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In Reply to: Suggestions for digital player--new to Hi-Rez posted by Steve W. on November 19, 2006 at 18:31:03:
I don't have direct experience with the Samsung, so I will let others comment on it.But I do have substantial SACD-DVDA-CD experience with Sony and Pioneer units, and have a definite POV on what you should consider.
I have found that units that can do DSD decoding directly, without converting to PCM, do the best job of revealing SACD's superior sound. In fact, if I had to use a system that didn't do DSD direct, and didn't do multichannel, I probably wouldn't bother with SACD.
I own both the Pioneer 578a univeral and three Sony lower-end SACD/CD players..the olderC775 changer, the older C222ES changer, and the newer C2000ES changer. The Pioneer converts SACD through PCM. Although it is a nice sounding unit (exceptional in DVD-A) it is substantially inferior to any of the Sony's in their "Direct Mode" on SACD disks. The Sony's also lose much of the vaulted SACD transparency when any mode other than "Direct" is chosen; in other words, when speaker compensation or a subwoofer crossover is used. Of the three Sonys, the later C2000ES, available on eBay as a grey market import for less than $300, is far and away the most transparent, although the older C222ES is smoother in the midrange and in some ways more "high-end" sounding as a result.So my take in conclusion: go SACD, but go with a Sony ES model that allows you to use either 2ch or 5ch direct mode to obtain pure DSD decoding. In this mode you definitely will get really fine sound.
Harry
Follow Ups:
My budget is between $500 and $1000. Based on that I was considereing the Marantz CD/SACD or universal players.My preference was for a single disc player, consequently, I hadn't considered the Sony players. In the past I operated on the assumption that by default money not spent on disc changing features went toward enhancements in other features more important to me than the changer features, including sonic quality--maybe that is a wrong assumption these days.
With respect to the Marantz SA-8001 and earlier SA-8260: do these players do DSD decoding directly without converting to PCM? The Marantz website doesn't indicate whether the SA-8001 does DSD decoding directly, whereas the information on the Marantz SA-15S1 specifies "High Performance D/A Converters for DSD/PCM Signal processing". I'm not sure what that means other than signal processing is mentioned only for the SA-15S1.
Any thoughts on single disc players that process DSD directly? Perhaps I'm overthinking this and and should just go with a Sony for the time being?
...because they sell more of them. Sony's only single channel player is the SCD-XA9000ES at $3000.I've heard rumors that the Denon 2910 and 3910 have a "direct mode" that is pure DSD, but I've never seen that confirmed.
I believe the older 8250 player did have a DSD direct mode....don't know about the newer players.
The really cheap universal DVD player usually do everything in PCM and have no Direct Mode that bypasses it, I am told. I know this is true of my Pioneer 578A.
Harry
5 channel audio is more than I want to take on. I'm not sure how the Samsung handles decoding, I'll take a look at the manual.
I don't think you mentioned a budget but the Marantz SA-15 at $2000, is a two channel SACD/CD player that from all indications is an excellent RB and SACD player. The SA-11 at $3400 is also highly regarded, albeit at a significantly higher price. Also the discontinued SA-8260 (which I own) is an excellent player for the money. I use it in a two channel system. I also have a Sony NS999ES DVD/CD/SACD player in my HT system that I occasionally use to listen to multi-channel SACDs...but while I find multichannel SACDs interesting and different I do most of my SACD listening on my two channel system with the Marantz player.
On a budget? Want direct DSD signal out? Want best sound for the dollar? Want a univeral player,that is software upgradable?
You have to get the OPPO DVD970HD universal for $149.00 USD
Order on line. I sold my Rotel 1072 after buying it. It's amazing. Read the (numerous) reviews! They're right!
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