[adriatikfan]

I've been toying with the idea of buying an SACD player - two different price ranges:

Samsung DVD HD950
Pioneer DV 585 A

Both are pretty much the same price or - twice as costly:

Philipps dvd 963 sa

I'd appreciate advice if anyone has direct experience of these players. What is the redbook playback like on these? The only review of the Philips I have read is very positiver about redbook playback.

Would the redbook playback be in line with that of a Cambgridge Azur 640 version 2 or an Eastsound E5?

Help please!

MTIA

Best Wishes
David Foley

P.S. Anyone have advice on best prices in the UK.

 

[bigshot]

I have the Phillips, however for the life of me, I can't tell a difference in quality between CDs and SACDs. It's a great player though. Very tolerant of marginal DVDs.

See ya
Steve

 

[SennFan]

Both DVD-A and SACD are dying a slow death...actually I believe DVD-A is already dead. There are beter ways to upgrade...

 

[spaceman]

I've been very happy with both redbook and SACD playback on my 963SA. However, it is currently being used as my primary DVD/5.1 SACD in my home theater setup. My Cambridge Audio 640C is my primary headphone source, and I would say it is very comparable to the 963SA in terms of redbook playback, though it may be a little more forward/tighter regarding soundstage.

 

[soundboy]

Did Philips release the replacement model of the 963, I believe it's called the 9000, in the UK? I read that it's about US$400.00 or so and upsamples regular CD to DSD.

 

[Carl]

The 963SA with an SDI mod delivers one of the best pictures you'll ever see from DVD, but it's audio isn't the be all and end all, not to say it's bad of course.

I find mind quite bright and sharp, but it's very detailed and tight with a few modifications. If you do mod one, throw away its useless sample rate converter chip and get a better one.

 

[Bones13]

I just ordered the Samsung unit, as I too believe that these formats are on the way out. My player will be used to play the few SACDs and couple DVDas that I have, or run accross. As well it will send video to my monitor for DVD playback. My music is pretty much all on hard disk.

I ended up chosing it because it was inexpensive, and as mentioned before, we will be looking at new formats in the relatively near future.

 

[fewtch]

Personally I think SACD has found an audiophile niche, and will be around a long time. OTOH, DVD-A is definitely dead IMO.

 

[Beauregard]

Quote:

Originally Posted by fewtch Personally I think SACD has found an audiophile niche, and will be around a long time. ...

I agree - particularly if one is a classical music fan. There's a steady - though not exactly gushing - stream of new releases and major manufacturers like Marantz are introducing new dedicated SACD/CD players. Coupled with the general availability of SACD capability in universal players, I think this bodes well for the format as a specialty market similar to audiophile vinyl.

Anyone who's considering SACD should check out the SACD forum on Audio Asylum to form their own opinions about where things are headed.

Best,
Beau

 

[bigshot]

The way the record business is going, classical music may be dead. A niche of a niche can't mean much money.

See ya
Steve

 

[fewtch]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bigshot The way the record business is going, classical music may be dead.

LOL... people have been saying that for what, 300 years?

 

[Beauregard]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bigshot The way the record business is going, classical music may be dead. A niche of a niche can't mean much money.

Spoilsport!!

I guess I better invest my money in piano lessons if I want to keep enjoying new music...

 

[bigshot]

Quote:

Originally Posted by fewtch LOL... people have been saying that for what, 300 years?

No... If you read the trades, you'll see what I'm talking about. Fewer record labels are financing new recordings, symphonies that have had record contracts for decades are now left without a label, deep catalog is going out of print, and there are fewer and fewer buyers for classical music. It really isn't a good time business-wise.

See ya
Steve

 

[nabwong]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bigshot No... If you read the trades, you'll see what I'm talking about. Fewer record labels are financing new recordings, symphonies that have had record contracts for decades are now left without a label, deep catalog is going out of print, and there are fewer and fewer buyers for classical music. It really isn't a good time business-wise. See ya Steve

And i blame education dept for this. Funding's been cut to educate the kids. So the audience keeps getting smaller and smaller.