Cheap SACD Player?

The Sony C333ES. Class A rated by Stereophile and I think it does sound great in SACD. However, my AA Prima mk2 is better still with simple redbook. SACDs are overrated in my opinion - mainly because lots of them still have poor recording quality and are warmed over PCM anyway.

I second the Sony recomendation but I would opt for a used XA777 or SCD777 if your budget allows. However I do not agree with the comment that SACD is overrated. I enjoy SACD and the benefits it provides and while there are variations from recording to recording as with any format it is still better on average than redbook. I have noticed that on the hybrid discs that the redbook layer sounds better, more full, than the redbook only disc; with SACD still superior.

Chuck

I wouldn't waste your time with Sony C333ES - go with an XA777ES or above if you can - they are very reasonable in price used and sound terrific.

All the new DSD recordings sound great. Some of the old remasters aren't worth it as they sound about as good as Redbook, but SACD is superior to Redbook. The only ones that debate this are the ones that don't want to get into it and try to justify it by making themselves believe it's not better - Judge for yourself.

If you are planning to plunk down a bunch on a high-end system down the line, you might want to look at entry level Pioneer DV-588A or a Yamaha DV-6XXX Series. The Pioneer and some of the Yamaha models can also play DVD-Audio discs. These are fairly decent players for the money.

What is your cheap budget? $100? $350? $???

Check out Sony's DVP-NC685V. This got a rave review in Stereophile for it's SACD playback. I have two, and love them. These units will play all current formats. Check out Ebay (urgh!) and you can get them for about $120! There is also an added benefit of a 5-disc changer.

Depending on your budget, the C333ES is a very good value. It sounds decent on redbook and very good with the right SACD's. As indicated above, all SACD's are not created equal. I have a C333ES, an SCD 777ES and an SCD1 - while the 333 is not in the league of the other two, they can be purchased here on Audiogon for a very reasonable price. Due to space constraints, I'm only keeping two players, and the 333 is one of them (there's a certain convenience in that you can put in 5 CD's and just let it play). Although it is a great sounding unit, the 777 is the 'odd man out' for me.

Did you say cheap? The Samsung HD 841 universal player (also branded as a Toshiba 4960)was offered for modification by both RAM and EVS when still in production. There are some rave reviews/discussions on audio asylum. In stock form this player is still pretty good too, and you can't loose checking it out on eBay for less than $70!! Now that's cheap.

If you are looking to get into SACD on the cheap, find you a Sony 9000es player on the net for about $500. It offers as good a SACD sound as many much more expensive players.
Yes, it is a DVD player also BUT it is built like a tank, offers just exceptional SACD playback and can be had fairly cheap.
I own it and have had the Sony xa777es in the past. The 777 plays multiple formats but on regular SACD 2 channel, the 9000 is every bit as good. In someways, better. In regular CD, it's ok. Warm sounding but certainly not the last word in resolution. SACD, that's on another level.

Yeh, I have one of the Samsung's and it ain't bad! Forgot I even had the thing.