SACD player question

I am sure that is true....but to get the ultimate effect and BEST sound, wouldn't you need to be set up as I stated???

 

Hard to say. I'm sure there is a lot to be said about timbre matching and all that. I didn't help the situation by just buying Polk Audio R30's for my rears when I move the sytem to the basement. I'll have Energy fronts, Polk rears, a Reel center and a Cerwin Vega sub!

 

I am not against surround, but it is out of the question for me at this time...

 

I have the 563a and I am just tickled by the hi rez playback...just boggles the mind how such an inexpensive unit gets hi rez so right! It slays anything (that I have heard) under a kilobuck. As I mentioned before, the redbook playback is not very good.

 

Well I, too, was pretty "tickled" by my 47a until I heard the Sony in my system. I'm not saying that the 47a sounds bad (it doesn't), it just doesn't sound nearly as good on SACD as the Sony. Since $$$ obviously isn't the deciding factor here (I paid several times more for the Pioneer than the Sony), maybe Pioneer has managed to improve SACD playback so that its later, less expensive universal players sound better than their earlier models.

I was skeptical about the 47a having compromised SACD playback, as many people had written, until I compared it with the Sony in my system. Part of my skepticism came from my very first SACD audition -- Sony's flagship SCD-1 -- which underwhelmed me. To be fair, I was listening to the SCD-1 in a system totally unfamiliar to me, but what I heard was a bright, overly aggressive sound; lots of detail, for sure, but with sound so hot it felt like the wax was melting in my ears. On top of that, I really like the concept of having a single player for everything, particularly since I have only one set of 5.1 inputs into my pre/pro, so I really didn't want to believe that an inexpensive, dedicated SACD player would outperform what I already had.

As an early Christmas present to myself, I finally decided to try one of Sony's budget SACD players in my system. Given the liberal return policies at stores like Circuit City, I figured that I could just return it if I wasn't impressed. To the contrary it has impressed me more than I expected. Now I understand why so many members here have praised their bang for the buck in terms of sound quality. I solved my problem of having only one multichannel analog input by buying two A/V switchers and some extra cables at Radio Shack, so now I can use the Pioneer for dvd-a (and dvd-video) playback and the Sony for SACD.

 

All the existing Hi res formats have been there for a few years and haven't appealed but only to a small group of die hard audiophiles.
I don't think it would be wise to invest a penny on them now when they are on their way out. If you waited all this time you can wait a few more months till the new TRUE hi res formats hit the market.
http://www.digitalprosound.com/articles/viewarticle.jsp?id=28254

Not the right time to buy SACD players or Laserdisc players

 

Put me down as another one who prefers stereo. I have a surround-sound set-up, but I rarely use it for music. I've been enjoying SACD (and DVD-Audio) in stereo for about four years now.

As far as Sony's current changers, the SCD-CE595 at $150 is an excellent buy. I had one for a couple of weeks and greatly enjoyed it before trading up to the SCD-C2000ES, which I like even more. The 'C2000ES lists for $400 but is available for as little as $250 from authorized dealers (Oade Bros. as I recall). If this is still too much, you will do well with the 'CE595.

I noticed that the 'NC875V sells for the same price as the 'CE595 ($150). When you consider that the 'NC875V adds DVD playback at the same price point, I have to wonder if it is as proficient with CDs and SACDs as the 'CE595.

 

Is this what might be termed a 'thread crap'?

 

The SCD-C2000ES sounds like the ticket if it's only $100 more than the non-ES. I don't see as many DVD-As about. Are SACDs the preferred format? Checking around, I see the SCD-CE595 at very reasonable prices.

 

I disagree on both counts. If you have a laserdisc collection, by all means get a good used player now! I just bought a Theta Data II and it is amazing! I had an old Pioneer 838-D which served me very well for lasersdiscs, but the Theta easily bests it. And of course, redbook playback is incredible.

For universal decks, why wait when you can get killer high rez sound now for $129 (Pioneer 578a!? There are always improvments in the mix, and for that price, I may get one for my bedroom.

 

I have not heard the 47a, so I can't comment on the sound, but I have heard many Sony's and I don't think they sound better than my Pioneer in hi-rez. The major drawback with the 563a (and the 578a) is the redbook sound just isn't very nice. But I did find when using excellent interconnects (like the Empress!!!), it takes a major step towards high end redbook playback. Also, a good outboard DAC makes it even better! The irony for me, as a laserdisc fan, is the major reason I bought the 563a was for a taste of hi-rez and a chance to compare my beloved lasers with DVD-videos. Now I rarely even play DVD-videos and am totally enamoured with the hi-rez sound!

My buddy just bought a McCormack UDP-1 universal which he says slays the 563a (he has one as well), but it costs $3,000! I'll stick with my "lowly" Pioneer for now.

I see Audio Quest has an after market power cable for the 563a/578a for only $55.00!
After the holiday bills, I'm going to pick one up and check it out (audio advisor has it).

With all things audio, audition units in your system and make the judgement for yourself....

