Thread: Recommended SACD Players

Posts: 34
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Post by Spatny March 16, 2009 (1 of 34)
This is my first post so be gentle.

I am a complete newbie with SACD players

I am after a dedicated SACD player to play my classical hybrid SACD/ CDs. At the moment I am using a Pioneer DV 969 AV, which I find unsatisfactory. I will be playing mostly in 2 channels, but would like the option for multi channels. My budget is around £1000 ($1500 US ), but this can be more if there is an exceptional machine.

Many thanks in advance for any advice

Post by emaidel March 16, 2009 (2 of 34)
I purchased a Marantz SA-8001 2-channel SACD player about a year ago, and have rarely ever been so thoroughly satisfied with the purchase of a piece of audio gear. Stereophile magazine gave it a "Class-A Recommendation," which is something rarely ever given to anything without a multi-thousand dollar price tag. The 8001 sold for $900, and has been replaced by the SA-8003 for $1,000.

I don't know of any professional reviews on the 8003, but on a number of audio websites, owners have reported problems with a noisy tray, and the inability to get that fixed. Used 8001's are available for about $600, and, in my opinion, are an outright steal at that price. Last I looked, new 8001's were still available, and if you can find one, I'd highly recommend it. I found the CD performance of the player to be outstanding: all new life and clarity for my existing library of CD's, and still the ability to play SACD's (in 2-channel stereo only).

Post by Peter March 16, 2009 (3 of 34)
Spatny said:

This is my first post so be gentle.

I saw you elsewhere! Welcome. I'd recommend you try an Oppo but don't know anywhere in the UK which demonstrates. But what I would suggest is you take your machine to, for example, a Sevenoaks branch (my local in Kingston has a listening room and pleasant staff) and if you're in SW London, Infidelity, and compare with other players till you hear something you like. Try Denon, Marantz and Arcam, as well as a decent Sony.

Post by Kutyatest March 16, 2009 (4 of 34)
Spatny said:

This is my first post so be gentle.

I am a complete newbie with SACD players

I am after a dedicated SACD player to play my classical hybrid SACD/ CDs. At the moment I am using a Pioneer DV 969 AV, which I find unsatisfactory. I will be playing mostly in 2 channels, but would like the option for multi channels. My budget is around £1000 ($1500 US ), but this can be more if there is an exceptional machine.

Many thanks in advance for any advice

I bought my very first SACD player (universal disc player actually) just over 2 years ago. Obviously perhaps, I'm unable to claim any real experience of other players, but I'm totally overjoyed with my Arcam DV137. I have also heard (and seen) the DV139 in action (although only at an Arcam demo), but by all accounts this is also an extremely impressive player of most disc formats.

The DV137 has now been discontinued, and some places are supposedly selling them off at £700.00. The original RRP was £1250.00. I play all music on my DV137 (CDs, SACDs, DTSCDs, DVD-As and DVD-Vs). I suppose it all comes down to our expectations and previous equipment, as to whether a player is better or not from what one has had before.

I would definately consider buying Arcam again, should/when the time comes. I would definately advise auditioning some players.

Post by fafnir March 16, 2009 (5 of 34)
Peter said:

I saw you elsewhere! Welcome. I'd recommend you try an Oppo but don't anywhere in the UK which demonstrates. But what I would suggest is you take your machine to, for example, a Sevenoaks branch (my local in Kingston has a listening room and pleasant staff) and if you're in SW London, Infidelity, and compare with other players till you hear something you like. Try Denon, Marantz and Arcam, as well as a decent Sony.

The OPPO 980H is a fabulous machine at a bargain price, but I have have no knowledge of its distribution in the UK.

Post by hiredfox March 16, 2009 (6 of 34)
The current benchmark for SACD multi-channel replay is the brand new Sony XA5400ES retailing for £1130 from Amazon or SuperFi. It was tested by Hi Fi News in their March edition should you want to read about it. Good luck. There is a matching amp/processor and a 15 page discussion about it on this forum!!!!

Post by The Seventh Taylor March 16, 2009 (7 of 34)
I agree with hiredfox. The 5400 seems to fit the bill with analog stereo outputs and digital multichannel output (by choice in DSD or PCM) via HDMI.

The thread is here: /showthread/30517//y?page=first

Post by stvnharr March 16, 2009 (8 of 34)
Spatny said:

This is my first post so be gentle.

I am a complete newbie with SACD players

I am after a dedicated SACD player to play my classical hybrid SACD/ CDs. At the moment I am using a Pioneer DV 969 AV, which I find unsatisfactory. I will be playing mostly in 2 channels, but would like the option for multi channels. My budget is around £1000 ($1500 US ), but this can be more if there is an exceptional machine.

Many thanks in advance for any advice

Within your budget you could likely fit a fully modified Oppo, available from the UK agent for Vacuum State.
For a stock player, the Marantz 8001 or the new Sony would be okay, but a modified Oppo will give better performance, and I think still retain the mch option if you desire. The Marantz is a 2 channel player.

Post by Kal Rubinson March 16, 2009 (9 of 34)
stvnharr said:For a stock player, the Marantz 8001 or the new Sony would be okay, but a modified Oppo will give better performance, and I think still retain the mch option if you desire.
I hope I am not being too contentious here but is there any proof for that?

Kal

Post by rammiepie March 16, 2009 (10 of 34)
If I, personally, were to recommend any machine today, I would look at a Blu-Ray player with the capability of playing SACD, DVD-A, etc and for this simple reason. Hook up an inexpensive TV monitor to it and you will be able to play almost EVERYTHING and not worry about impending obsolescence. There are a plethora of new releases in blu-ray (operas, jazz, rock, etc) and you could press play (using the monitor) and have surround (or stereo) music without the picture in addition to playing all other formats. I would seriously consider the new (but unreleased) OPPO blu-ray. If you decide to upgrade along the way, it would make a great second machine, and its list price of $599 won't break the bank. A GREAT dedicated SACD player could run in the thousands (up to $70,000) and not have the capability of playing multi-channel. I'd wait for a review of the OPPO since it's supposed to be the beefiest and best-sounding in the OPPO line.

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