I'm moving in a month or two and will require a new front end. I'm trying to decide whether to buy a new CD player such as the Musical Fidelity A3.2 which is based on a DAC that has received rave reviews or, bite the proverbial bullet and jump head first into SACD. The two major problems that I am confronted with are: 1) Is there enough SACD software available now of titles that are of interest to me and in the near future? 2) Because I live in Canada, is it worth the $4000 CAN that it would cost for the Sony XA777ES? Sony Canada doesn't seem to want to give any price breaks up here and I am not aware of any alternative as far as a good quality low/mid priced player. The question that I am asking in this forum is: Can anyone clue me in to some web URLs that list the currently available and soon to be released SACD discs? This will go a long way in helping me decide which way to go. TNX for any help and comments.
1) No. 2) Check out Sony DVP-NS900 which is much cheaper and plays Video DVDs and DTS CDs too. Here is a list of currently available SACDs: http://www.super-audio.de/sacdhtml.htm
Whether or not the XA777ES is the right unit for you depends on a few things. If you want to do M-C, you might consider the slightly cheaper Marantz SA-8260 which is rumored to sound superior (and not break down as often). Rumor also has it that Stereophile will be raving about this in an upcoming issue. If price is not an object, but you would prefer a Stereo-only player, there are two good options now: the Marantz SA-14 (on which the 8260 is based) which will set you back about $2K from internet sources, or $3k at your local high end audio Salon. There's also a more expensive unit from Classé that is said to be based on the now-discontinued SCD-1. As for the availability of software, the usual audiophille places like Acoustic Sounds and such generally have the largest selection in the US of A. Europe and Japan are way ahead of us in terms of numbers of SACDs published, and the greatest variety of genres. Tower on the internet sells some, and at the cheapest prices, but their delivery time is not as quick (I've been waiting for two Opus 3 SACD from them since mid-April). Universal will be releasing several SACD titles in early July.
An SACD player is fun and will expose you to some really great music that you would pass up in CD format. My 500V from Sony costs under $200 US and does great DVD and CD and DTS decoding as well. It even sports basic bass managment. Check out the current SACD releases on the Web to see if any match your interest.
Check out this week's Stereophile website. There's an interesting article about Sony and Universal abandoning CDs and regearing towards hybrid SACD production for all new releases. Don't know if it's true or not, but certainly breaths a little life into the SACD buzz. http://www.stereophile.com/shownews.cgi?1353
The new issue of The Absolute Sound has a very favorable review of the Sony CE775 SACD player, which costs US$250. For somebody thinking of making a $3500 investment, this seems like a logical place to check things out before sinking longer green. The same issue also contains a very laudatory write-up on the Sony DVP-NS500V, which I think somebody here also endorsed. Take it easy! Peter
Buy The CE775 I can say it is very good for the money, plays all current and future SACD's, has bass managment, and if you decide that SACD has no future, then buy a better cd player. Better yet, do also like I did, buy a Monarch 24/96 DIP, get a good DAC (I bought a MSB Link DAC III/upsampling/P1000 power base)like maybe the Musical Fidelity 24/96 Dac with upsampling, along with the CE775. Then, you have all your bases covered, with excellent cd play back, and potential future great play back (software depndent on this one!)in SACD. This way your old cd's will sound better (better DAC with upsampling), and you can purchase some great SACD titles and hear what may be the future, surround!
