SACD player recommendations

TroyD

So, my trusty modded Sony SCD-555es has bit the dust. The laser is gone and that particular laser is made of unobtainium. There are lasers made of Chinesium....but they don't work. I've tried a couple of them. The sound lousy and they don't last more than a month or so.

I've got the F1 Top Fuel dragster modded Jolida CD player....but I have a number of SACD's and would like to listen to them.

So, I'm looking for recommendations.......because of parts and so forth, I'm leary of going really far back in terms of vintage for the reason above. Parts and Service. For example, there are a couple of MF Kw SACD players.....a stretch financially and if they break, what do I do? MF service has been hit or miss to say the least. There are a couple of Sony SCD-777es (one done up by ModWright) but, again, we are looking at players that are 20 years old.

Anyway, players in the last decade or so....what do you got. And, I'm just interested in how they sound playing SACD's. That's the only important consideration....

BDT

Emlyn

A Marantz SA-8004 or SA-8005 sounds fine to me with SACD. Looks like Marantz has discontinued disc spinners in that price range and standalone CD/SACD players now go for north of $2K.

rooftop59

Hmm...me thinks budget is kinda important here.

I loved my Marantz reference SA-14S1, but that’s a bit pricey...

TroyD

1500 or so, give or take is my wheelhouse....

rooftop59

https://www.audiogon.com/listings/lisaae51-marantz-sa-14s1-cd-sacd-player-sa14s1-pcm-1792-dac-remote-33281-cd-sacd-players

TMR tends to price on the high side, and this is a good bit more than I paid for mine, but it’s a great player.

Emlyn

Correction. Marantz discontinued the SA8005 and replaced it with the ND8006 but dropped the SACD drive from that model. Dumb move.

Denon still has one though: https://www.amazon.com/Denon-DCD-1600NE-Super-Audio-Player/dp/B07CBFXJW3/ref=sr_1_4?dchild=1&keywords=sacd+player&qid=1621867800&sr=8-4&th=1

billbillw

At this point, I'd rip them and stream. You can do this with some moderate computer skills and a $30 used Blu-ray player, and of course, a DSD capable DAC. I've done this with all my discs. I still fire up my SCD-333ES occasionally, but if/when that laser goes out, I'll be in a similar situation (except that I've already ripped mine).

LOOOOONG thread here: https://audiophilestyle.com/forums/topic/28569-sacd-ripping-using-an-oppo-or-pioneer-yes-its-true/
You will see in the beginning, it was only possible with some Oppo and a few others. Later, they discovered some mainstream Sony players that could do it. I have a BDP-S5100 that I grabbed for under $40 a few years back.

Otherwise, I'd try and find a Pioneer PD-D9 (either version, no real difference in the Mk2 other than color). They are pretty rare though. I had one for a few years and it was solid! Great build quality and very good sound. It had some pretty high end Wolfson DAC chips and the analog section was well excecuted. I think the laser is a bit more available too, but it has been a few years since I checked.

F1nut

rooftop59 wrote: »

https://www.audiogon.com/listings/lisaae51-marantz-sa-14s1-cd-sacd-player-sa14s1-pcm-1792-dac-remote-33281-cd-sacd-players

TMR tends to price on the high side, and this is a good bit more than I paid for mine, but it’s a great player.

I agree, it's a great player.

I noted in the ad description, "This SA-14S1 has an upgraded DAC chip installed, the Burr Brown PCM 1792 DAC chip, instead of the typical Cirrus Logic DAC chip." Who says it is an upgrade? The original DAC chip is excellent, IMO and one of the reasons the player sounds great. I wouldn't buy the one TMR is selling due to that.

TroyD

I hear you on the streaming thing.....but, call me old fashioned, I just want to slide the disc in a tray, hit play......

rooftop59

TroyD wrote: »

I hear you on the streaming thing.....but, call me old fashioned, I just want to slide the disc in a tray, hit play......

I'll just call you childless haha.

txcoastal1

rooftop59 wrote: »

TroyD wrote: »

I hear you on the streaming thing.....but, call me old fashioned, I just want to slide the disc in a tray, hit play......

I'll just call you childless haha.

That's what rubberband and squirt guns are for

rooftop59

obviously you can search audiogon, but I am wondering if anyone has heard this one?

https://www.audiogon.com/listings/lisaab9h-marantz-sa-11s2-cd-sacd-players

Also, you could just pull the laser from this one perhaps?!?

https://www.audiogon.com/listings/lisaa7gg-sony-scd-c555es-cd-sacd-player-scdc555es-32826-cd-sacd-players

Also, man good SACD players are NOT cheap...it actually isn't that much different from streamers. If you want a really good one you are going to pay out the hole...

Last idea. I am actually using my Sony UDP-x1000es universal player via hdmi out into my NAD M51 DAC, and it was very hard for me to discern a drop off in quality from the Marantz (the sony as a transport through the Marantz as a DAC using just redbox CDs [to be fair] was virtually impossible to distinguish). Might be able to upgrade the DAC and save some coin going that route...•

•I can't get DSD through the NAD, so there's that...

