[DonJoe]

Hey All,
I bought and took super care of a Sony XA-777ES SACD player for many years.  During a recent move, my SACD player completely died.  I loved it enough to attempt to have it fixed but was unsuccessful.

My system is in my profile. 

I am stuck in a couple areas:
1.  If I wanted a comparable replacment, what are a couple of options you all recommend and why?
2.  While i have about 100 SACDs, I have many thousand CDs.  If there was a redbook player that was a way better value, I would be willing to give up SACD but not sure what that option might be.


Thanks!

[FullRangeMan]

Usualy players that use the transport KSS151A are robust as VRDS or Denon DCD1520.

[Audiosaurusrex]

Hey All,
I bought and took super care of a Sony XA-777ES SACD player for many years.  During a recent move, my SACD player completely died.  I loved it enough to attempt to have it fixed but was unsuccessful.

My system is in my profile. 

I am stuck in a couple areas:
1.  If I wanted a comparable replacment, what are a couple of options you all recommend and why?
2.  While i have about 100 SACDs, I have many thousand CDs.  If there was a redbook player that was a way better value, I would be willing to give up SACD but not sure what that option might be.


Thanks!

Hi DonJoe
Not sure what your budget is but I have the Pioneer LX500 which I had Modwright upgrade and it is probably the best money I spent
http://www.modwright.com/modifications/pioneer-uhd-lx500-modification.php

[DonJoe]

Budget-  The Sony was 3kish 17 years ago. Today, I would be willing to spend up to 5k and am open to used if there is a big value preowned.

[FullRangeMan]

Today I prefer CD and SACD separates units IMÓ.

[DonJoe]

Are you saying you buy a separate redbook player and another player for sacd?  Sorry trying to determine what you mean as the 777es was a sacd separate. Thx

[FullRangeMan]

I should have bought but I have not, so Iam having probs with a 1999 SCD1, Its very prone to fail. I afraid combined players are prone tô planed obsolecence.

[aln]

Marantz SA-10 or Ki-Ruby!

[JakeJ]

I just bought (and received yesterday) one of these:

https://www.sony.com/electronics/blu-ray-disc-players/ubp-x1100es#product_details_default

The buzz is it is the replacement for the Oppo 205.  I do not know if any mods are available but have no plans in that direction.

[Craig B]

I haven't found anyone who has SA-KI Rubies in stock anymore, and their production was limited in the first place, I think to 1000 units, so it's questionable whether any more are forthcoming. I saw an open-box deal on an SA-10 for $4200 from an online vendor yesterday, and while that's a helluva deal, I don't know them, and it isn't clear from their website whether you get the original warranty or not. My SA8005 is plugging along fine, but I wouldn't mind something with a little less warm and romantic sound. Some discs sound a little rolled-off, with just the tiniest lack of high-end detail. But then I've heard it said that that's Marantz's "house sound" so who knows whether the SA-KI or SA-10 would be substantially different.

No matter how you cut it, it seems new, high-quality SACD players are getting to be like hens' teeth. Stock seems to be limited on Yamaha and Techniques, too. PS Audio is planning to introduce an SACD-capable spinner late this year or early next, but it's a transport only, for use with their high-dollar DACs, and Paul McGowan has confirmed that the anticipated target price is $6-7K. Ouch.

[AvsFan]

I was on the hunt for the longest time for a high end CD/SACD player, I moved to a quality streamer for High Res and a GREAT separate DAC. Makes more sense to me.
But Never thought I would "CD" day, hahaha, that I would stop spinning discs but my SACD player is mainly for looks now.

[AvsFan]

Hey All,
I bought and took super care of a Sony XA-777ES SACD player for many years.  During a recent move, my SACD player completely died.  I loved it enough to attempt to have it fixed but was unsuccessful.

My system is in my profile. 

I am stuck in a couple areas:
1.  If I wanted a comparable replacment, what are a couple of options you all recommend and why?
2.  While i have about 100 SACDs, I have many thousand CDs.  If there was a redbook player that was a way better value, I would be willing to give up SACD but not sure what that option might be.

Thanks!

I have this one.

https://www.cnet.com/products/denon-dvd-955s/

It's great for both Redbook and SACD playback. Heck I'll sell you mine right now. 

[Norman Tracy]

Hi DonJoe, that’s a great question.

First I’m joining you in a moment of mourning for the passing of another Sony XA-777ES. Those early generation players from Sony were so overbuilt I question if Sony was making any profit on them or accepting losses as part of the cost of introducing and supporting SACD. From the perspective of 2020 one has to recall what it seemed to be worth to Sony to replace the expiring CD format royalties with SACD.

I think of shopping for SACD players in 2020 as something akin to unicorn hunting, and am then pleasantly surprised by the target rich environment one finds. DonJoe does not specify if he wants/needs 2-channel only or multi-channel outputs and if HDMI or streaming or USB inputs are a factor. My observation is thanks to the 2-channel audiophiles in Japan and Europe where SACD had its best successes and who also seem to be more into collecting physical media in 2020 the best choices are 2-channel players.

Here are some suggestions not including the dCS, EMM, Playback Designs, and Esoteric units with 5-figure price tags. If your budget includes those that’s above my paygrade.

Sony UBP-X1100ES 2 channel analog only, likely best user interface and streaming when connected to a HDTV via HDMI. Compared to the XA-777ES one asks ‘where’s the beef’? The answer is Moore’s Law shrunk it all into the ICs. Plays Blu-rays including 4K UHD. One of the few I found that still supports DVD-Audio, which I find ironic given the SACD vs. DVD-Audio format war that stalled SACD’s introduction.

