[Joe Bloggs]

Yeah, actually the background was quite noisy...

But as of now I don't have any good closed headphones, unless you count the EX70EQ

So it looks like it might help if I buy a new set of phones before my next audition: AKGs or Etys... but by then the 555ES would probably be sold out

 

[Blighty]

Quote:

Originally posted by MacDEF SACD has been around for a few years now, and there are already a couple thousand titles, from what I've read. My 333ES plays CDRs just fine -- time to get a SACD player, Blighty

You're pulling my leg right, macdef? I thought there were barely 500 titles released worldwide???

Moreover, I did not realize the laser in the SACD players could pick up data from CDRs lol.....

Gee, if all of what you say is correct, I seriously missed the boat on this format.....

 

[Joe Bloggs]

The sales guy says that the 333ES, 555ES and 777ES are being discontinued... true???

 

[MacDEF]

Quote:

Originally posted by Blighty I thought there were barely 500 titles released worldwide???

I don't think anyone knows for sure how many there are, but Phillips predicted that by sometime in 2001 there would be over 1200. According to Stereophile, over 100 new ones are currently being released each month. So if not at 2000, probably getting fairly close

Quote:

Moreover, I did not realize the laser in the SACD players could pick up data from CDRs lol.....

Yep, just tried an audio CD I burned and it works great

 

[Tuberoller]

Guys,I would sit tight on any digital format purchase right now.there will be some major hardware announcements in the very near future.Denon,Harmon Kardon,Pioneer and several high end manufacturers will soon intro new SACD players.some should be out in time for the NY Stereophile show.hardware prices for "redbook" and SACD players are already dropping drastically.The Marantz SA-14 SACD I bought my wife retailed for $2,800.00 in January,the retail has dropped to half that now and this is still a current model.If you buy a player now you will be kicking yourself in a few months.When I went to the Consumer Electronics Show this past January the buzz was hot for dropping prices on most audio gear,especially digital sources.This has indeed panned out.keep your pants on.


I will add that the quality of digital hardware has improved to the point where the best and the worst are separated by such a small margin, in-home auditions have become mandatory.The large, glaring differences between digital sources just no longer exist.In these times a $200.00 Sony SACD/DVD player is breathing down the neck of it's $5,000.00 big brother and does lots of things better than the $3,500 competition from a major high end maker.As always I strongly encourage in-home auditions before any audio, purchase if at all possible.

 

[Joe Bloggs]

Well, if I can't buy the 555ES before it's out of stock and 'discontinued' will there be any worthy replacements?

 

[Kieran Comito]

First, thankyou for the imformative post. I'm in a position to upgrade my source. From what you are saying is sounds like maybe I should wait a while rather than spend big money on a high end redbook cd player. Are you saying that new generation SACD players will be able to play my redbook cds better than the Cary 303/200 I'm currently looking at? I think the problem for most of us is that we own hunrdeds of cds. I'm not going to spend the money to get my whole collection (just my favorites) updated to the new format. There will be a need for a cd player in my future, but I want one that does a great job. From what you know, will the cd playing capabilites of the new SACD improve in the next couple of years?

 

[Tuberoller]

Kieran,

What you need to do is audition a few players right now.I would suggest some of the lower end Sony SACD/DVD players(DVP-NS500V)mid-fi players like the MusicHall MMF-25f or Arcam or Roskan line or the excellent Cambridge D-500se,and maybe one of the Higher end players such as the Rega Jupiter or Cary line.you will see that the sonic differences between these players is in minute details.That Sony player has outstanding "redbook" playback,good enough to make you seriosly consider it amongst that crowd.I know what I'm suggesting can be time consuming but today nothing short of an in-home audition will do justice for your search.Most good dealers know this and will cooperate in some way.

With so many new players on the horizon,I would say a (short) wait is prudent.If your are still unimpressed most of the models you are considering now will still be available in closeout sales.Since the hardware prices have dropped so much I don't think we will be seeing SACD players priced at the levels they were just a year ago again.

