Better SACD player than Oppo 205

I keep going back to Oppo 205. In addition to doing SACD, the 205 is currently one of the only two (the second being an expensive Meridian) that decodes the new format MQA-CD that a Japanese company has been producing 

If you could stretch your budget to $2000.00 you might find an Esoteric X03SE. You would NEVER look back. I had one. I paid $1800.00 I sold it thinking that the XO1 HAD to be better. It is considered to be. If I had the XO3SE back, I would keep it. Good luck. Joe

I have the oppo 205 and am still breaking it in.  Sound improved quite a bit when I provided it power from a PSAudio AC regenerator.  I use the XLRs to directly drive a 2 channel amp.  Whatever I.  Issuing, I guess I don’t know because I am happy finding new details.  By the way, I do Pure Audio when using the 2 ch.  that helps a bit.
if I ever hear a ModWright 205 I may be convinced.  I still have the oppo 105 and 105D models.,  I use them in less demanding mch and study systems to reduce use of the 205.  My concern is that the market will not coalesce around a successor and we will be left with mass market choices.  That is what happened with plasma and several speaker manufacturers.  The masses want the ease of streaming and the elite want purity.  Don’t be deluded that 5G is going to fix this.  Real Time Streaming will always be antithetical to quality.

I have the oppo 205 and am still breaking it in.  Sound improved quite a bit when I provided it power from a PSAudio AC regenerator.  I use the XLRs to directly drive a 2 channel amp.  Whatever I.  Issuing, I guess I don’t know because I am happy finding new details.  By the way, I do Pure Audio when using the 2 ch.  that helps a bit.
if I ever hear a ModWright 205 I may be convinced.  I still have the oppo 105 and 105D models.,  I use them in less demanding mch and study systems to reduce use of the 205.  My concern is that the market will not coalesce around a successor and we will be left with mass market choices.  That is what happened with plasma and several speaker manufacturers.  The masses want the ease of streaming and the elite want purity.  Don’t be deluded that 5G is going to fix this.  Real Time Streaming will always be antithetical to quality.

anwar
Looking forward in reading about your separate thread on Cabling!
Happy Listening!

Yes @trevorspy Ayre would be an obvious choice for me since the rest of my system is Ayre (the X-5 trifecta), but not sure I want to spend that kind of money for a SACD player that I will probably use for 1-2 hours a week

I bought a used Ayre C-5xeMP universal CD player (which retailed for $6000 in 2009) for $2700, and I'm delighted with it.  It's truly an audiophile piece of equipment:  excellent image, extremely natural non-fatiguing sound, etc.
I bought it off eBay.  Perhaps you can get a better bargain than I did on Audiogon.

@jafant @caphill I plan to share my experience in a separate post.

If you by chance have a set of five full range speakers and five channel amp, you would be amzed how good SACD multi-channel layer would sound.

There was a used Esoteric DV60 SACD player listed for 1600.00.  Not sure if it sold. 

.iso is an image file. 

Hey @junzhang10  ... what is "SACD *iso playback"?

Yamaha CD-s2100, used ones are in your price range

@thyname

Oppo 205 does not come in silver. Do you have to have silver player?
But again if your budget is only around $1k to $1500 the Oppo 205 will be your best option. You should wait till you have bigger budget then look for a better player.

One thing to also consider will be the fully modded Modwright Oppo 205.
Modwright did wonderful job in elevating the Oppo 205’s two-channel performance to a near reference quality player. Only the stereo output of the Oppo 205 is affected by Modwright mod. The fully modded Modwright Oppo 205 two-channel performance is in different league compared to stock 205. The Modwright Oppo 205 is the best mod that Modwright ever done and is a significant step up sonically from previous Modwright Oppo 105 & 95. 

@anwar 

Just curious, I looked at your system and you listed the Ayon Audio CD-07 in your system. And earlier you just mentioned that you also own the flagship Marantz SA-10 CD/SACD player. How did the Ayon compare to the Marantz SA-10 sonically and musicality wise? 
Just curious. 

An used Oppo 95 (with XLR output and SACD *iso play back) would be perfect for you. You can get one at $500. It has silver color option although very rare to find. For SACD play back, you got to try multi-channel. SACD is designed with 5.0 plus 2.0

@thyname,

https://www.audiogon.com/listings/lis94fda-marantz-sc-11s1-sacd-cd-player-sounds-great-cd-sacd-playe...

Good luck with finding a current production ‘silver’ SACD player under $1500. 

anwar

what other gear including cabling is in your system-  Happy Listening!

IMHO, if your budget is limited to 1000 to 1500, stick with your Oppo 205 and wait until you have better budget. I have both Oppo 205 and Marantz SA-10, they are for different purposes. Oppo 205 for multi-channel, SA-10 for 2-channel. Oppo 205 XLR analog output is pretty descent for 2-channel, but SA-10 is completely in different class.

Even though SA-10 lists for 7k, the actual retail price is lower.

I guess the concept of upsampling to DSD 4x and sending it directly to MMM analog output stage without any DAC will trickle-down to other models, right now only to Marantz SA-KI Ruby (USD4k), but single-ended.

Thanks again @caphill 

I forgot to mention I would need a player with Balanced XLR outputs. Yes I know. I am obsessed. And Silver color

Thanks again @caphill 

I forgot to mention I would need a player with Balanced XLR outputs. Yes I know. I am obsessed. And Silver color

The Marantz SA-14S1 reference series CD/SACD player is a current model player from Marantz Reference series and you should be able to get a used one for $1500 or less only if you can find a used one out there. This player currently retails for $2500. But not sure if the SA-14S1 will be better than the Oppo 205. The Marantz will probably have different sound than the Oppo 205.
See my additional comments above.

Thanks @caphill @caphill Open to used, but a bit wary on the condition of transport mechanisms as they tend to fail quick

The Oppo 205 is pretty decent CD/SACD player especially considering its original retail price of $1300. It would be hard pressed to find a better SACD player than the Oppo 205 for around $1000 to $1500 price range unless perhaps you’d willing to look for a slightly used player.
The Oppo 205 is probably one of the best sounding SACD player for $1000 to $1500 price range. The Oppo 205 has been improved over the 105 and sounded better than the 105.
Are you down for a used 2nd hand player or does it have to be brand new?

The Marantz Reference series SA-14S1 dedicated standalone CD/SACD player currently retails for $2500 new and you will be able to get a used one for $1500 or less but only if you can find a used one out there. Not sure if this will be a step up sonically from the Oppo 205 and how much better it will be if it’s any better than the Oppo 205. The Marantz will prob have a different sound than the Oppo 205. Personally I haven’t heard the SA-14S1 but I have heard the Marantz SA-10 CD/SACD player and it was very good and is a step up sonically from the Oppo 205 for sure, but the SA-10 retails for $7k new and is Marantz’s flagship CD/SACD player within its reference series.