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I'd like to know what SACD player you have and what you have found is one considers entry level just to test the waters with SACD. TIA!!
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$169 delivered. it has no right to be making rbcd sound as good as it does, but it DOES. its sacd and dvd perf is pretty good as well. i may go with an oppo for dvda and hdcd, maybe it will come close or be as good or better.i must mention that the ns500v is no longer available new. it was being discontinued when i bought it a few years ago.
...regards...tr
I find this very strange. I just sold my XA777ES because I was really happy wth the NS500V's
performance on SACDs. But mine sounds pretty dreadful on CDs and as a transport. Go figure. Just bought a Raysonic CD 128 to handle Redbook duties. Dave
Were you able to audition the Raysonic before you bought it? I know were interested in the the Rega.
I have it on a two-week trial. Sounded fantastic out of the box when I got it (Wednesday) and has since regressed into a break-in period in which it sounds pretty blah, but I have hopes. It's absolutely gorgeous (I know, that shouldn't matter. but...), built like a tank, tubed output (4 6922s), and is a keeper, I think at this point. 6moons appears to agree.Yes, I was considering a Rega Saturn. The Raysonic is quite a bit cheaper and something of a gamble. Have I said it's simply gorgeous? Guess so. :-)
.
SACD playback is almost as good as my old $1,600 retail Xindak SCD-2. The SCD-2 has a little more detail in the high end but I think the Yamaha is warmer in the bass and midrange and the high end is very smooth, almost tube like.CD playback is totally unlike the previous 9 players I have owned that played CD including an expensive transport and D/A converter. On the Yamaha CDs sound nothing whatsoever like CDs, they sound more like SACDs with less resolution. Some of the Telarc CDs have that "magic" in the midrange that the better SACDs have. It is totally spooky and eerie, I never would have believed redbook CD could sound decent if I hadn't heard it with my own ears! Shocking! I don't know what the hell Yamaha did to make CDs sound better than they have any right to sound. I am still waiting for a review as they model came out the end of 2006 and is still so new there is no professional review yet! Is it Yamaha only are all the new 2006 models this good on CD?
Mind you it is not all CDs, poorly recorded CDs sound as bad or worse than on the previous 9 players. But well made CDs I am no longer afraid of. Also no headaches yet!
"Music is love"
Teresa
I migrated from the Stereophile Class B rated Denon 1650ar to the Denon 3910 (SACD/CD/DVD-A) player. Even though the 1650ar appeared to have better construction (damped tray, huge power supply, etc..) and good converters, the 3910 kicks it's butt on redbook CD. Overall, I think it was the best hi-fi investment of recent years. Non-modded I am very satisfied with the sound on all three media (SACD/CD/DVD-A).
using the "filter" setting for CDs.This was a step up (in both price and performance) from my previous player, an Ultech UCD-100. The step up was not dramatic -- the Sony has what I would call more muscular bass than the Ultech had and a slightly more refined top end and slightly more transparency.
The Ultech responded rather dramatically to the use of a "balanced power" isolation transformer, which greatly cleaned up the treble and increased transparency. I am running the Sony from the same isolation transformer (which powers my entire system) and, since I've never run the Sony straight from the wall, I don't know whether balanced power has a similarly dramatic improvement for it. It may not, in which case, the actual "distance" between the Sony and the Ultech is much greater.
One of the differences betweeen cheap and expensive components is in the power supply and, I think, to some extent, the balanced power transformer compensates for a cheaper power supply in the component.
If I had money to burn, I might, just for grins, get a Benchmark DAC and run it off the Sony to see how much better it is, or isn't.
I recently bought an Electrocompaniet ECD-1 DAC (1600 Euro new, bought it used for 1000 Euro).I did not expect a huge upgrade over the XA777 redbook playback, and bought the DAC mainly for connecting my DVD player and PC. But the improvement was quite significant: greater detail, larger soundstage and generally more "color". The Sony sounds almost bland in comparision.
I have a Cary 306 SACD/CD player that I bought used about a year ago. Some have had disc reading issues with this player but mine has played just about perfectly on both CD and SACD. It also sounds great! Cary has determined the source of the unreliable reading of discs on this player and the current generation is said to be problem-free. As it is, Cary has stated that only a handful of the original units exhibit the disc reading problem and they have a way to correct that for current owners (albeit at a pretty steep cost). This issue has been discussed extensively on a Agon thread.Note that the current generation of this player has jumped from $6000 to $7500 - no small change. But the results when playing both CD (and HDCD) and SACD are superb. This is a two-channel player.
Mark
Enjoy your Cary. It sound very good. I do not agree with there statement about a "handful" of units, I had 5 of them alone and none of them were problem free.Stereophile delayed a review due to issues, I hope they mention them. I am not alone in the 306 having issues.
Good sound but poor relaibilty. I would say the price increase is due to all the replacement that they had to do to there credit I must say, now they have to make up the profit they lost.
At $7,500 I think twice about buying it, there are to many reliable units out there at that price range.
