SACD player upgrade below $1,500

Discussion in 'Audio Hardware' started by deniss, Jun 12, 2018.

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  1. F1nut

    F1nut Forum Resident

    Location:
    The Mars Hotel
    I was waiting for someone to bring that up....lol

    The issue with the Yamaha isn't the sound quality, it's the reliability.
     
    lonelysea and scobb like this.
  2. lonelysea

    lonelysea Ban Leaf Blowers

    Location:
    The Cascades
    Absolutely. And while the sound quality is excellent, the reliability issues I’ve had are surely worth mentioning. Conversely, the Marantz unit F1 mentions doesn’t have balanced XLR outputs, which can be a real stumbling block for some enthusiasts.
     
    F1nut likes this.
  3. soundboy

    soundboy Senior Member

    Within the past 24 hours, Pioneer has unveiled the UDP-LX500. Very few details are known about the UDP-LX500, but many expected it to be a successor to the US market Pioneer Elite BDP-LX55 (if I remember correctly, MSRP $1,000) and BDP-LX88 (I think this model's MSRP was $2,000). Not sure if this new Pioneer will be offered in the US. Stay tuned.
    [​IMG]
     
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  4. soundboy

    soundboy Senior Member

    But is the DCD-1600NE an authorized US product? More info on the Denon....

    DCD-1600NE | High Quality Super Audio CD Player

     
  5. scobb

    scobb Forum Resident

    Location:
    Sydney, Australia
    F1nut likes this.
  6. F1nut

    F1nut Forum Resident

    Location:
    The Mars Hotel
    Bill Mac and George P like this.
  7. NorthSky

    NorthSky Active Member

    Check with your local AV store what they can get in your price range, below $1,500, and write them all down. Then read all the reviews from reviewers you only trust.
    Only you knows best, only us knows best. Pioneer makes universal players.
     
  8. scobb

    scobb Forum Resident

    Location:
    Sydney, Australia
    Apparently Arcam sell well in Japan where there is still a high demand for SACD players.
     
  9. bruce2

    bruce2 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Connecticut, USA
    Is Arcam sold in the U.S.? I can't think of any big retailers like Music Direct that sell them...
     
  10. F1nut

    F1nut Forum Resident

    Location:
    The Mars Hotel
    They have quite a few dealers in the US including Magnolia/Best Buy......way bigger than MD.
     
    bruce2 likes this.
  11. NorthSky

    NorthSky Active Member

    Sony is also supporting SACD.
    And last year for the first time ever, DVD-audio.
    I just had to buy one, for that. I couldn't pass, only $149 brand new on sale.
    http://www.trustedreviews.com/reviews/sony-ubp-x800
    Sony UBP-X800 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Player Review
    It's not an ultra high end player, it's a universal 4K Blu-ray player with streaming and DSD files playback machine. It's a musical machine, not for looking @ it...it doesn't even have a front panel display. It's digital all the way too, no analog output; so you need a high end pre/pro with HDMI and digital coaxial.
    ___

    Esoteric too make SACD players; a little more money than Sony budget universal player.
    They are bigger too, and a little fancier looking. ...With a front display and analog connectors. ...But not $150 brand new. And you can look @ them (pretty) while listening to music on SACD and CD. ...All in glorious hi-fi stereo.
     
    Last edited: Jun 22, 2018
    4_everyman likes this.
  12. McIntosh is supposedly coming with a SACD player as well.
     
  13. TomMad

    TomMad Forum Resident

    Location:
    Wroclaw, Poland
    From what I know, Arcam CDS27 is on BB PCM1794 chip - it does not natively reproduce DSD (it is converted to PCM)

    Denon player you can play the recorded dsd files on DVD-RW discs
     
  14. KeithH

    KeithH Success With Honor...then and now

    Location:
    Beaver Stadium
    Thanks. Good to know.
     
  15. KeithH

    KeithH Success With Honor...then and now

    Location:
    Beaver Stadium
    Thanks for the info. The new player isn't labeled Elite, but it looks solid. Here's hoping it will be available in the U.S.
     
    soundboy likes this.
  16. bruce2

    bruce2 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Connecticut, USA
  17. soundboy

    soundboy Senior Member

    The "Elite" moniker is only used in the US (North America?). The photo of the new model was from an overseas website.
     
  18. fortherecord

    fortherecord Senior Member

    Location:
    Rochester, NY
    Used Pioneer Elite universal players are plentiful.
     
  19. KeithH

    KeithH Success With Honor...then and now

    Location:
    Beaver Stadium
    Thanks. I was wondering about the origin of the photo.
     
  20. KeithH

    KeithH Success With Honor...then and now

    Location:
    Beaver Stadium
    Interesting. Seems a bit low for an Arcam SACD player. It could be a steal at that price.
     
    The Beave and soundboy like this.
  21. mds

    mds Forum Resident

    Location:
    PA
    The theory of 2X may make sense if you never plan on upgrading your speakers, however my guess is everything is game for an upgrade somewhere along the line.
     
  22. CraigVC

    CraigVC Senior Member

    Location:
    Portland, OR
    Below $1,500? Interesting!
     
    warp2600 likes this.
  23. soundboy

    soundboy Senior Member

    And I am surprised my local Best Buy/Magnolia Hi-Fi is an authorized dealer (based on Arcam's website).
     
  24. bruce2

    bruce2 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Connecticut, USA
    I thought it seemed a bit low too. Maybe Arcam is over-hyping the player and the quality isn't that great?
     
  25. deniss

    deniss Well-Known Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Princeton, NJ, USA
    After weighing all the information, opinions, and available reviews, I purchased the Denon DCD-1600NE SACD/CD player. While many complain that it lacks in some popular features in this price range, this is not an issue for me at all.

    Sound-wise, I absolutely love the character of this player. Tonight is the first evening I hooked it up and started listening, and I have been blown away. It's like the veil has been lifted from my musical experiences with my stereo system. Listening to Miles Davis' "Kind of Blue" on Mobile Fidelity SACD was perhaps the most telling. It's really the first time I've truly heard this record and heard the beautiful music that it is. Piano now sounds like piano and not like a soapbox. The horns are airy, spacious, and multidimensional, not harsh at all. There's depth, separation, and natural balance. The bass is very natural, with an excellent balance of warmth and precision (no muddy mess). On Kevin Eubanks' "Zen Food", the drum details blew me away -- every tiny touch on the symbals or hi-hats propagated precisely and with the correct restraint without smear. This recording always sounded muffled and muddy to me before, and now that veil has also been lifted. The resolution is stunning. To me, this is a very soulful disc player -- faithful and precise but also very musical and warm in reproduction. I also find this player pretty forgiving on albums where recording quality is not world-class.

    Build quality is phenomenal. Made in Japan. The unit has nice heft and size to it. The Buttons on the front panel have a satisfying feel. The loading tray has some type of grippy rubberized coating on it and has a quality feel to it. The transport mechanism is silent. The read/load time is around 5 seconds. I really like the remote also: its has a brushed aluminum face, and decent size buttons.

    To sum up, I am a happy camper so far! I hope reliability will be as flawless as the apparent quality so far. This player is making sweet, sweet music and seems to have a very nice synergy with my Klipsch RF-7 II speakers.

    Thank you all for your help and for chiming in with your opinions and suggestions. To be sure, I evaluated and researched each suggestion during my search.
     
    Aemilius Pius, caupina, scobb and 6 others like this.
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