Good cheap SACD/CD player

bansheesho

I might be looking to add a SACD/CD player to my system (after the center channel). I really don't have a huge physical music collection, and my gear is mainly used for HT, but I would like to be able to play some higher quality music..

Can anyone recommend a good SACD player new/used doesn't really matter to me, if I can pick up something better used thats great.. What should I look out for when buying one or what features should I keep an eye out for. Are certain brands better than others.. are ones that are dedicated SACD players better than ones that are combined with a bluray or dvd player?

Thanks for the help

bansheesho

Any thoughts on the Sherwood Newcastle SD-871? There is one in the market place now for well within my price range (if its still available).. there is also a denon 2900 and a denon 2910 in my area on CL

polkfarmboy

Sacd sounds great and it can get crazy awesome so all the cheaper ones will sound similar from the few I have heard. Try a cheap model then go demo a more expensive model like a marantz so you know what to save up for

bansheesho

Will the Sherwood automatically play the SACD track on a hybrid sacd? I am completely new to SACD..

decal

Look for a Marantz SA-8100. $400-$500. Check Google for the stellar reviews.

dragon1952

I'd stay away from the Sherwood. Plenty of super cheap good ones show up on Audiogon if you have patience.

dekuda

bansheesho wrote: »

I might be looking to add a SACD/CD player to my system (after the center channel). I really don't have a huge physical music collection, and my gear is mainly used for HT, but I would like to be able to play some higher quality music..

Can anyone recommend a good SACD player new/used doesn't really matter to me, if I can pick up something better used thats great.. What should I look out for when buying one or what features should I keep an eye out for. Are certain brands better than others.. are ones that are dedicated SACD players better than ones that are combined with a bluray or dvd player?

Thanks for the help

I have a nice Sony 5 disc unit that is in storage that I would be willing to sell you.I can provide the model later if interested. The few sacd's that I played(pink floyd,wall and stones hot rocks) sounded great.What is your price range you were looking at when you said cheap?

pietro944

I'm using the Pioneer DV-610AV-S......Dvd,Sacd,Dvd-A,DIVX.....Also plays Pal discs and is all region compatible.(I buy a lot of British crime dramas,which are in PAL and or NTSC.........$105 bucks on Amazon,has worked flawlessly over the last year.....peter

F1nut

Are certain brands better than others..

That's the case for all audio gear.

are ones that are dedicated SACD players better than ones that are combined with a bluray or dvd player?

You bet.

decal wrote: »

Look for a Marantz SA-8100. $400-$500. Check Google for the stellar reviews.

Solid recommendation. There's one on Audiogon right now.

teekay0007

bansheesho, I was in the exact same spot a few years ago that you are in now in regard to SACD players. I was looking for an inexpensive one to test the waters. I looked around at some in my price range and did a lot of reading (mostly of owners' reviews) online and finally picked up a Sony SCD-CE595. In general, I've never been a big fan of Sony electronics, but the reviews were consistently excellent across the board and I thought I'd give it a shot. The average ratings (TONS of ratings on Google) were about 4.5 out of 5 stars and that seems to be skewed very low, so I'd suggest you actually read through several reviews. Several people that rated the player below 4 or 5 stars - some as low as 2 stars! - had that they didn't like that the remote control didn't have a power button on it as their ONLY gripe. This can be worked around by always leaving its power button pushed in and plug it into the "switched" AC outlet on the back of your receiver. Then when the receiver is powered on, it comes on too.

I got a used one at that time in great shape for under $100 and couldn't be more pleased with my purchase! In fact, I was so pleased with it that I bought another of the same unit last year when I was setting up my second system. I thought that my second one would be an Oppo, or something similar, but I found absolutely no reason to change, especially at the price. Haven't had one problem with either player with near-daily use.

It is a 5-disc carousel so you don't have to keep changing discs every time you turn around. You can also be loading discs while it's playing another disc. Easy to program and is very remote responsive. It also works perfectly with both my Onkyo AVR remotes.

It plays both SACDs and CDs and sounds cleaner than any other player I've owned over many years.

It has an alpha-numeric printout on the front that tells you what disc/song it's playing. It senses automatically if the disc is an SACD, a CD, or a hybrid and plays them accordingly. It plays hybrids in SACD mode unless told to play in CD mode.

