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SA-14 vs XA777es

I have just purchased an SA-14 for $1,599 from cambridge soundworks.I had listened to an XA777es and was blown away by sacd, prompting my decision to get an sacd player as
well as to upgrade my current 67se. Reviewing the posts here at audiogon I felt the SA-14 would be the equal of the sony on sacd as well as better onredbook. Multi-channel is of no importance to me, sacd sound is of primary importance. I have had the unit for about a week
and my observations(from memory-unable to have direct comparision) are that the SA-14 is definately the better
redbook player, however it seems to pale in comparison
to the XA777 on sacd. My question is have others had similar findings or am I missing something? Given the price, balanced connections, and redbook play I would
prefer to keep the SA-14 but as I stated sacd play is
the most important to me. I have had it running over 100
hours and not much change. Other parts are Bryston B-60
and Dunlavy SC III's. Is the digital filter setting critical? Last thought from what we heard- the sony on sacd was breathtaking-the SA-14 on sacd is not that different from it's excellent redbook play. Please note that Cambridge soundworks does have a 45 day return policy.
Thank you for any feedback
Attila
attilasimon

Showing 1 response by socrates

socrates
247 posts
 
You must break-in both sides, meaning you must run a SACD through the player for a couple of weeks for the SACD side to open up, then CD for about 2 weeks to burn-in the CD side.

The filter settings are definately critical. In my system the "Custom" mode is by far the champ, but make sure your amp and speakers can handle it first. Some folks claim that balanced outputs sound better but I can't confirm or deny that just yet.

I will agree however that the redbook playback is extremely good, even for a ~$3000MSPR player it is extremely good, definately first rate, though I easily find well recorded DSD SACDs to sound phenomenal, clearly superior to the CD side. Give it some more time and try a few more discs, it will bloom. I find this player stupidly sensitive to isolation as well, and if it's just sitting on the floor or flat on a wood shelf it will not perform well at all. Of all the devices I've tried, a partially filled bike innertube has worked best (go figure)! For $4 it's worth a try. Power cords also have an appreciable affect on this player, but I found isolation more important thus far, but will continue to try different cords and shelves/isolation devices. Please keep us posted!
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