Re: SACD Player Recommendations?
Posted: Thu Dec 30, 2010 7:34 pm
My advice, Fergus, would be to pay particular attention to how the player handles Redbook CDs which will form the bedrock of your attention. Many SACD players are fantastic with SACD discs but are lacking in comparison when it comes to Redbook discs. This is a problem with some very expensive SACD players (most notably those made by EMMLabs) as well as the cheaper ones. (Similarly, with Blu-ray players, you have to look very closely at their performance with standard definition DVDs.) If it was my money, I would take a long look at the Marantz's flagship, the SA-7S1 which is apparantly as good with Redbook CDs as it is with SACDs. It is pricey at around £5K so it's worthwhile trying to find a second-hand model. I've also heard good things about Marantz's cheaper players, the SA-11S2 and SA-15S2. Denon also have a new SACD player, the DCD-2010, out as well.