Dumb Question

There are no dumb questions here — ever — so don’t ever say that. There are, however, dumb people here of which I may be one. But that’s a story for another day. Welcome Sam!!! And keep the good — and clearly not dumb — questions coming! You’re what we’re all here for IMHO. U are the good and the best of us here, and u are all what this site is all about. I learn from you and your questions. So u keep on asking away because u make me smarter.  And that’s a big ask truth be told.

@thyname , my bad...$16. Lol.

Just...wow. 

I’m absolutely certain an $18 used Samsung player is just as good as your OPPO. lol. I just shake my head at this place any more...send me a pm if you’d like some advice. I’m a big SACD fan, and have gone throgh many players over the years. Some of the posters on this site simply don’t know what they’re talking about, but they’ll argue until they’re blue in the face. Ridiculous. Btw, the Sony XA5400es is a good one. Not on Esoteric's level, but a good player for sure. 

I went thru 9 Cd players, then chose the Sony xa5400 es SACD/CD player. I could not be happier. I am rediscovering my CDs, SACDs, and buying used ones.

https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/sony-sacd-player-scd-xa5400es-yay-or-nay

If you read thru the above discussion, there is a lot of info that will help you choose a player.

A lot of links are within the discussion

Any used player, you want assurances it has low hours playing time, as the lasers do get old and wear out. Of course make sure remote is included, many listings do not.

The xa5400 es player costs as much or more now than when new.

Esoteric makes brilliant players. 

I can assure you that you won't be disappointed 

Pricey, but top notch. You can also check used, where they are a lot more economical. 

There are several brands with excellent reputations in your price range.

btw, not a dumb question

I will repeat advice that I have offered elsewhere.  I use an Oppo 105 and I also prefer SACDs.  I use a DAC with HDMI inputs (Bryston DAC3, there are others) and output the DSD layer of the SACDs into the DAC.  The DAC runs about 4K now.

Sam,

Many other forums sing the praises of Esoteric SACD players. For under $1500 new Marantz, Denon, and Yamaha SACD players get a lots of positive feedback.

I already have a Sony CD/SACD changer and a Sony Blue Ray Universal player. Optical disk playback has been a mature technology for at least twenty years. Nothing new under the sun! I doubt that in a blind test an Oppo and a Samsung can be told apart!

@ghdprentice +1! Spending many thousands for an SACD player is a waste of money. The streamer/DAC combination is way more cost effective. Myself, I just ordered a Samsung DVD-HD841 from eBay. Plays SACD's and DVD A's plus of course CD's. Used and a bargain at $16 including tax and shipping! 

I see you named your system but put no info under it. To respond helpfully we will need to know your system and venue. That would be really helpful. But I’ll try and say a few things.

A SACD or CD player is a physical transport, streamer and DAC in one box. 
 

Will the Esoteric sound better than the OPPO? Yes absolutely, and if the rest of your system is comparable spectacularly beter. The Esoteric are great sounding.

But let’s look at what you are buying with it… this is a guess… a $2K transport, $2K streamer and a $8K DAC. Ok, something like that. Well, your streaming system also uses a DAC and a streamer… so you are spending most of your money on redundant equipment.

I would invest in a better DAC and streamer to bring your streaming up to what the SACD player can do. Then there is no reason to collect discs at all and music acquisition drops to almost nothing.

I am fortunate to have a system where my analog and digital ends (all formates) have the same sound quality. I just listen to streaming… why play a disk when it sounds no better?