Hope your unit stays trouble free for years to come, and enjoy!
As a Red Book player, using filter 1, it killed my Cal Tempest.
(nt)
I bought my player back in 2000 mainly for CD playback. I listened to a lot of dedicated CDPs in the same price range, and this one had the sound I wanted (I'm not claiming it sounded better than others, just had the right sound for me). It was a bonus that it was also a progressive scan DVD player, and SACD playback was a mere novelty.The main reason I'm posting this, is because this model has taken a beating on the boards for being unreliable. Like many folks, I had to replace the laser assembly back in 2003 (~$90), but I've had no other problems with this unit whatsoever.
You can likely score one of these pretty cheaply at auction. Do note that it supports two channel SACD playback only, so if you're looking for MCH SACD, you'll need to look elsewhere.
Hey Pete,Can you give me a little info regarding the laser replacement? I also have this unit and it has been trouble free with the execption of only on occasion, otherwise I've been very happy with it. When getting towards the end of the disc (the inside track if you will) I'm having intermittent issues such as freezing (it seems to be only on movies for now) I've not encountered any issues with music discs that I'm aware of yet. Knock wood. Did you find that the new laser assembly improved your sound quality or was it unoticible? Also, where did you have the repair work done? Thanks.
Hi blackpixels,I never experienced the problem you seem to be having with DVDs, although I have never watched many DVDs on this unit.
I did not send my unit out for repair; I replaced the laser assembly myself. Laser assembly replacement is a fairly easy job for a DIYer, but if you're not so inclined, you will want to send it out. I would search the asylum or ask others for recommended repair shops (I know many have used Sony's authorized centers, but I didn't know what their outcomes were).
Before assuming you need to replace the laser, however, have you tried recalibrating the laser? Recalibration was able to fix some minor problems I was having - I only replaced the laser when recalibration no longer worked. Recalibration is easy - the procedure is in the service manual (I can't recall the key combination you need to use to get into the service menu, else I'd offer it here - I can provide the magic keystrokes later from home if you need the info).
I didn't noticed any change in sound quality after replacing the laser.
Best of luck,
Pete
(nt)
It was an upgrade for the CD and DVD players also that I owned so a triple purpose for purchase. It was very hard to beat for the price at the time I bought it also.I eventually sold it and went with the XA777ES. A rather significant upgrade for SACD and CD IMHO. No DVD playback obviously but I went another route with that.
There is no doubt in mind that the asking price of $1000 used is because of reliability issues. It is a great player for the price if one would decide to pick that one up. No unmodded $1k player can touch it for CD IMHO.
I'm not sure if you meant that the way it came out, or if perhaps you're talking about the price you paid several years ago. This player was $1.5k new back in 2000, and I believe the price for new ones dropped to around, if not below $1k before they were discontinued.You're obviously not in the market for one if you've already owned one, so I'm only posting this in case others may be curious regarding the current asking price for used ones.
-Pete
And it is ridiculous, IMHO. One can do much much worse for CD and SACD at that price and at a higher price also! I suppose it is because there are some reliability issues.Many folks I do believe jumped on the 9000ES, old or new, as the price became quite attractive.
I bought it about the same time as you did. I added Dan Wright mods a few years ago and am still pleased as punch. I have had a few problems but nothing that recalibration and sled cleaning did not deal with. I learned how to do those maintenance items on this forum. I will hold on to this unit until I win the lottery and can afford a Meitner or Ayre.
This too was my first intro into SACD back in 2000 and I've been really happy with it so far. NO issues, with the exception of an tracking problem towards the end of SOME movies recently. Can you tell me where I can find the recalibration and cleaning instruction you're referring to? Maybe that's all I need as well. Thanks.
A Denon DVD-3910. Although it's not exactly "entry level", I guess my recent Denon 2910 would have qualified for that moniker. I have found both units to be of excellent quality in construction and playback. The 3910 is a bit better for both sound and video playback, and the price ($525 delivered) is hard to beat.It also sounds very good on Redbook playback as well. All in all, these are exceptional units and a certifiable bargain in the used marketplace.
I use it for DVD mostly and it isn't all that bad with CD or SACD to tell you the truth. It needs more break in time for both of those though for a final evaluation. The 2910 I don't think would be a big enough step up and I'm very much considering the 3910.It would only be used as a backup to my XA777ES for CD and SACD.
I bought a Marantz SA15S1 2 months ago to try SACDs. And I found out that SACD players are notoriously unreliable and have frequent reading problems. I think a nice RBCD player will bring you more enjoyment in the long run.
Clarence
Are you using it for CD playback also or do you have a better player for that?
Although,on reflection, it may not be true for DVD Audio only players. I have one that is going on 3 years heavy use (sorry, I don't rmember model) nad it runs dandy. With carousel.
I'd like to know what SACD player you have and what you have found is significantly better for CD. No need to reply if one considers this an entry level player you bought just to test the waters with SACD and had something much better for CD beforehand. TIA!!
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