Recommend me a new/(-ish) SACD Multi-Channel AV receiver!

Hi all. I've cobbled together bits and pieces from very old equipment to play multi-channel and blu-ray for quite a while, and now with a new tv, and trying to make it all fit together - I've decided to throw my hands up and surrender trying to get everything to share/play nice/fit/cooperate/be current/not confusing/etc.

So; I'd like to start with at a minimum, a new or very recent (unless not much has changed in the last 8 years or so, and it will suit my needs) AC receiver that is capable of playing Multi-Channel SACD's through a HDMI (which seems to be harder to find these days but hopefully they're out there). The less bells and whistles the better - I am very much in the dark about files, streaming, PCM, Hi-rez, etc., and want something as plug-and-play as possible. I should be able to make my Sony universal player cooperate with this new receiver so that my budget can be spent solely on the receiver, but just in case, feel free to recommend a player, too. I just need Multi-Channel, SACD, DVD and blu-ray playback. This is basically all for audio playback except some live concert 5.1 DVDs/Blu Ray's. Budget is around 1k-1.5k for one or both.
Thanks!

 

The actual trick is finding an SACD player that will send the DSD stream over HDMI. The original spec for SACD only include analog out of the player. Today there are lots of receivers that have DSD DACs equipped because streaming DSD files off a server is a thing, now. There are Sony Blu-Ray players that will do this.

 

Sure seems that way. And I have zero knowledge of those things - totally in the dark. Of all the old pieces I have, my Sony receiver and Sony SACD player play multi-channel through the analog jacks and that’s all well and good, but I need a whole separate system for the blu ray part, and I really don’t have the space/patience for all that equipment (not to mention the hassle of swapping speaker cables around all the time in the right space behind all the equipment...).

 

Here's what you need: first an AVR which has an HDMI input from which DSD can be decoded. Then you need a Sony UBP-X800M2 Universal Player. That's it. There are other means; but, those will require a receiver with 5.1 analog inputs and an SACD Player with 5.1 analog outputs. That will cost you more money, a lot more money. OH, one more thing, once you've heard the depth and breadth of 5.1 SACD there's no going back to stereo. It's that good.

 

What you need is an old oppo with 5.1 analog outs. May be hard to find. There are other players that do 5.1 analog out too. You don't need a new receiver. You need a player that does blu ray and sacd, etc. through the analog outs.

 

Yes - I'm hoping perhaps there is someone here who has experience with a model that they know operates with this function and can make a recommendation. It gets to overwhelming with my limited knowledge as to decipher which player can do that reading manuals, reviews etc. - there seem to be so many that are so similar in many ways, but maybe only a handful that output M.C from HDMI.

This would be exactly how my old player and receiver are, and it does sound fantastic playing M.C, discs, but there is no way to hook up a blu-ray player to the receiver, and no way to hook it up to my new TV, unfortunately.

 

Hello neighbor! The only thing that (I think) would be an issue is my setup with the MC analog connections has no HDMI options whatsoever to connect to the TV. The other setup with the blu-ray player to it's accompanying receiver has HDMI, and I can hook it up to my new TV, but doesn't support HDMI MC playback. Ugh.

 

Howdy! I see your issue. The reason I suggested sticking with the multichannel outs is that the DAC in, for example the Oppo, is going to do a better job than the lower quality DAC in a receiver. Unless you spend way more than your budget on a receiver. Good luck! I am curious what you end up with.

 

My personal preferences: Pioneer receivers and Sony Blu-ray players. The latter passes DSD over HDMI and the former handles it.

Basically type in "Pioneer AVR" in Amazon's search bar, and scroll through the many options. When you see something that looks like a possible (and within your budget) download the owner's manual from the Pioneer site and check to make sure it can do what you want. (I typically don't trust Amazon's, or other similar, product descriptions for absolute accuracy.)

Jeff

 

My personal experience has been with Denon receivers and players. I currently have a Denon DVD3930CI connected via Denon Link to a AVR4310. The receiver is almost 10 years old but it's an excellent piece of audio equipment that decodes pretty much anything you throw at it. It also allows you to connect via HDMI any other SACD player and it will decode DSD straight to analog, so with just one HDMI cable and a universal player you can enjoy BR/SACD/DVD/CD.

