Looking for a cheapish sacd compatable player in the uk

Hi guys,
As thread title suggests, I'd like to dip into the world of sacds. I have an arcam db88 but don't believe that plays sacd.
Any suggestions? I'm in the ukk

 

I was looking for a cheap CD player as I’ve missed it since I sold my Rega Apollo. SACD also peaked my interest, so I ordered a Yamaha bd-a1060 today. I intend to hook up to my Schiit Yggdrasil via coax for cd and use the Balanced XLR outputs directly into my Luxman amp for SACD. I think I have a few hybrid discs, but looking at eBay, they seem pretty expensive. Player was £429, indicating your budget always helps.

 

Oh, duh. Preferably 200 or so!

 

Sony UBP-X800 Smart 3D 4K UHD HDR Upscaling Blu-Ray/DVD Player with High Resolution Audio at John Lewis & Partners

Sony UDP -X800. There is a thread here about it. You would need HDMI or coaxial input on your amp. No phone connection

 

"Cheapish" SACD compatible players are still fairly easy to find so long as you don't mind it coming in the guise of a Blu-ray player. Also, be aware that some are only transports - i.e. digital outs with no analogue option. Also, some decode DSD to PCM before it reaches the speakers so it isn't always the "true" SACD signal. Further, surround layers from SACD will need a surround output option from the player, such as HDMI to surround compatible amp. Other than that, it's perfectly straight forward . Here goes:

£129 Sony UBPX500 (I think this is HDMI out only - best to double check)
£184 Sony UBPX700 (HDMIx2 out and 1 coax out)
£239 Sony UBPX800 (HDMIx2 out and 1 coax out)


For analogue out, the prices are in a different price bracket. Examples (there may well be others):

£ 725 Sony X1000ES (dig & analogue outs)
£ 999 Pioneer UDP-LX500 (dig & analogue outs)
£2,199 Pioneer UDP-LX800 (dig & analogue outs)

All of the above are reasonably easy to find from UK retailers - just google the product with "UK" on the end.

 

Thanks folks! Any others? Reluctant to get an hdmi one definitely don't have those connections! though no doubt could get a cable.

 

cheap Sacd players will only give you a small taste of what the format can offer & most hiend players start at £5,000+
well over your budget but fantastic machine Pioneer UDP-LX500 or get a good 2nd hand deck
Pioneer UDP-LX500 review | What Hi-Fi?

 

I think the cheapest dedicated SACD players are those from Marantz, Yamaha, or Denon, all of which are US $1,000-$1,300.

I’d stay away from the Arcam based on user reported playback issues.

 

Just to add another Yamaha to the list...

BD-S681 - Overview - Yamaha - UK and Ireland

At the time of posting, going for £269 at "Peter Tyson" (£380 elsewhere) in the UK.

 

I use the Pioneer DV868 Avi DVD player which was a £1kish player in its day. I got mine for £40!

 

What will you be connecting the SACD player to? Is it an analog preamp or an AVR/processor that has HDMI?

 

With your budget, if you want new, the Sony UBPX 700 seems the way to go. If you have a Richer Sounds nearby they can probably help with the cabling too, or advise on it.

 

Enjoying this player.

 

Does the OP have an AVR/processor with HDMI? If he doesn't then the Sony X700 will not be an option as there are no analog outputs. In order to help the OP he needs to post what he'll be connecting the player to.

Sony UBP-X700

 

I have a Sony Super Audio CD-Player
SCD-XE800 I bought new a few years back great little player, should be cheap now, Floyd.

 

I'll be connecting to an analog amp (akai) I don't have any digital connections on any of my stuff though I do have a fair bit of pro audio equipment kicking about.

 

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Your desire along with your remedy appears to be 'half measures'. If you have an sizable CD library then an better CD/SACD player is in order. Do not fall into that CD is dead.
IT IS OK to have different systems for music enjoyment. Those crying 'CD is dead' were just talking about the weather.

Oppps................ excuse me I have to turn the record on the turntable.

 

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Cheap SACD players will have you back here complaining about your [lack of] investment

 

Actually this didn’t pan out as they were on backorder and I got a refund. After a bit more thought I decided to get a player with 4K abilities, so I ended up with a Pioneer UDP-LX500, which was twice the price.

 

If you have the time (and inclination), I'd be very interested in your thoughts as to the audio capability of the LX500 - music rather than films. BTW, is this the system you've got the Concept 20s hooked up to?

 

Hot rod version with better PSU & Tube output stage
ModWright Instruments | New Tube Mod - Pioneer LX-500 - Coming Soon!

 

I've always wanted to get into sacd but it seems a bit of a minefield, lot of threads and not many conclusions. Anyway I was looking at some profile pages and I see some people use a Sony ps3 as a digital front end, I know very little about games consoles, just wondering why this option rarely gets mentioned?

 

Look on Ebay for used Denon Universal players. These play native SACD to a high standard. Maybe a bit smooth with CD. Cheap as chips since most bought for DVD use and owners moved onto Blu Ray. Should be able to get a decent working model for under £100. Make sure they are boxed and have the manual and remote control!

 

Nice! I use a Pioneer DV 757 ai which was also about 1k back in the day. I've seen some for 50€ which is a crazy price because this is still a fantastic DVD player and a very good SACD/DVD-Audio Player.
I have a modification which allows me to play DVDs from all regions and gives me full control over each medium ignoring user operation prohibition. Still working like new!

 

I looked at the ModWright mods for the Pioneer LX-500. If I recall the pricing is $1500 for the mod. I'm sure the ModWright modded LX-500 sounds excellent but that's a lot to pay to have a $999 player modified.