 

Another vote here for Sony SACD players. I've had four budget SACD players in my house for varying lengths of time: the Sony DVP-NS500V (DVD-Video and SACD), the Sony SCD-CE775 (5-disc SACD changer), the Pioneer 563 (DVD-Video/DVD-Audio/SACD) and the Toshiba combi-player (around 100.00 and the model number escapes me--it played all the formats the Pioneer did). The Toshiba sounded okay on DVD-A, middling on redbook, and poor on SACD--thin, harsh, fatiguing. The Pioneer sounded very nice on DVD-A but mediocre on SACD: there was a "veil" over the sound, and often it was hard to tell redbook from SACD playback on this unit. The Sony DVD-SACD player sounds very good on SACD, with a clear and usually dramatic difference between SACD and CD playback. (Redbook sounds pretty good, too.) The 775 sounds even better in both SACD and CD. Those two Sonys are the ones I kept.

For DVD-A, I got a Denon 1600. Great video, and DVD-A sounds even better than it did on the Pioneer.

YMMV!

 

PS Audio has its Power Punch power cable that's compatible with the Pioneers (or the Panasonics) for under $50.00.

But the CE595 now retails for under $120.00. Sony also sells a single-disc DVD/SACD/CD player for roughly the same price. Two years ago, Sony had the $175.00 DVP-NS500V, which I still have, that The Absolute Sound compared favorably to the the Rega Planet in CD playback (and exceed it in SACD playback). It's trickle-down technology.

 

Life's too short. The are tons of great titles out so far and paying a hundred and a splatter of pennies (to get one's feet wet) is not going to bust anyone's bank. For those who have been sitting on a fence about SACD, just go out, buy one and enjoy. For those who need to wait 5 years to a decade to see which format will win out, please just do something (life's way too short)....

 

There are definitely more sacd titles than dvd-audio titles. But the large majority of sacds are in the jazz and classical categories, with a good chunk of obscure artists thrown in. Dvd-audio seems to have a more even distribution of rock/pop vs. jazz/classical, part of the reason I bought a dvd-audio player (I don't listen to classical & only a very little jazz).

So sacd seems to be the preferred format if you talk only to an audiophile and/or big fans of jazz and classical.

And the two formats--to many people, but not all--do sound different from each other. While sacds can sound slightly smoother, I find dvd-audio's sound to have more impact and overall realism, IMO a better match for the music I prefer.

 

I think the "ideal" Hi-Rez format should be that it does not color or limit the source material in any way. If one can "hear" that a disc is SACD or DVD-A then there's a problem.

 

I'd like to hear DVD-A as well, but the reviews on universal players haven't been as glowing as the SACD/CD only players. I don't need another DVD player, so I'm leaning towards the SCD-CE595.

 

Now I'm really confused. What is HDAD? I see some Alan Parsons releases.
http://www.amusicdirect.com/products/detail.asp?sku=CCLADVA2003

So, what to get now? A Pioneer DV-578A-S? Since Alan Parsons is only on DVD-A

Elton John is only on SACD

I want to hear both

 

The Alan Parson's HDAD have 24/96 and 24/192 on them. The 24/96 side will play on any DVD player and you need a DVD-A for the 24/192 side. It plays on my Sony DVP-NS500 DVD/SACD unit. Both Alan Parson's HDAD are awesome!

 

DavidF: forgot about this rather new sacd player:

Yamaha DV-C6760

It's not as inexpensive as the Sonys but IMO it will last longer.

 

Well, I am one person who dumped a Sony low end player for a Pioneer combi (the DV-45A) and I have been very pleased with the playback of all discs. The redbook playback is the best I've had, much better than the Sony it replaced, which I believe was a DVP-NS755V. The Sony redbook sound was tinny. SACD playback is a wash... both do a good job. DVD-Audio playback is a nice bonus. There are some very good sounding DVD-Audio discs out there.

Kevin

 

I don't know if it's been mentioned in this thread, but it is important to note that some people have experienced audio drop-outs when playing SACDs on the Sony 'CE595. A member here reported this on the hardware board, and it's also been discussed on www.audioasylum.com. I don't know if it's a widespread problem, however. The unit I had for two weeks performed flawlessly, and I have had no problems with my 'C2000ES.

 

Well, that member here was me and, in the end, I believe that the defect had more to do with a system compatibility/hook-up issue rather than something actually wrong with the Sony. After the same problem happened with the second units I got, I changed the way I had it hooked up because I couldn't believe that I got two units with the same strange defect. I haven't had any drop-outs in many, many hours of use since reconfiguring things. In the end my lesson would be to NOT hook up the Sony's analog outs to an input that has another component's digital output connected to it. (Maybe some of you will read this and think "duh," but I honestly initially didn't think that that would present a problem.)

 

I'm not sure where you are looking David, but there are great reviews on many Universal players at all price levels. Do a Google on the following and read for yourself...

Marantz 8400
McCormack UDP-1
Pioneer 578a (old version 563a)

As several have mentioned already, Yamaha has some new Universal players out as well.

Good luck!

 

Jeff, thanks for jumping in here. As I recall, a couple other people had experienced drop-outs with the 'CE595. Maybe they are all hooking them up in the way that you did. Still, I would not have expected that to present a problem. Did you experience drop-outs on the 'CE595 if you had the digitally-connected component turned off? I can't see how having that component turned off would have caused any problems. I'm just curious.