SACD player with USB OUTPUT?

First of all, SACD is coded in DSD which is a 1 bit coding at 2.8 MHz, it is very very different from PCM coding which is what you find with CDs and most most HD recordings, so you would need to convert DSD into PCM before entering the HRT DAC*, that is not a lossless process (whether it is audible or not is another issue).

*it only does PCM, like 99% of the DACs.

Second, SACD is DRM protected, which means you can't legally extract the digital data, there was a reported hack but I won't get into this.

In short, there's probably no way to find an SACD player with an USB output.

Yes, there's no possibility of using an external DAC with SACD, the only possibility is to buy an SACD player with a good DAC inside and directly put an amp after that.

The way you usually do, reading specs, review impressions, other forumers impressions, by the maker's reputation, listening yourself...

I fear we all have a different method to make sure to be satisfied on how we spend our money, mine wouldn't match yours.

PS: IMHO, SACD, as a format is overrated, a properly mastered CD, with the same mastering as its SACD counterpart is indistinguishable from the SACD, the problem is that even with dual layer CD/SACDs, we don;t get the same master on both layers. It's an artificial segmentation.

Quote:

Originally Posted by khaos974 

Yes, there's no possibility of using an external DAC with SACD, the only possibility is to buy an SACD player with a good DAC inside and directly put an amp after that.

This is not 100% correct.  There are home theater receivers out on the market that can decode DSD with their internal DAC via HDMI.  Not a dedicated DAC unit, but external decoding of DSD is indeed possible.  

Hmmm, using an A/V receiver would indeed be possible, but the DACs inside A/V receiver never had a stellar reputation compared to audiophile SACD players.

But don't over interpre what I mean, I dodn't actually say anything about the quality of those DACs.

Anyway, you could either use the headphone out of the Receiver, or its lineout.

If you don't mind, most SACD players also output over coax/optical in 16 bits x 48 khz (instead of hi-rez DSD).

This way, you could easily use an external DAC, but not USB...

Edit : Akart is right, after checking, my Oppo can't do that. Sorry for the hopes, if any...

SACD players cannot output a digital stream over a non-HDMI port according to the standard. Simple.
 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Headdie 

If you don't mind, most SACD players also output over coax/optical in 16 bits x 48 khz (instead of hi-rez DSD).

 

This way, you could easily use an external DAC, but not USB...

The Wikipedia entry for "SACD" in part reads...............

SACD players are not permitted to offer an output carrying an unencrypted stream of Direct Stream Digital (DSD).^[30] Players initially supported only analog output; later some proprietary digital interfaces such as Denon Link permitted encrypted transmission of DSD. There are now two standard digital connection methods capable of carrying DSD in encrypted form: i.Link and HDMI (version 1.2 or later, standardised in August 2005). 

read the entire entry here. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sacd 

Unless someone makes a DAC with an HDMI and/or 1394 input.

Two main reasons for going with SACD are the higher sampling rates available, and the better quality mastering process. If you already have a nice USB DAC to use with your computer, you could get the same benefits of SACD with hi-res downloads from places like HDTracks.