Sony SCD-1 or SCD-XA9000ES for stereo

I am disillusioned with Sony players. I bought my SCD-1 years ago when they first came out, and my unit developed a problem in the first few months, refusing to play anything. The in-warranty repair note said one of the servo motors had failed. Last year, it began to display "No Disc" after I had put in discs. It will eventually recognize a disc if I turn it off & on and open & close the lid several times. Quite frustrating, especially since I expected the SCD-1 to have been one of Sony's most carefully designed products. (I have also read numerous citations on Audiogon where others have had problems with SCD-1s.) On the other hand, perhaps it was never intended to last longer than the life cycle of the SACD format. I recently bought an Esoteric universal player off Audiogon; it has a reputation for a bullet-proof transport.

I bought a SCD-1 from someone and it developed the same problem. After sending it to Sony for repair, it has never had another problem. This unit sounds wonderful. I have no desire to trade my SCD-1. It does take a little longer to read a disc than most players, but that just gives me time to get back to my seat and get comfortable.

In my opinion the scd-1 is still the better player. I was sonys statement piece and continues today to be one of the best built units available; if only on the used market. If you wish higher performance there are high quality mods available to take it to a much higher level.

Chuck

My SCD-1 has some (but not all) of the Allan Wright VSE mods. It makes a big difference in the sound of an already great player. The nice thing about Allans mods is that even after the mods are installed, you can compare the sound with mods and stock, as the player can be used either way (although I don't know why anyone would want to use the stock version).

SCD-1 without question,unless you want multi-channel down the road.

I do infact have some multi-channel disks that are based on DVD, but so far they seem more novelity than improvement in the music experience. I have not read nor understand why multi-channel CDs use multiple analog outputs with the corresponding cable clutter, rather than a single digital output that is decoded. Those of us who use separates already have enough cables to deal with.

I do not recall ever actually seeing a SCD-1, but they look magnificant in the photos.

db

Well, my SCD-1 became steadily less willing to recognize discs even with my repeated use of the on/off and open/close controls, so I took it in to my local authorized Sony repair shop last month. (I was going to play a nice tune for my wife, but it took so long to get the SCD-1 to recognize the disc that she eventually left before I could get it to play. I realized that I couldn't put off a repair any longer.)

They replaced the laser head, a $190 component -- it was expensive because it was complex, with both the CD and SACD readers part of the same unit. They also replaced an oscillator crystal, which was a $20 or $30 component. This latter was because Sony had tagged the original oscillator as prone to failure at this age, so its replacement was a preventative measure. With labor and tax, my bill came to $364.

I just hope the unit keeps working another 5 years.

I talked with Dan Wright and another fellow at HE2006 in LA a few weeks ago about an SCD-1. They advised against buying an older player. Apparently there have been reliability problems, and parts can be difficult to obtain. OTH, Sony seems to have no problem servicing and updating my 9000ES. The quote from Sony in Texas is a flat $133.

I wonder if Sony and Pioneer will include SACD in their second generation Blue-Ray players.

db