Best SACD player under $1500?

the marantz is decent- slightly laid back sound and just okay in the bass..but extremely musical (redbook is pretty good too)

the only drawback to most players is the quality control..my first marantz 8260 was replaced by my dealer after many times..

considering whether the format will be supported is a big deal..

A used Sony SCD-777ES. Decent sound, best transport mechanism, easy to mod for better performance when you have the cash for that. The best Marantz models may sound better, but are out of the price range you're talking about.

I TOTALY AGREE WITH Rcprince FOR EXACTLY THE SAME REASONS.A USED SCD-777ESWILL BE THE BEST FOR MONEY AND CAN BE MODDED TO STATE OF THE ART. SKIP

Despite noting your desire to NOT go with a larger company, I would recommend the Marantz 8260. I have not had any issues. In Stereophile's Recommended Components for two years running. Plus, it's WAY under $1,500. Put the extra dough in software and/or cables!

Agree with the Sony recommendations.
Another alternative for slightly more money ($1100+ used and $550 for mod) is a used Marantz SA14 modded by TRL.

A new unit alternative is a Sony 2000ES modded by TRL which you can get for probably $800+ total.

Good luck.

The new marantz 9500 can be had for right at 1500 . The underrated Xindak SCD 2 is another bargin player that is good on both sacd and redbook.

Who does the mods? Any recomendations? I have the sony 777xes and would be interested in a mod package.

there are a few. I have the Sony xa777es modded. I got it used for about $1,500. The SACD is great. The redbook is really good. As much as I hear people complaining that the redbook wasn't very good on this player. I keep comparing it to other players hoping to make a change, but it keeps beating other players in the price range. I assume those comments were for the stock player's redbook performance which I haven't heard. Mine was modded from the start.

Larry Rosen,
you look into TRL (Tube research Labs). They are doing a mod on my marantz sa-14 (see long thread). They are quite reasonable at $550 per unit and quite good. Bob

My mod was the superclock II by modwright. It is the one that makes the biggest difference, but if you have the money, I would get the truth mod because dollar for dollar you will get more improvement than going to another stock CD player.