Need an SACD player before early June

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Cherian said:
Well I just closed the deal on a DV-50s. I hope to have it on Tuesday. I can not wait. All this money so I can play my Dead Can Dance SACDs in mid June. Got to love this hobby. :music:
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SWEET!! Good job, Cher!

I guess the two of us just got new sources! I just closed a deal on mine as well! :D
 
I always wanted to upgrade now I have the space to do it. I think I'm done with the major stuff (I hope). Now it will be minor changes.
 
theWB said:
When will it end ?:rolleyes:

Cherian has been upgrading at Joey like speed over the last year.:D
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It does not end, Cherian's assertions to the contrary not withstanding - pay particular attention to the "(I hope)" in his last post.
 
Cherian said:
I have many SACD but no SACD player. I’m looking to move into the world of SACD players. I’m looking at the following.

1) The McCormack Audio UDP-1 (plays just about anything and has very good reviews). This player is also sold under the Conrad Johnson name.
2) The Mcintosh MVP-861. (Again this one plays just about every format).
3) The Krell SACD Standard (only plays red book and SACD).
4) The Mcintosh MCD-201 (only plays red book and SACD).
5) Shanling T-200 (only plays red book and SACD).

I can only spend about $1,500.00 and used is not an issue. Any other players I should consider?

Thanks for any advise.

Cherian
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Here is my two cents worth on this topic. I have a Denon Dvd-2930ci bought new for 450 retail is 800 and i also have a denon dvd-3930ci bought reman for 705 retail is 1600. I ws using a denon dvd with modified 2 channel analog audio with burr brown OPA-627 but mt unit died. I still have the unmodified 2930 and 3930ci's.

As far as 2 channel audio they are loose and music isnt defined with stock units. They are actually more responsive playing 5.1 sacd and 5.1 dvd-audio.
Both offer good perormance with bass management in both dvd-a and sacd. If you plan to use this for redbock cds you will not be happy. The denons are first and foremost Dvd movie driven, they have the realta chip for movies and the reon(2930ci). They didnt spend money on redbock and the dvd-audio and ssacd audio thru 2 channel analog and 5.1 analog is much tighter and music isnt lost in the background. redbock cds sound fuzzy, no better than a cheap 100 dollar pioneer cd player.

This is what i have changed to. I picked up a NAD M5 which only plays cd and sacd both in 2 channel and 5.1 and has bass management. The NAD M5 shines in 2 channel cds blowing away anything i have listened to in it price range unmodified. You can get a reman Nad M5 for 1199 and its covered by a 1 year factory Nad warranty. The sound for the cds is tight and well seperated and very very clear. they vocals no float on air and you hear parts you never heard before with great seperation and clarity. You can actually make out mumbled parts of music that were always in the background with other players costing 100-2000.

So now i needed a dvd-audio player since the denons did that also. I went with the Lexicon RT-20. It is a universal player bought they didnt spend the money on the movie side they spent it on Audio side of this player. Video is only upconverting to 1080i not 1080p like denons and they use a a cheaper video chip to do this. I am going to use this unit for DVD-a and SACD in 5.1 channel since this unit is in another leagur with dvd-ausio and sacd compared to the Nad M5 cd and Sacd player. The Nad was a vast imporvement in ausio over the denon and the Lexicon RT-20 has me sleeping on the floor admiring the pristine music and the way 2 channel audio dances around the room like it was surround sound. The Nad M5 does that with 2 channel also but just not at this refined level. The lexicon rt-20 retails for 5000 so it better make audio sound sweet and its does in orgasmic ways. I have never been happier with a stock playerthen with the Lexicon at this price range. I happened to get mine Brand new from an authorized dealer dropping his Lexicon and revel line at the price of $2000 thats 3000 of retail and has 3 year warranty. I for the money I saved could modify this unit to achieve stellar audio.

So I will use the Nad M5 for cds and Sacd in 2 channel and use the lexicon for 5.1 SACD and 5.1 dvd-audio and 2.0 dvd audio.

In my opinion and its your choice but for $1234 shipped to your dorr and a factory warranty of 1 year/ and some cases 2 years you cant do better than the NAD M5 for cds and Sacds in that price range. The sound stage of standard 2 channel audio just opens up and engulfs you with sound. You will be looking at the rear and side walls and wondering where they hide the speakers. You can get used one on Audiogon for 1000 but no warranty for $1234 at www.spearitsound.com its yours with a warrnaty. they offer great customer support and service. here the link to the Nad page.

In the end its up to you to decide what to buy, you never stated if you would be playing SACD in 2 channel or 5.1 so it just gave you went I ended up doing and my opinion is what it is. Best of luck and hope my info helps, Mike

My setup is as follows :
will be adding photos soon
Vistas front
Script i rears
Motif center
Powered by Nad M25
Pre amp Nad T-175
Depth i Sub used for 5.1 audio and movies not used in two channel
Nad M5 redbock and Sacd .. used for 2 channel
Lexicon Rt-20 used for DVD-audio and Sacd audio in 5.1.. and 2 channel at times.
Denon dvd-3930 used back up player
Toshiba Hd-a35 HD Dvd
Ps 3 for blu ray
Interconnect are Blue Jeans Cable LC-1 Analog Audio Cable from pre-amp to amp and from Rt-20 to preamp and from Nad M5 to preamp
Speaker wire.... BJC Ten White (from Blue Jean cable)
 
Cherian said:
I always wanted to upgrade now I have the space to do it. I think I'm done with the major stuff (I hope). Now it will be minor changes.
Click to expand...

