Yamaha SQ - Dedicated CD player and Universal Player BD-A1060

I am thinking of getting this player so that I can play my HDCDs and my SACDs:

Yamaha AVENTAGE BD-A1060 4K Upscaling Wi-Fi and 3D BD-A1060BL

Would you guys expect that redbook SQ would be as good from this unit as from a dedicated Yamaha CD player, like the CD S300 (my current player)?

 

And how does this one compare to the BD-A1060?

Yamaha BD-S681 4K-Upscaling Wi-Fi and 3D Blu-ray Disc BD-S681BL

 

I own both the CD-S300 and the BD-S681. I bought the latter about a year ago, since I needed a Blu-Ray DVD player, I thought it would be a good idea to buy something able to play HDCD (I like Neil Young and King Crimson, so...). Yet, I haven't sold my CD-S300. I feel it is slightly better for redbook, a tad warmer, but no so much. If my CD-S300 broke, I live happily for a while with the BD-S681.

 

Thanks, that's very helpful.

 

Can I ask you how the sound quality of the red book layer of your hybrid sacds compares to the sacd layer on your Blu-ray player?

 

I have this player. Grateful Dead HDCDs have never sounded so good!

 

Just wanted to bump this to see if anyone else has bought this and could report their findings/experiences, please?

Thanks

 

Does the 681 decode HDCD?

 

I have the 1060. I figured it would do very well with CDs since it seems that was a significant focus in its design, however, I haven't been too pleased with it as of late.

I've noticed a grainy character with a lot of CDs. It's great in terms of resolution and extension - every little detail comes through, but I'm not sure if that's the problem. It might be exposing poor recordings for what they are, either that, or it's a trait of the player that rears its ugly head with 2/3rds of my CDs. I play the same CDs in my car and don't notice the grain.

I'm now shopping for a CD-only player. I would like to stick with Yamaha but I'm a bit concerned that all their players may have this trait.

 

That sucks. Are you noticing the grain on all generations of CDs or more on the older ones, like the CDs that were mastered/made in the 80s? And is the problem CD only or do you get it on SACDs too? Also, you are using it with an external DAC, right?

For reliability and sound, I have been happy with my Yamaha CD-S300. It's revealing, but not too revealing. I don't get the grain you are describing. A user who posted above said the sound on the CD-S300 is a bit better (warmer) than the sound on the 1060. And it's only $300.

I have tried the next step up for Yamaha, the CD-S700 and it is a design with some bugs. The worst one is that it had intermittent trouble reading CDs. I tried it a few more times, but they all had this bug, including others, including a mechanical noise when a CD was playing that I could hear across the room. And with all that for three times the money of the CD-S300 and the sound quality was only slightly better.

I also tried a $1,200 Denon DCD 1600 SACD/CD player and found that to be a bit cold, a bit too revealing. They have a CD only version for less money, but I bet it sounds the same as the 1600 for redbook. Same DAC and same specs for redbook.

Also tried a few $1,200 Marantz SA-8005 players and they were both defective. The sound dropped out on SACD playback a few times on different discs during the first few days.

Finally, I tried a $1,200 Cambridge Azur 851C and didn't like the sound of it from the beginning. Too clinical for me.

So, I'm back with my CD-S300, with a renewed appreciation of it. This July will be four years I have had it. It's never given me a problem, it reads every disc I put it and plays with no error. It also reads discs quickly. Small footprint, too. I use the Pure Direct function when listening, as it gives a small reduction in high frequency noise.

 

I don't notice the grain on my SACDs but I only own a couple and they are "Living Stereo" recordings, so not very good examples of the format. I do recall hearing some grain with my Dire Straits HDCD with both internal and external DAC. I haven't yet tried it with my NOS, filterless DAC.

Thanks for sharing your experiences with all those models - helps me narrow things down. I might just go for a Rega Apollo since the few SACDs I own are hybrids anyway.

 

I have the BD-A1040 & have no complaints about the CD SQ, using the Pure Direct mode on both it & the Yamaha RX-A1050 AVR.

 

I'm not noticing any harshness or grain using the BD-A1060 in CD mode.

 

Could just be the recordings. I don't notice it with every CD.

 

Thanks for sharing this.

Can you tell me the amount of time it takes for the drawer to close, the disc to be read and the disc to start playing? And is it any longer for SACD or CD?

 

Why not buy one and return it if it doesn't knock your socks off? It's been 10 months. Amazon would allow a full refund for a return and has 3 in stock.

 

One thing I love about my Yamaha CD-S300 is the fact that it is revealing, but only up to a point. I get a nice, musical sound from it without it revealing too much of the harshness that I know is probably on a number of my older CDs. If I knew the 1060 offered what I have, I'd buy it today, since it adds the ability to play SACD layers and decode HDCDs. The streaming is a plus too, but not something I would usually use. I'd use the USB more and unlike my 300, it handles WAV files.

 

I think the 1060 can stream from a NAS drive but as for services like Pandora/Spotify/Tidal, it's not compatible. Last I checked, it only has an app for movies through Vudu.

The tray is annoyingly slow to respond when the unit is first turned on.

 

Thanks.

Once the player is on, how long until tray closes, reads disc and music starts? I just checked on my CD-S300 and it's 9 seconds.

 

I'm not using it tonight but I think it's a little longer than that. The tray button is completely unresponsive until it's booted up and that alone probably takes close to 9 seconds.

 

OK. If it's only a few seconds longer, that would be fine.

Man, so hard to find something that checks all the boxes. The Arcam SACD caught my eye, but I don't like that converts to PCM instead of handling the DSD natively. And it has a Sabre, DAC, which I already have in my A-S801 and don't like the sound of. And it costs more than twice what the 1060 costs.

 

I hear ya, no pun intended. I bought the 1060 because my Sony Blu-Ray player was failing, and at the time, my rack didn't have enough space for two boxes. I also wanted SACD capability. As for 4K upsampling players with a focus on sound quality, the affordable choices were the 1060 or an Oppo.

If you do go with the 1060, get it through somewhere like Music Direct or Crutchfield so you have a no-hassle return option. Last I knew, for many items, Crutchfield charges only $10 for a return shipping label.

 

Yeah, Crutchfield is great. Fast shipping and very friendly customer service.

I was really hoping the Denon 1600 was going to be the player for me. It's built incredibly well, handles CDs and SACDs and has a Burr Brown DAC. Sadly, I didn't like the sound. I'd still much prefer to get a CD/SACD player over a universal, but the 1060 really represents an incredible value and I have about three dozen SACDs. So I really should try it, its just that I've driven my girlfriend mad with all the players I have tried and to be honest, I am so sick of getting my hopes up, only to have to return another player.

 

It is a bit slow and clunky when loading so if that would bother you that is something to consider

 

How are you finding the yamaha bd a1060? Im thinking bout buying it. Problem is i got a bit late to the party and cant find a supplier...it says not available every website in the uk!