[Quiet Earth]

***  Several hours after posting a question here I realized that I have no business being in this circle. I apologize for the waste of space.

Post deleted. ***

[firedog]

SACD is worth it if you like Classical as there is still lots of releases and lots of older ones. For newer rock, pop, jazz etc there is much less. If you like classic rock and Jazz there is quite a large catalog, but some of the discs are rare (out of print) and very expensive.

Nice player? Depends how nice you want. The most useful option is one of the Oppo players. They are good (not the best), but they will play all formats (including DSD files) so you are pretty much past and future proofed.

[Photon46]

If rock & jazz were my primary interests, I wouldn't bother. New releases in those genres (especially rock) are nearly non-existant and you're going to be chasing titles on the secondary market which means beaucoup dinero. Plus, far too many SACD titles sound only marginally better than redbook on many jazz & rock releases IMO. I'd direct my energies into utilizing hi-rez downloads if I were interested in resolution higher than redbook, it's where the world is moving eventually. SACD is over and done as a format unless you are into classical music.

I've got a modest number of rock & jazz SACD's and a larger number of classical titles. I stick with it because I have a good Luxman SACD player and I listen to a lot of classical. If starting all over, I doubt I'd bother.

[FullRangeMan]

SACD is worth it if you like Classical as there is still lots of releases and lots of older ones. For newer rock, pop, jazz etc there is much less. If you like classic rock and Jazz there is quite a large catalog, but some of the discs are rare (out of print) and very expensive.

Nice player? Depends how nice you want. The most useful option is one of the Oppo players. They are good (not the best), but they will play all formats (including DSD files) so you are pretty much past and future proofed.

Good post. To me there is plenty of Jazz releases:
http://www.sa-cd.net/search/jazz

[barrows]

I would not bother to spend money on traditional disc spinning playback devices.  I do recommend going with high resolution though, including DSD.
If you are interested in playing back high resolution audio, then making the switch the computer based audio is the way to go.  This will also give you long term flexibility in playing back both DSD files and high resolution PCM files.
Most of the classical SACDs are going to be available as DSD downloads, and many rock and jazz titles are available, and more are trickling out every day.  Right now you can get DSD downloads of some rock titles which if you go look for the SACD will cost you over $100 for used versions.
If you find the world of computer audio daunting, it need not be.  An all in one box like the Sony HAP is a great solution for those who might not want to get into separate DAC and Server solutions.  And there is already a pretty good upgrade path for Sony HAP owners with the Modwright mods.

[electricbear]

I personally would not invest in SACD at this point of time, but if I were to, I'd probably do something like the Marantz SA-14S1. They run just a little more than your $2k budget but you could always negotiate a little. They are a substantially built player weighing in at 32lb.

[steve in jersey]

I have to agree with you, but I believe there needs to be a few more "entry level"
options to buying a disc player

I'm a believer (que up the "Monkees") as I've been using a Digital File Player for a few years now,
but getting people to adopt a new way to play their music is still a "hard sell" to. a lot of people
if the entry level prices are higher than then a  current "plays everything" disc player.

It's just a simple fact that more people value their sense of personal economics over whether
it's a better move to buy a new technology player

I would imagine sales of 1st generation SACD players were pretty slow. I think Sony  learned a bit from that
as the HAP Players are less than half what they were asking for the SCD-1 SACD players. The unfortunate thing people fail to recognize is the SQ is diluted w/ every new generation of players released
-

[fiveoclockfriday]

If you do opt for a disc player, I highly recommend checking all the usual sites for used players. Many people are transitioning out of cds/sacds, and there are usually some good deals out there. I just sold a Marantz SA8004 ($1k new) for less than half that.

[Tyson]

An old pc or laptop with JRiver downloaded to it, and you have a first rate hirez transport.  Get a decent USB DAC and you will be very happy for a long time. 

[rtate]

If your interested I have a Denon dvd5910CI player sitting around that I would part with for a real good price. It was there flagship plaer and sold for $3500 at the time, you can google the specs and reviews.
Give me a shout if your interested !!!   

[rw@cn]

You could always buy the SACDs that you want and rip them using the correct model PS 3 see http://www.computeraudiophile.com/f11-software/sacd-ripping-using-your-ps3-part-2-a-7495/ . There might be a few alternate ideas in that thread.

[windhoek]

Bizarre outcome Quiet Earth. Please do return if that changes