CD v. SACD


I was planning on buying a new CD player (Rega Jupiter 2000), when I read a few reveiws of the Sony SCD-XA777ES, which used, I could buy for about the same amount as the Rega new. I currently have an extensive CD collection, but no SACDs. My question is whether I should just go ahead and buy the Sony, or whether a dedicated CD player, like the Rega (or others at its price point) are significantly better in their CD playback. Thanks. Tom
boschtb

Showing 2 responses by tonyp54

SACD is a gamble at this point. Sony is the only major record label supporting the format and they won't even supply a large enough inventory of sacds to justify the purchase. I have heard cds through the Sony 777 and Marantz SA-1 and was not impressed. You can do much more justice to your cd collection with a good dedicated cd player. I'm also curious how folks honestly think sacd compares to well recorded cds like xrcd, chesky, audioquest, etc.
Kayakfit... "redbook" cd refers to the standard cd that has been out for 20 years now. SACD (super audio compact disc) is Sony and Phillips attempt to hold on to the patent they have on digital recordings with cds that is expiring. DVD-A (digital versatile disc-audio) is Panasonic's (and the rest of the packs) attempt to knock them off the "hill" and take over the next digital format. In both cases, removing our ability to make copies of the discs is the overriding motive for the format change. Thats not to say the new formats are not better than redbook, but the question is which will win the format war and become the new standard.