TroyD

I've thought about going the cannibalization route....which there is merit to, but, still, at the end of the day, you've got a 20 year old laser, made of unobtanium, that is prone to fail.....

Yes, good SACD players aren't cheap for sure. Right now, I'm looking at a Marantz SA-14s1, a Sony ModWright unit (XA5400ES) and a Cary 306........

BDT

BlueFox

I have the Sony XA5400ES, and while I haven't turned it on for over a year, it is a great player. It was the last TOTL SACD player Sony made.

Emlyn

This Sony Blu Ray player will play SACD and 4K video for cheap. Not sure how long it would work over HDMI. No analog outputs. The older and not so in demand Oppos will get the job done too.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07PFRDT16?pf_rd_r=EB9H0C93AGXMWA72BGAM&pf_rd_p=5ae2c7f8-e0c6-4f35-9071-dc3240e894a8&pd_rd_r=df3e141f-13f6-4451-a580-52b563788c81&pd_rd_w=QnQvL&pd_rd_wg=rM1M2&ref_=pd_gw_unk

pitdogg2

A carousel player? I thought F1nut taught you better.....

TroyD

Carousel, shmaro-sel.

The 555es was the heat. The only digital player I’ve heard I like better is F1’s kw player

GlennDog

TroyD wrote: »

Yes, good SACD players aren't cheap for sure. Right now, I'm looking at a Marantz SA-14s1, a Sony ModWright unit (XA5400ES) and a Cary 306........

BDT

If you think an OPPO-105 will check all the boxes . . . send me a PM

btw, What's the status with TroyFest?

TroyD

Hey man! I pulled the trigger on a Sony SCD XA5400es with ModWright upgrades. Tubes Rule.

The Oppo is a great player for sure, I have a 103 in the living room rig....and it's definitely a solid performer!

TroyFest is a thing. We are looking at the beginning of October. Stay tuned!

jdjohn

TroyD wrote: »

Carousel, shmaro-sel.

If you like carousels, then you would LOVE the Sony 400-disc player I have

Sony DVP-CX995V

I actually only used it to test the one SACD I own, and then put it away. I mean, geez, a person would have to create and print a hard-copy library of the discs loaded - DVD, CD, SACD.

GlennDog

TroyD wrote: »

Hey man! I pulled the trigger on a Sony SCD XA5400es with ModWright upgrades. Tubes Rule.

TroyFest is a thing. We are looking at the beginning of October. Stay tuned!

Congrats!
Post thoughts on the Sony/ModWright when ya get a chance . . .

TroyD

Will do!

dromunds

I have a XA5400ES was wondering how good the modwright mods were. They’re pricey new.

TroyD

Bring your player to PF and we can do a comparison!

skrol

What about a used Marantz UD5005 or its twin Denon DBP-1611UD? Internal DAC is the PCM1781 (24 bit/192KHz). They output DSD over the HDMI only. Might be able to find a nice DAC with HDMI input to handle the conversion or a receiver with a good DAC.

The Marantz UD7007 and its twin Denon DBP-2012UDCI use the PCM1795 (32 bit/192KHz) same deal with the DSD over HDMI only. These two add the full complement of analog outs compared to the two above which only that R&L analog out.

TroyD

You lost me at HDMI and receiver, lol.

Nope, just plain old 2 channel....and I'm not sure how that works with DAC's and decoding SACD's but, I've got a 2channel playa coming so we'll see how she goes.

guyincognito

The Bryston BDA3 is the only DAC I'm aware of that has HDMI inputs. I don't have an SACD player but when I was entertaining the idea I was pretty disappointed that the majority of players can only output DSD in digital form via HDMI making it very hard to use with an outboard DAC. The Bryston BDA3 was the only DAC I found with HDMI inputs that would allow you to use an SACD player as a transport. There may be other HDMI capable DACs but I have yet to stumble upon them.

rooftop59

guyincognito wrote: »

The Bryston BDA3 is the only DAC I'm aware of that has HDMI inputs. I don't have an SACD player but when I was entertaining the idea I was pretty disappointed that the majority of players can only output DSD in digital form via HDMI making it very hard to use with an outboard DAC. The Bryston BDA3 was the only DAC I found with HDMI inputs that would allow you to use an SACD player as a transport. There may be other HDMI capable DACs but I have yet to stumble upon them.

My NAD M51 has hdmi inputs and output but doesn’t process DSD. Since I have about 3 SACDs it doesn’t really matter to me...

skrol

In my main system, I'm presently using a Denon DVD-2910 to play CD, SACD and DVD-A. The SACD and DVD-A use the internal DAC and analog outputs to my Parasound pre. For CD I'm using the optical out to a Benchmark DAC1, which is pretty incredible.

My HT system has a Marantz UD5005 universal player passing everything via HDMI to a Marantz SR7010 since it has a better DAC.