I nominate Bel Canto PL-1, although not a dedicated SACD player. I have ben very pleased with it for about 2 years.
SACD King under $7500
What is currently considered the best SACD player under $7500. The candidates that come to mind:
Ayre C-5xe ($5950)
Cary 306 SACD ($6000)
Krell SACD Standard ($4000)
Wadia 581 ($6950)
Marantz SA-7S1 ($6999)
Marantz SA-11S1 ($3499)
Esoteric X-03 ($7500)
Musical Fidelity kW sacd ($7500)
And, of course, two retired candidates:
Sony SCD-1
Marantz SA-1
Is there anything obvious I'm missing? I understand that the SA-11S1 can't win since the SA-7S1 is clearly going to be better, but since almost nobody has heard the 7 and many have heard the 11, I figured I'd leave it in.
Only two channel, audio performance (Redback and SACD) should be taken into account. Thoughts? (Rankings, Tiers, etc?)
Ayre C-5xe ($5950)
Cary 306 SACD ($6000)
Krell SACD Standard ($4000)
Wadia 581 ($6950)
Marantz SA-7S1 ($6999)
Marantz SA-11S1 ($3499)
Esoteric X-03 ($7500)
Musical Fidelity kW sacd ($7500)
And, of course, two retired candidates:
Sony SCD-1
Marantz SA-1
Is there anything obvious I'm missing? I understand that the SA-11S1 can't win since the SA-7S1 is clearly going to be better, but since almost nobody has heard the 7 and many have heard the 11, I figured I'd leave it in.
Only two channel, audio performance (Redback and SACD) should be taken into account. Thoughts? (Rankings, Tiers, etc?)