Pioneer UDP-LX500 Elite. Similar feature set to UBP-X1100ES with a more robust build quality at double the price.

Yamaha CD-S1000, CD-S2100, CD-S3000 audio only CD/SACD + stand-alone DAC with USB, optical, and coaxial digital audio inputs players. Pay $1300, $3000 or $6000 retail and take your pick of silver or black livery and desired level of classic golden age Nippon build quality. Personally I love the minimalistic styling.

Denon DCD-1600NE is another circa $1200 2-channel option.

Marantz SA-KI Ruby and SA-10 also 2 channel CD/SACD + stand-alone DAC. Build quality and pricing is shall we say impressive.

McIntosh has some interesting options in the $4k+ range.

Arcam CDS50 CD/SACD + stand-alone DAC + streaming (wired & WiFi). Includes both RCA and XLR stereo outputs.

[Photon46]

After being left with an expensive boat anchor when my Marantz SA-11S1 optical drive died after only 3 years and Marantz couldn't supply repair parts I vowed to never buy another digital player unless the company manufactured their own drives. That leaves Luxman, Esoteric, and Marantz (they recently started manufacturing their own drives.) Yamaha may make their own drives as well, not sure on that point. Luxman's lowest priced SACD player would be my pick. I had a Luxman d-05 that worked flawlessly for 10 years and traded it for a D-08u this year.

[WGH]

I too was surprised that SACD was still a thing, Crutchfield has 12 to choose from:

https://www.crutchfield.com/S-1xBmyBpKiWb/cpg/SACD-Players.html

And then there are instructions all over the internet about how to extract the SACD DSD layer using an Oppo BDP-103 and a thumbdrive. I don't have any SACD's but if I only had 100 I would use my OPPO BDP-103 instead of spending $4000 and rip the SACD's. A used OPPO BDP-103 could be bought and re-sold without loosing any money.

I already have a music server filled with ripped CD's plus still have all the original disks but I no longer have a CD player. I also have two sets of digital backups. I have a feeling DonJoe doesn't want to go all digital but a well designed music server and a DAC can sound very, very good. These days all my new music are digital downloads (.flac) plus a little streaming so for me a music server is a necessity.

Take a look and give Jim a call:
https://www.salksound.com/streamplayer.php?model=StreamPlayer+Gen+III+SE

[Saturn94]

I too was surprised that SACD was still a thing, Crutchfield has 12 to choose from:

https://www.crutchfield.com/S-1xBmyBpKiWb/cpg/SACD-Players.html

And then there are instructions all over the internet about how to extract the SACD DSD layer using an Oppo BDP-103 and a thumbdrive. I don't have any SACD's but if I only had 100 I would use my OPPO BDP-103 instead of spending $4000 and rip the SACD's. A used OPPO BDP-103 could be bought and re-sold without loosing any money.

I already have a music server filled with ripped CD's plus still have all the original disks but I no longer have a CD player. I also have two sets of digital backups. I have a feeling DonJoe doesn't want to go all digital but a well designed music server and a DAC can sound very, very good. These days all my new music are digital downloads (.flac) plus a little streaming so for me a music server is a necessity.

Take a look and give Jim a call:
https://www.salksound.com/streamplayer.php?model=StreamPlayer+Gen+III+SE

That’s the setup I have.  My SACDs and DVD-As (2 channel and multichannel) are ripped to my Salkstream (using Roon).  Sounds great! 👍

[DonJoe]

The advice coming in is super helpful.   Thank you!

My application is 2 channel. Rhaido speakers with Ayre separates.

I do have stand alone chord FPGA dacs I can use. Also have the 2k$ Sony streamer and media player that will decode dsd. I have a line on the ruby Marantz players including the rare ones but am unsure.

The Oppo 1 series that can rip dsd is most intriguing.  That might be the way to go and either put money in higher end DAC or vinyl.

Thoughts?

[WGH]

Hi Fi Haven has a how-to thread, it looks like many blu-ray players can be used including a $20 (eBay) Sony player.

Rip SACD with a Blu-ray player
https://hifihaven.org/index.php?threads/rip-sacd-with-a-blu-ray-player.3652/

Sony player list:
https://hifihaven.org/index.php?threads/ebay-treasure-39-used-blu-ray-player.3651/#post-69561

All this makes me want to pick up some SACD's. 

[ric]

I had been leery of streaming/dacs/servers--all sounded too complicated, and finally got a Zen mini and ripped all my cds to it's hard drive and now also enjoying Tidal through it and a Border Patrol dac. To have control and access to so much music for me can be kind of overwhelming, and it's easy to go "next" when you can change music with the touch of a button.
Overall, I still prefer the sound of vinyl, but the margins are getting closer together.
As far as SACD, I still have an entry level sony 375(?) changer that I'm not using, but I never really got into SACD much, but it seems that  streaming and having access to thousands and thousands of what used to be cd's is the way to go. I know your opinion may be different, but is SACD worth the investment?
Good luck on your quest!

[dpatters]

If you are willing to forgo SACD, you might want to consider Jays Audio CD2-MKII in combination with the DAC 2 Signature. Slightly over your max budget but inline with the rest of your system. Lots of positive reviews out there. I have had the transport for 4 months and have been using it with my Border Patrol DAC with great results but I plan on purchasing the Jays DAC within the next couple of months. Good luck!

Don P