kr4, the copyright vultures have hobbled the SACD industry so that only HDMI is passed as native resolution. All else (coax, optical) is down sampled to prevent high res ripping. Which makes SACD uninteresting compared to high res downloads where you can exercise more control over your source chain fidelity
Experiences with Blu-ray players
I'm starting to build a home theater and am investigating BD players. I could use some stories of experiences others have had.
I'd like to keep good 2-channel capability, but I do have a few multi-channel SACDs so I'd like to be able to play them as well. My 2-channel gear consists of Theta source, Cary preamp, Threshold amplification and Avalon speakers. Given that, I'm thinking that a BD player with analog audio outs and a multi-channel preamp might be best for my particular priorities. My wife would kill me if I brought home the Ayre, so I'm in the sub-$2k realm. The reading I've been doing brings the following manufacturers to mind as having products I could afford and might like:
Oppo: Seems to be the default player for the past couple of years. I like the 7.1 analog audio output and the universality of the transport. The high, generally positive traffic on the various forums seems a good sign, too. I am concerned about it's 2-channel audio performance, though.
Cambridge: Ditto with the 7.1 analog output. A bit more talk about the sound, but less about the video.
Marantz: The 7007 has only two-channel analog out, but 7006 has 7.1 analog audio out.
Arcam: Reliability problems? I haven't experienced any with my Arcam DVD, but I don't own any other Arcam gear, so my experience is limited.
I'd like to keep good 2-channel capability, but I do have a few multi-channel SACDs so I'd like to be able to play them as well. My 2-channel gear consists of Theta source, Cary preamp, Threshold amplification and Avalon speakers. Given that, I'm thinking that a BD player with analog audio outs and a multi-channel preamp might be best for my particular priorities. My wife would kill me if I brought home the Ayre, so I'm in the sub-$2k realm. The reading I've been doing brings the following manufacturers to mind as having products I could afford and might like:
Oppo: Seems to be the default player for the past couple of years. I like the 7.1 analog audio output and the universality of the transport. The high, generally positive traffic on the various forums seems a good sign, too. I am concerned about it's 2-channel audio performance, though.
Cambridge: Ditto with the 7.1 analog output. A bit more talk about the sound, but less about the video.
Marantz: The 7007 has only two-channel analog out, but 7006 has 7.1 analog audio out.
Arcam: Reliability problems? I haven't experienced any with my Arcam DVD, but I don't own any other Arcam gear, so my experience is limited.