[Captain Humble]

I need to replace one of my CD players.
Found the subject player new on the web for about $398.
I've never heard SCAD and am not even sure if its a viable format (will Sony keep it around?)

Any thoughts on this rig, or on SACD format would be appreciated.

[KKM]

That's a older Sony unit, a bit pricey for today's price. You're probably better off with a Philips 963 unit which has SACD and progressive scan DVD, the unit has gotten good reviews in mag. reviews and at AA (do search at the Hi rez forum).

[lcrim]

Capt H:
I have a Sony 775 SACD player w/ all the SACDmods.com (Matthew Anker) installed.  I've been thinking about replacing it with a 16 bit , two box solution i.e finding an inexpensive transport and team it w/ a Nixon TubeDac or Mensa DIO but then I put on a well produced multi-channel SACD and the quality is so damn good that I change my mind.
My understanding is that Sony's licensing rights on Redbook are close to expiring and they need SACD to be sucessfull to replace that revenue stream.  
I can't give you an A/B comparison between SACD and a quality two box solution as there is no single flavor.
The Philips 963 does garner good reviews as a SACD player and poor reviews as a video DVD (Secrets of Home Theatre ranked it near the bottom)  but @ >$400 the price is right.  Don"t forget that if you go multi-channel, the hardware price goes up greatly.  As a Redbook player, the Philps was also praised by reviewers, I've not heard it.
Buying an older Sony and having it modded is also a possibility.  I think it comes down to whether or not you like music in a multi-channel format and there are times when the record producer should have left well enough alone and other times when it is an enhancement.  The same quality of playback came probably achieved either way you choose to go but SACD sound quality is real and with the newer range of players-highly affordable.  Philips, I noticed also has an SACD player for less than $200 list.  If the new players are good on Redbook then you would have compatibility w/ the bulk of everyone's collection.

[Hantra]

Well, if you have read like 400 of my 500 posts, you will know what I am about to recommend. .  

Seriously though. . .  I had an SCD333ES with over $1,000 of mods by Richard Kern at Audiomod.  I kept it for a bit just to see what SACD was all about.  Not only did SACD do nothing for me, but Redbook on this thing lagged way behind my rig.

So, out the door it went, and I haven't looked back.  It was neat to experience SACD, but it is absolutely nothing like non-oversampled Redbook.  And which one sounds more like music?  Need you ask?

Anyhow, my digital rig was about $500 in total.  A little more than you are talking, but worth every penny.  This rig competes with anything I have ever heard.

Good luck with your search, and take your time.  you'll know when you hear "the one".

B

[Brad V]

In comparing a great recorded SACD and a great recorded CD, there is no comparison. Keep in mind, I said great recording.

I've heard the best of each and SACD kicks the you know what out of Redbook CD.

Hantra has heard the same SACD player as me, being the Accuphase 100 Transport with the Accuphase 101 SACD DAC. The difference in sound is staggering, when switching between CD and SACD, however there are some CD's that will kick an SACD all day long, depending on how it is recorded.

Now Vinyl is a different story.

Have a great day,

Brad

[Ron D]

I think this unit offers a great opportunity as a replacement for the following reasons;

- as a changer it offers flexibility albeit at some loss (single disc units tend to be somewhat sturdier

- SACD is very nice and certain discs truly are reference class. Whether or not the available soft-ware is to your liking in another story. There seems to be more and more coming each month.

- The "ES" line carries a 5 year warranty

- offers the opportunity for mods after you've lived with it

- provides access to multi-channel software if that floats your boat.

- can be bought for less than $400 new on E-Bay and other locations which is a decent price

- you could use an outboard DAC for redbook but still have SACD capabilities.

All things consdiered I think its a good chaice at the right price. Like Hantra I used to own a hotrodded 333ES that I sold in favor of a SACD-1000 that was destined to be "Meitnered" until EMM Labs changed their plans so I got rid of that. I have been using a Sony dvd player into a Channel Islands DAC as my source and love it. I was missing SACD  (looking at the stack of unplayable Super Audio discs) so I just purchased a reasonably priced used 555ES that I will use for SACD and probably still keep my DAC for redbook. If you were to get a 222ES you would be in the same boat with a few options at your disposal.

Good luck with whatever choice you make.

[Captain Humble]

Thanks to everyone that responded.

I'll post future questions of this nature in the Digital Domain forum.

Jeff