It has analog output for SACD/CD and digital optical output for CD.

This model was made until 2005 or 2006, I think. Currently, there are two that appear to be in very good-to-excellent condition listed on ebay for about $60 (plus S/H) that I wouldn't hesitate for one minute to buy if I were in the market. I don't know if either one includes the remote or not, but someone else has NEW model-specific remotes listed for $18 + $4 S/H (keep in mind that your receiver's remote might work fine for it). Also, ALL remote functions can be carried out by using the buttons/dial on the front of the unit.

The one ebay seller that has this unit listed for $180+S/H says that it cost him "well over $1000 in 2005" - don't know if that's true (doubtful).

Hope this helps - good luck.

bansheesho

When people say that one SACD player sounds better than another what causes that? I don't doubt that it is true, but what part of the player makes the difference? Thinking it through logically one would think that the signal comming off of a digital source should be the same reguardless of it being read by a crappy unit or a really nice one... Is it the dac inside the unit? If it is, how would the dac inside my sc-25 compare to the ones in sacd players? Lets say I got both a crappy one and a nice one and hooked both up over optical or hdmi... would they sound identicle? Wouldn't they then be using my sc-25 as the dac? But if hooked up with rca would they then be using the sacd players dac?

drselect

You could start with this ($59.99 including shipping, price will show when added to cart)
http://www.store.sony.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10551&storeId=10151&langId=-1&productId=8198552921666291828&XID=A:4328635:CJ&ref=http://www.dealsofamerica.com/deals/search.php
Than buy a bunch of SACDs. See if you like it and then move up the food chain.

chumlie

pietro944 wrote: »

I'm using the Pioneer DV-610AV-S......Dvd,Sacd,Dvd-A,DIVX.....Also plays Pal discs and is all region compatible.(I buy a lot of British crime dramas,which are in PAL and or NTSC.........$105 bucks on Amazon,has worked flawlessly over the last year.....peter

+1 for an inexspensive player

deronb1

There are some really cheap Sony SACD players that sound pretty good. I found a 5 disc SACD changer on ebay for 50 bucks. Well reviewed and really can't do much better for the price. I am not a huge fan of Sony in most things but their CD/SACD players are VERY good for the price. They are reliable and sound good for the money.

decal

Sony SCD-CE595

Another excellent recommendation. I use one in my second system.Not as good as my Marantz SA-8001 but, damn fine for the money.

bansheesho

How would I properly hook the Sony SCD-CE595 up to my reciever? I noticed that the sony has front l/r, surround l/r, center and sub outputs... it looks like there is a 7.0 multi-channel in on the back of my reciever looks like l/r front, l/r center, l/r surround, l/r rear surround, but no sub? There are also a multitude of just l/r input sets.. would I just go front l/r on the sony to l/r on the cd input on my sc-25?

teekay0007

bansheesho, on the spec's on your receiver listed here: http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/PUSA/Home/AV-Receivers/Elite+Receivers/SC-25 it says, under the Connectivity tab you have 7.1 multi-channel input. That which you are calling "l/r center" is your center and sub inputs.

ken brydson

Right here....

http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?130504-Sony-SCD-C2000ES

bansheesho

I don't think I will be buying a player right away... But the Sony ones seem to be right in my target range of less than $100.. there are a few on ebay right now for $75ish shipped and they are cd changers which is an added bonus.

Another question .... How relevant do you feel the sacd format will be in the future? I am kind of debating if it would be better to start a nice high quality digital library on a hard drive instead...

PSOVLSK

I'm obviously a little biased towards the Sherwood since it's mine, but it's been a great first step into SACD for me. I've never a had a single issue with it. I'd still be happy to use it, but wanted to consolidate my SACD/Blu-ray. For $75 bucks, you can't go wrong.

Here's another option: http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?125658-Sony-DVP-CX985V-400-DVD-Changer-Does-SACD!

bansheesho

What would be the smarter way to go? It looks like sacd and hd flac albums cost about the same... What would be needed to make hd flac sound good? Can I stream it straight to the receiver or do I need other components?

F1nut

But the Sony ones seem to be right in my target range of less than $100..

