Upgrading to SACD player in 2019?

Bingo

 

LOL....

 

I think this is a good choice. Why? Well, because it's the route I went!

Seriously, as others have noted, to get into SACD now I think you'd need to really want it unless you somehow inherited a ton of SACDs. But I can also see why folks with a nice SACD collection stay in the game and even upgrade their gear. Especially if you favor classical.

I've been in the process of selling off my modest SACD collection, with slight misgivings. As I package them up, it's fun (as usual) to hold physical media. Most of them are long OOP, limited in supply, with potential to be "collectible". But I've been sticking to vinyl and FLAC files via computer for awhile now. I still have 4 CD players (two that actually function), one SACD-capable Sony DVD player, but no disc spinner of any type in rotation.

 

I agree. I think at this stage getting into SACD is more for the experience. I’ll get myself a decent player and one new disc every month.
Enjoy it as it is.
No expectations.

 

looks nice, that Sony.

I own 2 SACD players, one of them does DVD, too. But I don't have a BR player, could be interested,

 

I was ripping some discs the other day and came across one hybrid SACD in my collection that I completely forgot was as such:

Robert Earl Keen - A Bigger Piece Of Sky

This reminded me why I don't like the SACD format - copy protection and a PITA to deal with for people that don't want to buy a dedicated SACD player with analog outs or go through a bunch of rigmarole to rip the DSD layer. As such I've never heard the DSD layer. I'm not convinced it would sound that much better than the redbook either, though there is a multi-channel layer if you have a multichannel system.

If Sony cared about making SACD more accessible to people like me they'd release a simple piece of software to open up the copy protection so I could rip it and listen to the DSD layer through my existing hardware and software (Foobar + a DSD compatible DAC). But they don't seem to care that much, even as the format is dying.

I'm not sure DSD downloads are setting the world on fire either, since they are typically more expensive than hi-rez PCM and probably of little interest to 2 channel listeners that aren't big classical music fans. I've tried a couple of these too. A recent newsletter from a particular retailer about how we "need" to purchase DSD512 upgrades for albums either not recorded in DSD in the first place or only recorded at a lower DSD bitrate turns me off the format also. That kind of crap smacks of shyster-ism to squeeze a few more dollars out of consumers. No thanks.

All this reminds me why I love the redbook CD format. Easy to play the physical discs at home or rip them to listen on the go, loads of compatible hardware and sounds great when well mastered.

 

I just set my oppo or my Sony brp to covert the SACDs to pcm out and enjoy my SACDs that way. No point in buying a special dac just to play SACDs. I don't play into the game. Do SACDs sound better? Yep..a lot of them do. Do they sound better as dsd....your opinion on that one. My opinion is they sound fantastic converted to pcm as well.

 

I've enjoyed 5.1 multi-channel SACDs from my OPPO with direct DSD to analog conversion and DSD to PCM to analog conversion. I can not distinguish that one means to pleasure is better than the other in any manner that better could be discerned. However, 5.1 multi-channel bass management is only available from the OPPO via PCM; and, since bass management is important to me, I have the OPPO set to convert DSD to PCM when listening to SACDs, whether they're multi-channel or stereo.

 

Sony UBP-X1100ES 4K UHD Blu-ray Player With HDR I'm guessing this unit will do multi-channel SACD via HDMI?

 

Yes, it will.

 

I don’t think not having a SACD player is really going to limit your future music selection...

 

However its great if u want to go multi channel...more fun in surround / quad

 

So, between the following:

• Yamaha Aventage BD-A1060BL
• Sony UBP-X1100 ES
• Sony UBP-X800 MS (bargain-priced at around $250)

are there any real differences or advantages of one over the other (other than price comparisons) if it's simply for playing SACDs and Blu-rays, with secondary streaming potential? All the complaints about those Sony players seem to be about Dolby Vision issues.

I've got a decent amount of hybrid SACDs (mostly jazz) and have been looking at options to replace my current CD player. Being able to unlock those SACD layers would be nice.

 

Nb! The UBP-x800 doesn’t have Rca analog out.

I have this player. Mostly use it for blu-ray. But tried it on SACD connected to my Tv and sound bar; the SACD sound was clearly better than CD; more open, full bodied.

 

I have the X800 and use it primarily for 5.1 (SACD/Blu-Ray & DVD-A). It will play them all and it acts only as a transport. I have had no issues with it on any type of disc.

 

Connected to an AVR with HDMI input the RCA output of the X1100 would go unused, since the HDMI connection would serve all stereo, as well as multi-channel media. Therefore, if I were you, I'd get the X800, saving the money that the 1100's DAC is costing you.

 

Thank you.

 

If I weren’t so heavily invested in vinyl and CDs, i.e., if I were just getting into music and didn’t have a big collection of legacy formats, I would probably only buy SACDs. I get all of the doubt about the future of the format, but, to me, SACD hits the sweet spot of taking you 98% of the way to the sound quality of the very best mint vinyl pressings, minus all of the hassles of ticks and pops, warping, record cleaning, tracking force adjustment, cartridge alignment, etc. that make playing records such a hassle at times. It’s a real shame that technology of the day didn’t allow SACD sound quality when CD players were first introduced in the early 80s. They did the best they could at the time, and well-mastered CDs can sound great, but so much of the resistance to digital could have been overcome if Sony could have delivered SACD quality from the get-go.

 

I’ll give up my SACDs when you pry them from my cold dead hands.

 

If you listen to classical music then there are still a few labels left that are committed to the SACD format. They include BIS, Channel classics, LSO Live and Chandos. Sadly Pentatone, which until recently released all its recordings on SACD has now decided to release some of its recordings as standard CDs, something that I find very disappointing. We are in danger of this becoming a chicken and egg situation with the record companies blaming the hifi manufacturers because there are not many SACD players available and the hifi manufacturers blaming the record companies because there are realtively few recordings available on SACD. The major players such as DG, Warner and Hyperion avoid the SACD format altogether.

 

It's probably a good time to stock up on all of them, I guess. For other music, folk like MoFi also seems dedicated to DSD and thus SACD as a format, which is great. Admittedly, they seem to be classic, past releases, rather than many new ones. I only have one of their recent issue (Sorcerer, by Miles Davis) but the CD layer sounds incredible. Can't imagine what the SACD/DSD layer sounds, and I'd like it hear in on a modern, DAC-less digital system.

I had an Sony SCD-1 in the past which left me nonplussed, but am aiming to have a Marantz SA-10 in the near future (can't afford proper dCS), so perhaps it's time to start acquiring more SACD discs on the quiet while everyone's looking at vinyl and in other format directions.

 

Over at Japan Tower Records' website, Japan Sony Classical has about 14 SACD up for pre-order for release before the end of the year. DG has some as well as RCA Red Seal, Reference Recordings, Decca, etc. Warner's latest classical SACD was in September 2021.