 

I found one that may be what I'm looking for - but not sure. In this link VSX-1131 - 7.2-Channel AV Receiver with MCACC®built-in Bluetooth® and Wi-Fi®
under "Decoders & Formats" it says "HDMI SACD transfer - Multi Channel". Is this the stamp of approval for playing M.C. through a HDMI? I looked at about 10 different Pioneer manuals, and many say different things in this column, but this is the one that looked closest to the language that I was seeking. Thoughts?

 

Also; watching this one: Marantz SR6004 7.1 AV Surround Sound Home Theater Receiver | eBay I messaged the seller and he says it will play MC over HDMI, but it's a fairly old unit (maybe that's not a bad thing?).

 

Short answer: I'm not 100% sure.

You're quoting from the detailed product description on that model's web page - not the manual.

I downloaded the manual and, unlike previous generations, this one does not have the depth of detail that I am used to seeing from Pioneer.

The front panel does have an indicator light that shows when a DSD signal is detected (page 28). To do so it would have to be coming in via HDMI, and not one of its other inputs, so it would be reasonable to conclude that yes, it will recognize DSD over HDMI. It's only a small leap of faith to also conclude that this means full multichannel as well. To be absolutely certain I would send a note to Pioneer asking the question, before I made the buy. (I've contacted Pioneer a number of times over the years and have always gotten a prompt and helpful response.)

I'm also basing my confidence in the fact that my 10+ year old Pioneer receiver, whose behavior in many ways appears to be the same as this one's, has that ability, and I have no reason to believe that Pioneer would have "dumbed down" their current generation of players. (If they did, it would not be to allow stereo, and not multichannel, DSD input via HDMI - at least not in any reasonable universe.)

Jeff

 

What did you finally do?

 

I actually decided to shelve the whole idea, recently. Over the past year, I upgraded every piece of everything with my 2 channel set up, as that's where 90% of my listening came from. So, vinyl playback is far outweighing the quality of my digital capabilities, and it would take thousands more to get it to come even close, and I'm not able/wanting to do that, so I just packed it all up indefinitely.

I did purchase an older McIntosh SACD player on eBay a couple weeks ago, thinking it would be nice to at least have the ability to play SACD's and hear red book in high quality. The player was advertised as having a new lens and flawless operation, but when it arrived, it would not play the discs at all - so that was really the final nail in the coffin. I may revisit this someday down the road, but for the foreseeable future; it's vinyl all the way.

 

Not really a problem. That situation changed with the inclusion of multichannel DSD in HDMI v1.2 back in 2005! There have been many made since then.

There are many alternative players. in fact, there are more players that will output DSD over HDMI than there are players that will output multichannel analog from DSD.

 

Can you give me examples of universal players out there today that will output multi-channel SACD via HDMI other than Sony branded players?

 

New or used?

 

Both, please, if the list is not too long/difficult!

 

I hope someone else will step up since I am out of the disc player business these days. All I can say is that there have been many since 2005, including from Sony, and are available on the used market at attractive prices. As for new, I would have to do the research. I have 3 Oppos which are used primarily for ripping SACDs but I have reviewed quite a few similar players

 

Let me save you some time Kal, the only means to enjoy multi-channel SACD from equipment on the market today is from a current Sony Player’s HDMI output to a HDMI AVR or Prepro.

 

Not necessarily. Both Kal (in Stereophile) and TAS have reviewed this item. Whether you can connect it to any cheap player in order to extract DSD isn't clear, but you may want to research further. I think it’s for two channel only, though.

GeerFab Audio - D.BOB Digital Breakout Box

 

What item? My comment is fact regarding players made today which play multi-channel SACD: the only products made today which will play multi-channel SACD are a few Universal Players from Sony. And, these players do not output 5.1 analog, only HDMI. What this means is someone who wants to enjoy multi-channel SACD via new equipment will need to buy a Sony Player and connect it to an AVR or Pre-Pro which has an HDMI input/DAC/DAP which can decode DSD or PCM. Now, since a lot of folks do indeed have AVR's or Pre-Pro's that have HDMI inputs and DACs/DAPs that will process PCM or DSD, those folks can experience multi-channel SACD pleasures needing only to purchase one of these cheap Sony Players. That's the whole point to my original post on this thread.

 

I stand corrected.

 

Exactly! But, no trick to finding, you just need to buy one of the Sony Universal Players out there today that plays multi-channel SACD and outputs DSD or PCM via HDMI. Also note that there are some Sony Players which do output SACD from IEC 958 but not at full SACD resolution. And, there's a least one Sony Player which still has an internal DAC to process stereo SACD and output via stereo RCA.