Thread: SACD/DSD compatible receivers

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Post by draheim December 5, 2014 (1 of 11)
Greetings all, new member here. I've got an old Sony STR-DA1ES receiver and DVP-NS755V DVD/SACD player that I've used to play my SACDs for years. This system has worked fine for my purposes, but it's not HDMI compatible and I've been noticing some audio pops and clicks lately which I think are probably coming from the receiver. My wife bought me a Sony STR-DN1050 receiver for my birthday, and it claims to be DSD compatible but I'm not sure (I've seen stuff about conversion to PCM, and what I'm hoping to find is a straight DSD output without conversion). She just kind of picked this receiver at random (I didn't even tell her I was in the market for a new receiver), so we can still return it if we find a better option.

So my question is, is there a verified list of present-day receivers that support native SACD/DSD playback (without converting to PCM)? I haven't found anything definitive, but figured this forum would be as good a place to ask as anywhere. If I find a suitable receiver and decide to go ahead with this upgrade, I'm probably going to get an Oppo BDP-103 in case that helps or matters.

Thanks!

Post by Marpow December 5, 2014 (2 of 11)
I love my McIntosh MVP891, analog or HDMI. $6000.00 price tag, plays all, Blu Ray, etc. They do sell a SACD only player might be cheaper?

Post by draheim December 5, 2014 (3 of 11)
Are you saying there's a standalone SACD player that doesn't go through the receiver? If so how does information (music) get from the disc to the speakers? Sorry if this is dumb question or if I'm misunderstanding.

I should also clarify, I'm not looking to spend much at all on this system. I know the sky can be the limit on components etc. but it's not worth (to me) spending more than $1k total, not including any potential speaker upgrades...

Post by soundboy December 5, 2014 (4 of 11)
Pioneer VSX-1124....uses same DAC as Oppo 105

http://www.soundandvision.com/content/pioneer-vsx-1124-av-receiver

If you are in the US, available at your local Best Buy for as low as $400.00 (when on sale)

Post by cordobaman December 5, 2014 (5 of 11)
My Marantz SR6009 plays pure DSD in stereo and multichannel via bitstream output from my UD5005 universal player. Also plays stereo DSD via network streaming of dsf files, and with USB flash drives plugged into the front port. I really like it.

Post by draheim December 5, 2014 (6 of 11)
What about the Sony DVPS7200? It appears to support SACD/DSD, and could connect to the STR-DN1050.

This raises another question though. I see that the STR-DN1050 has separate HDMI inputs for Blu-ray and SACD/CD. But if the BD/SACD player has only one HDMI output (as the DVPS7200 does), which input would I connect it to?

The Oppo has two HDMI outputs, so maybe this isn't an issue for that one.

Again, sorry if this is a dumb question. My current SACD/CD player has analog out to the receiver (which doesn't have HDMI), and my Blu-ray player has optical out to the receiver for audio and HDMI out to the TV for video.

Post by bmoura December 5, 2014 (7 of 11)
draheim said:

So my question is, is there a verified list of present-day receivers that support native SACD/DSD playback (without converting to PCM)? I haven't found anything definitive, but figured this forum would be as good a place to ask as anywhere. If I find a suitable receiver and decide to go ahead with this upgrade, I'm probably going to get an Oppo BDP-103 in case that helps or matters.

Thanks!

I haven't seen a list of DSD receivers on the Internet. But there is a good list of DSD DACs available in the DSD Database (which also lists DSD playback software, DSD download sites, various DSD resources, etc.)

It's a Google spreadsheet at https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AgVhKcl_3lHfdFVyenBBNjNpQ2lieG81WGpqQTNfVUE#gid=0

Post by Disbeliever December 5, 2014 (8 of 11)
All Sony receivers convert to PCM. as far as I am aware : from Sony Technical EU .

The Sony STR-DA5400ES uses the full resolution of the DSD signal (32 bit) from input filtering through to processing the signal, then and only then does the amplifier at the final stage convert to PCM This way you can ensure the full resolution of the DSD signal can be fully utilised. OTH Tim Vine- Lot Air Studios (Pioneer) says this" is not only misleading but blatantly incorrect " ?

Post by Yoropiko1 December 6, 2014 (9 of 11)
You are in the unfortunate situation that your current SACD player has only 5.1 output analog connections and no HDMI, where as your new receiver has HDMI inputs and no 5.1 input analog connections.

Given that your SACD player is quite old and you have a shiny new receiver, it might be better for you to invest in a cheap Sony Blu ray player to replace your current player. Ensure it has SACD playback via HDMI( most do ) and connect it to your receiver. You can then set the new player to internally convert the DSD to PCM at 176.4Khz 24Bit and send that to your new receiver. You will be forced to do this anyway as your receiver will not accept a DSD bitstream over HDMI.

The Oppo of course can also be used this way ( but will convert DSD to PCM at 88.2Khz 24Bit ), but its a much costlier option than the Sony Blu ray players and is perhaps only worth considering if you plan to use the additional features, such as DVD Audio Playback which the Sony lacks. Sound quality wise you are unlikely to hear any difference bitstreaming PCM from the Oppo or the Sony.

Bear in mind that purchasing a new Sony Blu Ray player will also allow you to playback Blu rays as well as DVDs, and your new receiver will be able to decode those DTS Master Audio and Dolby True HD soundtracks too ^ _ ^

Post by Disbeliever December 7, 2014 (10 of 11)
Via HDMI I found the Sony BDP 1000ES player sounds far better than the Oppo 93 with a far more natural picture for SACD I prefer the Sony XA5400ES no longer available in the UK.

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