SACD is a completely different format. DVD Audio is part of the same format specification as DVD Video, but a different application requiring different software to read. So, the short answer to your question is, no, it won't work to hook up an external DAC and take a digital output from a current DVD player to be able to play SACD and DVD-A. A current DVD-V player can't read either format and no player currently outputs a digital stream containing one of the new formats. For this latter reason, there are no external DACs that will accept and decode these new formats. -Kirk
Dumb Question
Are the physical formats of SACD and DVD Audio different than CD or DVD? The reason I'm asking is that I have a Pioneer 525 DVD player. This only supports DVD and CD playback out of the box. If I hook up an external DAC which can decode the formats, would I be able to use this to play SACD and DVD Audio?