Last piece in my stereo puzzle . SACD Player..What is the good SACD player you heard

Sumerian

brianle wrote: »

You will need new speakers to take it to the next level, imo

You mean upgrade the speakers? its been just couple of years since I bought em...

and also from what I understood, anything beyond LSIM will not have linear returns for the money spent

tonyb

Sumerian wrote: »

..and also from what I understood, anything beyond LSIM will not have linear returns for the money spent

Seriously ?

That statement couldn't be more wrong. The speaker world is huge, and while Polk remains a good speaker, there are just too many other speaker makers out there that kick it up a good amount.

ZLTFUL

I am with Tony here. You put a set of LSiM703s toe to toe with a set of Magico Q1s for example, both "bookshelf" speakers, the LSiM703s will perform admirably but the Magicos are like Muhammad Ali in his prime versus some local boxing club's sparring specialist.

But then you are also comparing apples to goji berries there.

Point is, look at how many speaker manufacturers there are...then consider those that specialize in JUST high end speakers with no extraneous items like iPod docks or headphones or the like...their R&D budget gets laser focused on one thing and doing that thing exceptionally well. A company like Polk caters to many different levels of consumer while a company like Magico caters to the connoisseur. (Magico is just an example of one...not all possible options above the LSiMs price point that makes a statement that the LSiMs just can't)

tonyb

Not to beat you over the head with that statement, but speakers, coin for coin, are the one piece of gear that grants you the largest jumps in sound quality. Look, your thinking of spending 3g's for a SACD player, will that offer the jump in SQ over a 1g Oppo ? Maybe slightly...for 2g's more ?

If that's worth the 2g's to you, rock it. Speakers are no different, 2-3g's over what you spent on the LSIM's can buy a lot of speaker on the used markets over and above what the Polks have to offer in sound. If you look at many of the old timers here, many have moved up the food chain in speakers.

BlueFox

tonyb wrote: »

Seriously ?

That statement couldn't be more wrong. The speaker world is huge, and while Polk remains a good speaker, there are just too many other speaker makers out there that kick it up a good amount.

ZLTFUL wrote: »

I am with Tony here. You put a set of LSiM703s toe to toe with a set of Magico Q1s for example, both "bookshelf" speakers, the LSiM703s will perform admirably but the Magicos are like Muhammad Ali in his prime versus some local boxing club's sparring specialist.

But then you are also comparing apples to goji berries there.

Point is, look at how many speaker manufacturers there are...then consider those that specialize in JUST high end speakers with no extraneous items like iPod docks or headphones or the like...their R&D budget gets laser focused on one thing and doing that thing exceptionally well. A company like Polk caters to many different levels of consumer while a company like Magico caters to the connoisseur. (Magico is just an example of one...not all possible options above the LSiMs price point that makes a statement that the LSiMs just can't)

tonyb wrote: »

Not to beat you over the head with that statement, but speakers, coin for coin, are the one piece of gear that grants you the largest jumps in sound quality. Look, your thinking of spending 3g's for a SACD player, will that offer the jump in SQ over a 1g Oppo ? Maybe slightly...for 2g's more ?

If that's worth the 2g's to you, rock it. Speakers are no different, 2-3g's over what you spent on the LSIM's can buy a lot of speaker on the used markets over and above what the Polks have to offer in sound. If you look at many of the old timers here, many have moved up the food chain in speakers.

These guys are right about speakers, but it can get expensive. Nor would I spend 3k for an SACD player. A used Sony XA-5400ES with a Shunyata Alpha Digital power cable, and decent ICs to your pre is a much better $3k. Plus when you scrap the player for a file server and/or DAC you can still use the cables.

F1nut

Look, your thinking of spending 3g's for a SACD player, will that offer the jump in SQ over a 1g Oppo ? Maybe slightly...for 2g's more ?

The players he's considering are a significant jump over Oppo and the Sony XA-5400ES.

As for speakers, let the man get his rig squared away first. The 707's on quality gear are very good.

BlueFox

F1nut wrote: »

The players he's considering are a significant jump over Oppo and the Sony XA-5400ES.

Marantz is nice, but significant jump is false advertising. They do have an external digital input which is nice. When Modwright offers a Marantz upgrade then we know the stock unit is pretty good.

BlueFox

Apologies to the OP. This isn't the thread to debate SACD player capabilities. Anyway, in thinking about the $3k number, another option is the new Sony High-Res DSD file server/DAC product. Throw in the Shunyata Digital Alpha power cable and you have your $3k. Now you can download all the DSD files you want without needing an SACD player, plus play high res PCM files, and low res CD files. The best of all three worlds.

http://store.sony.com/hi-res-music-player-with-1tb-hdd-zid27-HAPZ1ES/cat-27-catid-All-Res-Audio?_t=pfm%3Dcategory

WLDock

Sumerian wrote: »

You mean upgrade the speakers? its been just couple of years since I bought em...
and also from what I understood, anything beyond LSIM will not have linear returns for the money spent

I'm sure you know thins but....Its pretty much an subjective opinion regarding the overall sound of speakers. Everyone's tastes are different....even in the same price range you might love one model but dislike another.