I realize we all start somewhere and I think it's great that you want to experience SACD, but in that price bracket don't expect to hear angels singing sweet nothings in your ear, so stop worrying about which one to buy, just take that first step.

steveinaz

For "super budget" CD and SACD it's hard to beat Sony offerings, but I agree with F1Nut, why not bump it up a few notches so you can really appreciate the improvements.

billbillw

I had terrible luck with the Sherwood and the Sony SCD-CD595. The Sherwood was DOA, the Sony was a refub and had issues. Sent it back 3 times, each time came back with issues. I finally cancelled.

Personally, if you want SACD, I'd find a used universal player like one of the Oppos that plays SACD, or one of the Denon, Pioneer, or Marantz DVD/SACD players that were on the market about 6-8 years ago. They can be had fairly cheap on the used market and are better build than some of the ultra low price SACD garbage players. I've had good experience with the Denon 2900, 3930ci, and the Yamaha S2300.

erniejade

bansheesho wrote: »

When people say that one SACD player sounds better than another what causes that? I don't doubt that it is true, but what part of the player makes the difference? Thinking it through logically one would think that the signal comming off of a digital source should be the same reguardless of it being read by a crappy unit or a really nice one... Is it the dac inside the unit? If it is, how would the dac inside my sc-25 compare to the ones in sacd players? Lets say I got both a crappy one and a nice one and hooked both up over optical or hdmi... would they sound identicle? Wouldn't they then be using my sc-25 as the dac? But if hooked up with rca would they then be using the sacd players dac?

correct it would be using the internal dac on the sc25.

cnh

A decent player in the less than 400 dollar range "new" is the Onkyo C-S5VL (has Wolfson DACs and does SACD). Are there better, sure. But "new" at this price? Good luck.

The Marantz--that's a used price, right? Also a great choice though!

cnh

bansheesho

Can someone give me a technical rundown on why more expensive sacd players sound better than inexpensive ones? What components inside make the difference?

billbillw

bansheesho wrote: »

Can someone give me a technical rundown on why more expensive sacd players sound better than inexpensive ones? What components inside make the difference?

Some or all of the following may apply to the more expensive units, but it is possible that none of these apply. Price is not always respective of sound quality.

-Better Power supply. This could be a combination of better transformer, better caps, better diodes. Linear supply is always better than switching mode.

-Better DACs, Usually the higher end DACs sound better, but there are exceptions. Also the implementation can be better (ie: dual or quad differential DACs provide better noise rejection).

-Better analog output section. This is almost always the biggest difference. How the signal is handled after is converted to analog (ie: everything after the DAC) is key to providing a smooth yet detailed sound. Some of the best players use a fully discrete output section or a tube output. Cheap models use low end op-amps. In the middle there can be some very nice sounding units that use a properly designed mid/high end opamp and quality parts.

-Better transport unit. This is usually only in the really high end models. They have more precise clocks, stable platters, etc. Less jitter coming off the digital source.

-Better case. This probably has the least to do with sound, but it does help. A solid case reduces vibrations and can clear up the sound.

There are probably a few other things that can come into play like upsampling which is an extra step before the DAC. This is usually only found in the higher end models. The upsampling only affects CD playback. Also HDCD decoding can help with certain CDs (only the ones that were encoded with HDCD).

bansheesho

How does the denon 2900 compare in these respects? There is one local on CL that I think I can pick up for around $100

bansheesho

http://www.hometheatersound.com/equipment/denon_dvd2900.htm

It looks like it has Burr-Brown 1790 24-bit/192kHz audio DACs

Also, it looks like it may have a bit better internal logic?

"Unlike many SACD players, the DVD-2900 uses a dedicated DSD decoder and does not convert DSD data to PCM. According to Denon, this allows the DVD-2900 to support the maximum potential of SACD"

It weighs about 20 lbs, and has a nice brushed aluminum finish..

It seems to be decent from the reviews I read.... I don't care about video playback at all..

Not sure where it stands in the other sections

billbillw

The 2900 would be a good start. It was my first SACD player. Just need to make sure the laser is still in good shape. I've owned two of the 2900 in the past. If you go look at it, take some CDs and perhaps an SACD to see if they play ok. After 8 years, the the laser might be getting weak if its seen a lot of hours. Good thing is that it is fairly cheap to replace if you know what you are doing. Loader belt also can be bad at this age. I replaced it in one of mine, easy job.