Cherian,

With your new system, nothing will be minor. It will all be aha! There's cables, vibration control, power cords, power conditioners, etc., etc., etc.
 
One more thing

Just for giggles, if you have a multi-channel ML system with an HDMI connection free, you should order a OPPO 980H which is only $169 MSRP. It comes with a good HDMI cable and plays both SACD 5.1 and DVD-A 5.1 sound over HDMI. Which by the way will convert to 7.1 if or 7.2 if you are so inclined. I had a more expensive SACD player, 1,500 that had 5.1 analog connections and when I put the OPPO 980H in to play, well let's just say I no longer have the 'Other' SACD player. Like I said, if you have a multi-channel ML music system the OPPO 980H at $169.00 is an amazing piece of tech and hard to beat IMHO.:music:
 
JMAUSGP said:
Just for giggles, if you have a multi-channel ML system with an HDMI connection free, you should order a OPPO 980H which is only $169 MSRP. It comes with a good HDMI cable and plays both SACD 5.1 and DVD-A 5.1 sound over HDMI. Which by the way will convert to 7.1 if or 7.2 if you are so inclined. I had a more expensive SACD player, 1,500 that had 5.1 analog connections and when I put the OPPO 980H in to play, well let's just say I no longer have the 'Other' SACD player. Like I said, if you have a multi-channel ML music system the OPPO 980H at $169.00 is an amazing piece of tech and hard to beat IMHO.:music:
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Well one problem with that is copyrights, HDMI is not allowed to put thru dvd-audio at its nataive 192 it downconverts to 88/48 that kills the quality by 2.18 your losing twice the resolution. The whole purpose of having dvd-a and sacd is to get it full bandwith sound not reduced quality. I personally can tell the difference between each of my units, sometimes cheaper is better at one thing just like high end stuff, thus my multiple units. Sacd dsd streams at a lower rate then Dvd-a already and why would anyone reduce the majesty of dvd audio to just above standard cd. Sure Opp uni player is nice and a steal at the money but as a music purest I wouldn't want to send my audio theu HDMi and reduce its sound for ease of connection. Plus since most pre-amps only have one multi-channel analog input I use it wisely and am currently considering picking up the following unit to have 2 multi channel analog ins and more hdmi ins. this unit is passthru with no audio signal loss or enhancement. For those wanting More multi channel analog input this unit is nice. they make others that dont have Hdmi also, take a look at their site.

My Denon dvd-2930 ci and 3930ci sound different than my Nad M5 and then again My Lexicon RT-20 is a whole different beast. Each unit has its strong suit, the Denons are bad a standard cd 2 channel audio while the Nad M5 for the money unaltered shines in that department. As far as expanding my 5.1 dvd-a mix to 7.1 I really dont like the way it sounds, prefer the 5.1 mix over expanding it to 7.1. I prefer to listen to my high resoltion sacds and dvd-audios in 2 channel high resolution audio more than the 5.1 mixes. Some of the 5.1 mixes arent done right and almost never compare to the original mixes we remember when we were all growing up and falling inlove with audio. Just my opinion for what it is worth.
Mike
 
flykmair said:
I prefer to listen to my high resolution sacd's and dvd-audios in 2 channel high resolution audio more than the 5.1 mixes. Some of the 5.1 mixes aren't done right and almost never compare to the original mixes we remember when we were all growing up and falling in love with audio. Just my opinion for what it is worth.
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I only listen to SACD Classical in MCH mode for room/hall ambiance recreation. When done right, they really improve the enjoyment factor for me. For other SACD's I prefer them in 2 Ch as I do not enjoy when instruments or singers appear behind me. But, I have friends, who are musicians. that come over to listen to the rig, and some of them like this type of mix as it reminds them of playing with a group having instruments all around them.
 
I use my PS3 and HDMI to play multi channel SACDs and find that it works well. The only issue is that my PS3 converts the DSD data to PCM. However, it is still at 192kHz.
 
I hear what you are saying but I guess to each his own. I have always enjoyed the experience of surround sound over just two channels. My father was dead set on 78 mono and swore he liked it better than 2 channel and I guess he did. I on the other hand liked the Quadrophonic experience over 2 channel, whether it was a Dynaco SCA80Q or a QX949 Quad Reciever. I always liked a good quad mix over a good stereo mix and DSOTM SACD in 5.1 on an OPPO 980H with a 7.2 ML system can not be touched by 2 channel mix INHO. But my original point was this, for 169 bucks just try it, at 169 bucks you can afford to get both players and then just enjoy each doing what they do best.You may find that yourself or your guests prefer multi-channel over Stereo for so little money and no hassle with HDMI, it's worth a shot.
 
flykmair said:
Well one problem with that is copyrights, HDMI is not allowed to put thru dvd-audio at its nataive 192 it downconverts to 88/48 that kills the quality by 2.18 your losing twice the resolution.
Click to expand...

I do not believe that this is right. I have connected my Oppo to two different preamps via HDMI. DVD-A come across at full native resolution. 192/24 or 96/24 depending on the disc and program selected. SACDs also, 88.4/24. And I can hear the difference between the SACD and the same CD.

It is true that due to copyright protection the SACD bitstream (either DSD or PCM) can not be output via the unencrypted digital out (coax or toslink) but can be output via encrypted channels (iLink or HDMI) to receivers that employ the proper DCMI chips (a promise not to record the data). The same is true for DVD-A but not DVD-V.

--burke
 
Jeff, I think he's got an Esoteric DV-50s like mine on the way. Supposed to have it next Tuesday.
 
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