 

[Audio-Me]

I liked very much the Arcam CD72 and Rega Planet 2000 and have heard the Sony SCD-333ES but wasn't very impressed, however the difference between those and Cary CD-303/200 I think certainly weren't minute. I would like to hear the MH and Roksan, but I doubt they'd win me over the Cary.

*tries to resist curiosity of trying out the 306*

 

[DanG]

Joe, the Sony SCD-C333ES has already been discontinued. I don't know about the SCD-555ES or SCD-XA777ES. The SCD-777ES was discontinued a long time ago already (about a year?).

 

[jude]

I was also curious about the performance of digital source components in various price ranges, so I'm going to be reviewing several digital source options over the next few months, hopefully with the additional help of a local serious audiophile friend of mine with Mark Levinson/Aerial Acoustics speaker output rig (among other gear).

Currently confirmed for the review:

In the sub-$1000 range will be the NAD C541i, Music Hall MMF CD-25, and Arcam Diva CD72T.

In the sub-$2000 range will be the Creek CD53 Reference and Musical Fidelity A3.2 (upsampling player).

In the $2000+ range will be the Wadia 861 (upsampling player/processor); the Arcam FMJ CD23T is pending.

For outboard DACs, there will be the Bel Canto DAC2 (upsampling DAC); at least one of the MSB DACs is pending.

Should be a blast!

 

[markl]

Jude, why not save time and aggravation and simply get your 333ES modified? That way, you are assured the sound will indeed represent an upgrade in every way over stock. You go with something else, it might do a lot of things well, but also miss some of the things that the 333ES does well for you. Just a thought.

Also, you know some of your options are non-SACD. You realize we will have to ex-communicate you from the church of SACD for even flirting with the idea of going back to Redbook player!

That's the SEVENTH LEVEL OF HELL for you, you are aware?


Would you sell all your SACDs if you get a Redbook player?

markl

 

[dhwilkin]

So jude, what time in 2003 can we expect this source review?

 

[jude]

Quote:

Originally posted by dhwilkin So jude, what time in 2003 can we expect this source review?

LOL. Smartaleck. 2004. (just kidding)

This time it appears I'll have some help with these reviews, which'll be nice.


Quote:

Originally posted by markl Jude, why not save time and aggravation and simply get your 333ES modified? That way, you are assured the sound will indeed represent an upgrade in every way over stock. You go with something else, it might do a lot of things well, but also miss some of the things that the 333ES does well for you. Just a thought. Also, you know some of your options are non-SACD. Would you sell all your SACDs if you get a Redbook player? markl

LOL! Time? Yes. Aggravation? Are you kidding me? I'm absolutely thrilled to have the opportunity to do this, and am looking forward to it in a very big way.

Thanks for the suggestion on upgrading the 333ES, markl. I am, however, going to keep its warranty valid and leave it stock. A five-year ES warranty is a hard thing for me to part with.

Regarding going back to redbook from SACD: the problem is that I never got to SACD with most of my albums in the first place. Even if I have a lot of faith in the future of SACD (I actually feel better about its chances than most), I don't think many of my favorite albums will be SACD'd any time soon. Yes, SACD has been a significant step up from redbook in my experience. But I haven't yet tried enough of the latest and greatest redbook players and DACs (though that's about to change) except at the stores, and I've also not tried upsampling yet. So no matter how much I like SACD, my best option for most of my albums (and I have a lot) is to maximize their performance in the redbook format that will likely be the only digital disc format they'll be available in for quite some time.

As far as whether or not I'll be selling my SACDs -- it's way too early for me to even think about that yet. Even if I was to totally replace it in my main rig with another one-box unit, I might decide to use the SCD-C333ES as an office source component. Then again, I may decide not to replace it at all. Or what if I like one of the outboard DACs with the SCD-C333ES as a transport? Again, it's just too early to say. Most of the gear for the review has yet to arrive.

 

[Joe Bloggs]

Jude,

Any chance you can get hold of a Channel Islands VDA-1 for review too? Pricewise it seems to lie between the ART DI/O and the MSB Link III, but it seems to have all the features of a Link III with additional upsampling module...