Some like ultra detailed, some like warmth, some like midbass slam, some like pinpoint imaging, some like open baffle or dipole, etc. Its all over the place.

F1nut

BlueFox wrote: »

Marantz is nice, but significant jump is false advertising. They do have an external digital input which is nice.

I don't know about false advertising as to the best of my knowledge Marantz hasn't advertised such a statement. The comment was my personal opinion.

When Modwright offers a Marantz upgrade then we know the stock unit is pretty good.

I suppose it's how one looks at it. Modwright offers mods on gear that are popular at the moment and will net noticeable gains from modification. Therefore, it could be said that the high end players from the likes of Marantz, Cary or Esoteric will not benefit from modification. It could also be that there isn't enough demand, which circles back around to the likelyhood that any modification would not net a noticeable gain.

WLDock

BlueFox wrote: »

Apologies to the OP. This isn't the thread to debate SACD player capabilities. Anyway, in thinking about the $3k number, another option is the new Sony High-Res DSD file server/DAC product. Throw in the Shunyata Digital Alpha power cable and you have your $3k. Now you can download all the DSD files you want without needing an SACD player, plus play high res PCM files, and low res CD files. The best of all three worlds.

http://store.sony.com/hi-res-music-player-with-1tb-hdd-zid27-HAPZ1ES/cat-27-catid-All-Res-Audio?_t=pfm%3Dcategory

I thought those units were very nice in person and got some good feedback from the sales guys as well as attendees at the show in Chi-town. Several rooms had them. Man! did...that Sony system with the $20K SS-AR-1 speakers and the Rogue Audio gear sound good. I'm mean from the top octave down to the bottom I was impressed. I want to hear them again.

pearsall001

F1nut wrote: »

Better how?

The making of a CD is a very complicated, complex process. It's not uncommon for the finished product to be missing some of it's musical information...(the 1's & O's). Now depending on how one goes about ripping their CD's can make all the difference. I've used dbPoweramp ripping to FLAC & also incorporated the Accurip program which can restore the missing 1's & O's. It does this by reading your CD for accuracy & if it's missing anything it searches for a perfect copy or as near perfect copy it can find. That is now the copy that is stored on your files. You now have a better copy than your original CD. That's why you'll hear guys say that their ripped copy sounds much better than their own CD. Technology is a wonderful thing.

F1nut

LOL......making a CD is a very simple process. Stamp, laminate, done.

txcoastal1

@ Pearsall
^^^^^There are CD players that accomplish the same thing. Rega is one as it actually players from a buffered state. When it loads it scans and set itself up and corrects.

tonyb

F1nut wrote: »

The players he's considering are a significant jump over Oppo and the Sony XA-5400ES.

As for speakers, let the man get his rig squared away first. The 707's on quality gear are very good.

I know Jess, just drawing parallels....especially regarding that statement I quoted.

As far as SACD players go, I might favor the Cary....only because I like their sound. Which to me is the difference in brands....their each individual "house sound". Finding that sound that blows your skirt up is the trick and various brands will continue that house sound threw out their line-up. Find the brand that suits you.

Sumerian

Damn I am starting to hate this Hobby :-)

What the hell ! no matter what..... you always have a weak link...
It is going in cycles all this started with a thought to have better speakers, so I upgraded from sony to polk and then to keep up, I started adding components one by one ... now I came back to speakers again :-)

I never had any addiction problems but this hobby is turning me upside down.....

WLDock

Sumerian wrote: »

If I have to upgrade my DAC I think I will go for PS Audio DirectStream ... Allegedly it will upstream every thing to DSD.

To throw more thought into the addiction...that was the DAC debuted with the $6K Emerald Physics system that I heard at the show. After hearing $20K-$200K rigs suprisingly that system really stood out in the crowd. I walked away really impressed by the sound and amazed by performance per dollar. The sound was very live and 3D like. I guess that DAC deserves a pat on the back.

Anyway, I guess I was not the only one impressed as that system awarded Best of Show Affordable system:
http://www.emeraldphysics.com/
http://parttimeaudiophile.com/2014/05/03/axpona-2014-emerald-physics-and-ps-audio-dazzles/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=246Jut8ApD0

Anyway, I never really understood how one can keep chasing sonic bliss in the home audio game. The upgrade path and wallet activity is never ending unless one settles in on a system and decides to be content and focus more on the music than gear. Well....for a little while at least.

WLDock

I guess PS Audio wants $3K for the upgrade kit to the DirectStream. Seems like a lot IMO. $2K seems more in line....I don't know...$6K DACs are waay out there.