into SACD.

SACDs are a huge PITA to rip. I much prefer Blu-Ray audio, if I am buying something hi-res.
 
Grenadeslio said:
ok ok if you insist, jeezaloo

not going to get into a long story here, only that I was underwhelmed for yrs with CD playback until stepping up into $1000 decks.

Did I pay that much? Hell no, $80 each, if patient these can still be had cheap, $120 if not willing to wait.

Sony DVP NS900V, recently saw one sell on eBay for $45, mine are both black
View attachment 2461983

Sony DVP NS999ES, I have one in silver, these are harder to find as cheap due to being part of the ES line
View attachment 2461984

looks good with my vintage silver stack bedroom system
View attachment 2461988
Click to expand...

That Sony DVP NS900V looks really nice in silver.
 
And I need to point out, if you're buying a used unit, make sure you get the remote. Finding a used remote can be expensive as all hell.I bought a used Sony CDp-950 for $100 a few years ago. It did not come with a remote. It took me over 2 years to find a remote that cost less than $60.00. Yes, I could have used a universal remote. And I had one. But there were buttons on the stock remote that the universal remote could not do.

If you're getting it from a thrift store for $10.00, then it's not that big a deal. But if you're paying $100 for one off of eBay, make sure it has a remote.
 
I got my Sony C555ES (5 cd changer) for free, I was lucky, the old owner wanted to get old stuff out of his house that didn't work. He also gave me a Kenwood basic c1 preamp. I fixed both in less than an hr. The cd player only needed a new belt for the tray. It is huge, super heavy, and inside it has super quality parts. All audio grade caps in there. I recommend it highly.
 
Kgveteran said:
Is there more to be had sonically if i bump up my budget to $500, possibly just a build quality improvement.

i own a Parasound Hint6 and the DAC did miracles for my Sonos Port, i use for Pandora background music.

can SACD signals be passed to a DAC, or the DAC needed is in the deck.

Decks and DAC’s Lol
Click to expand...
Yes via HDMI to your DAC. I have a Sony UBP-X800M2 purchased to play stereo SACDs via HDMI to my Marantz NR1200 Receiver’s DAC. It sounds great and the pair of components was less than $1000. Unfortunately your Parasound does not have an HDMI input so you would need to take a route like I did. BTW I have a Parasound P6 and honestly it’s DAC sounds no better than the one in my Marantz or OPPO-205.
 
Kgveteran said:
You are correct, I have been looking at OPPO 103’s, any thoughts on this
Click to expand...

I`ve been most pleased with my 10 yr. old 103, though, it`s stored in my closet as a backup player, only reason was it was not a true 4K player (up sampled), and I had upgraded my HT projector to a HQ Sony digital 4K one several yrs. after I purchased the 103.
So I decided to replace the 103 with a 203 OPPO.
The 103 played quite a few SACD/DDD and regular CDs/BluRay Pure Audio/K 2 music optical discs while installed in my A/V rack, and sounded wonderful to all ears that heard it..
I can`t say for sure if the 203 sounds any better playing the same recordings than the 103 connected the same way, as I ran both player`s outputs: analog & S/PDIF coax & HDMI audio output only (103 menu selectable for the # 2 HDMI output jack) connected the same way when in use for various whole house distributed audio and HT requirements.

If you can find a clean and attractively priced 103 available, I would believe you would be happy with it`s build and audio performance.

Good luck, Kgveteran
 
Also have a 103 used for HT duty. Just don't expect magic from its somewhat opaque 5532 op amp based output stage. ;)
 
Kgveteran said:
Ok, seller accepted my offer the BDP103 is on its way, the price was right and seems it will do more than i need, with room to grow, thanx for all your advice and very thorough replies!!!!!
Click to expand...

If you ever do want to rip SACDs to play from a server, the BDP 103 is one of the few players with the right chipset to allow you to do this. It’s still a hack and a complicated PITA, but it’s possible. That’s why I bought mine.
 
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