Best SACD-CD Player under $1000?

I have not heard the Marantz-but it was one I was wanting to consider.

The Marantz SA8260 does both redbook and sacd very well.

Great responses, thanks to everyone! The Denon 2910 seems to be a popular choice. What does one give up with the 2910 from the 3910? Are the sonics of the 3910 enough better to justify the price difference? I have never owned a piece of Denon equipment but my notion is that the build quality is pretty good. The denons are interesing because if I want to do something else later they are probably better than any DVD player I have in the house and I could use them as such. I am not opposed to mods and have never owned one except my AR turntable that I have lived happily with for 15 years. (I love the vinyl but frankly only play them once in a while, CDs are just too easy, hence my interest in SACDs.) It seems when you have a component modded you need to be willing to live with it from then on. Richards, interestingly enough I have 2 Toshiba 3960s and a 3980, (all purchased cheap off ebay) that are either employed as a DVD or in my bedroom system playing with an old Yamaha int. amp and some Infinity RS1s. I had planned at some point to ship one off to Reference Mods. But, the Toshibas are cheaply built and I just don't know about having something modded with such a flimsy chasis. These Toshibas don't sound bad in stock form (I have added feet)and I have recommended them to several friends who think spending more than $500 on a "stereo" is insane.

Are you open to a modded player? The Toshiba 4960 provides a great, inexpensive platform, and can be modded (mine was done by Reference Audio Mods--RAM, but EVS and Red Wine Audio also do some nice mods to this unit) into a really fine SACD/CD player.

I doubt you can touch it in performance anywhere near the price, since you're not paying for the dealer, distributor, etc, mark-ups--just for the guy doing the work. Most of the built-to-a-price units, and especially the Japanese units, use cheap parts (caps, clocks, bridges, etc) that really choke the sonics. Replacing them with quality parts can open up a new musical world at a price the big boys just can't compete with.

I've got a $800 and a $1100 CD player, and a $1100 DAC that aren't nearly as refined on CD, and SACD on this is absolutely pristine.

Some question putting that much into an inexpensive unit, but I'd rather put my money where it counts.

The Denon DVD-3910 is a superb universal player for the money, and does a great job with CD, SACD, DVD-A, and DVD-video. It's gotten terrific reviews, and can purchased NEW for about $1050 from an authorized dealer. I'd be glad to provide more info if you drop me a personal E-mail.

Sdcampbell

The TRL modded Sony 595 mentioned is a very good sounding unit on both SACD and Redbook.
Do a search here and on AA Hi Rez.
See 6 Moons review.

I have no affiliation with seller.

Gotta second the Denon DVD-2910. If you do some research you'll find out just how good this unit can be. And if you work at it you should be able to find one for a decent price. There will likely be plenty of suggestions in this price range, many of them will be quite good units, but a bit more research should point out just how good the 2910 is. As Dvorak says - "Recommended!".

Jolida 100 used or AH Njoe Tjoeb 4000.

Cayin SCD-50T - saw these for sale on Gon.
220V but I can't see why they wouldn't convert.
I bought one of these (I'm in the UK).
Lovely looking, weighs a ton and very well built.
Tube & ss outputs.
Very, very good on cd and superb on sacd - actually runs my Musical Fidelity Nu- Vista player very close at a quarter of the price !
Si

That's an easy question for me. Denon 2910. List price is $699 but can be gotten for less from authorized sources. Outstanding and highly reliable. Great dvd picture too and dvd-audio.

If you don't mind buying used the Phillips 963SA is real nice sounding player in the $200 to $300 range. This unit has been out of production for more than a year so I doubt you will find a leftover, but you never know. I have one and have been very happy with it. One cautionary note, the big brother of the 963, the 1000, has had some reliability issues. The 963 does not share this problem, but any player in the price range is not going to have the best build quality.

Hoopster,

This might be the answer: Check it out, it's gotten incredible reviews.....

http://cls.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?dgtlplay&1129164813

BTW, I do not know the seller, just pointing out a suggestion...

Enjoy,

TIC