Do SACD players compromise on redbook CD playback quality ?

[bmichels]

Do CD/SACD players compromise on redbook CD playback quality ?

I have +1000 RB CD, but also few SACD. Since I need to buy a player, I thought that a CD/SACD player will be more universal than a "plain" CD player. But... I do not want to compromise on CD Playback for the opportunity to play few SACD !

In other word, does a CD/SACD player can play "plain CD" (red book) as well as a pure CD player (NON SACD player) ?

I have heard that SACD mechanism are derivated from DVD drive and are inferior to CD drives ! May be this is valid only for low cost SACD player but not for TOL SACD such as Accuphase, Esoteric, E.A.R. VITUS, Luxman, AMR, T+A..... which uses very complex and heavy-duty CD/SACD mechanism ?

- CD I heard good things of : VITUS SCD-025, Aesthetix Romulus, NAGRA CDP, Burmester 089, AMR CD-77 or CD-777....

- For SACD : Accuphase, VITUS RCD-101, ESOTERIC K-03x, TAD D-1000, Luxman D-08u, EAR ACUTE 4 CD + DAC (tubes , Krell Cipher, McIntosh, ...



thanks in advance for your advices (and recommendation on the brands /models)

 

[slowgeezr]

If the K-03X is as good as the model it replaces, I'd go for that one. Of course, you have to judge the sound.

 

[Mike]

The good ones don't. The T+A PDP 3000HV for example has a unique optimized separate section for redbook and a unique optimized section for SACD with multiple DAC chips designed and selected for their specific purpose. The T+A goes so far as to have separate power supplies and separate outputs for each (although the outputs can be combined if the user does not have enough inputs on their preamp).

Aside from that, if the CD/SACD player is very good at SACD, it won't usually be terrible with CD. But most are designed with CD in mind and SACD as a feature/functionality of its chipset.

I would like to understand the Esoteric K-01x/03x a bit better, but I THINK it converts SACD to PCM for output purposes and is not "true" 1 bit DSD. But again, I'm not 100% sure.

I still think you should consider a DAC/Music Server or even better, a Lumin, but if the idea of ripping all those CD's is too daunting, I completely understand.

For the analog sound you're looking for, take a look at:

EAR
Cary
...and some others.