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Playing SACDs

Howdy,

A few months ago I changed my DAC from a Bryston BDP-3 to a CE Hugo TT2. My source of digital music is an Aurender N100H using USB to the Hugo. The change from BDP-3 to the Hugo was significant to my ears so I am as happy as I can be in that respect but... and there is always a but, isn't? I have a collection of ~150 SACDs which I enjoyed playing from my Oppo, through HDMI, to the BDP-3. Since the BDP-3 is gone and the Oppo can not pass SACD/DSD/PCM in its other digital outputs, I now have to use the onboard DAC of the Oppo and use its analog outputs. It does not sound bad... but it is not as good as it used to sound.

I am have been reading multiple posts here and in other forums but from what I can gather, there isn't a SACD transport that will output SACD (DSD/DoP/PCM), am I correct? I don't have that many movies anymore so I could get rid of the Oppo and get me a SACD transport if it would be possible to play SACDs without HDMI.

Any ideas or should I just suck it up and move on?

Thanks!

Ivan
smdb01us

Showing 3 responses by melm

melm
1,085 posts
 
I suggest you rip your SACDs. Makes them easy and convenient to play, and with the highest possible SQ.

You haven’t said which Oppo you have, but if you have either the 105 or 103, you’re all set to do it. If you don’t have one of those, you might buy a used 103. There are other hardware options as well. You can do a search.

Ripping SACDs is very easy to do, and you will have the rips to play no matter what your future set-up looks like.  And it can go it directly and without any conversion through USB.
melm
1,085 posts
 
@smdb01us

Bravo!  Now it's a no-brainer.  You will be very happy with the results.  

You might begin by having a look here: https://www.stereophile.com/content/music-round-93-minidsp-ripping-sacds-page-2

Let the folks here know how it worked out.
melm
1,085 posts
 
" Ripping the DSD portion of SACDs seems complicated" It is not!

Once set up you simply put each disk into the player, one after another, click on a program once, and they download to your computer. Thousands of audiophiles have done it. The designer of Ayre products has done it. To suggest that the OP buy a multi kilo-buck player when he already has an outstanding DAC is a bit silly IMO. He already has the USB set-up and the rips will provide a very high level of SQ, likely higher than from any disk player.
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