Suggestions for a new SACD player.

Did you say it needs a digital INput, or did you mean OUTput? I'm not sure there are that many of the former, and neither the Ayre nor, as far as I can tell from the link, the Esoteric has one. The Cary 306 SACD player does have a digital input, and when I heard it a few years ago I thought it sounded very good. Used, if you can find one, it should fit into your budget. Can't speak as to its reliability, maybe someone else can.

The Marantz SA15 series 2 has a digital in (Optical only). I like the sound of it on redbook. I'm new to SACD so I have no reference to compare that aspect of its performance but I like what I hear.

The Playback Designs MPS-5 has digital input in three formats. You're able to use its exceptional DAC/clock to bring almost any digital output up to the level of it's performance. For example, using the Wadia 170i to pull the digital output from my 160G iPod and input the digital signal into the PD. The resulting playback cannot be distinquished from the original.

Of course SACD performance, is excellent and you'll want to keep collecting SACDs, but the RBCD performance is stunning.

Dave

Maybe cheap will do. Before spending mega bucks, buy a Sony 595 refurb on SonyStyle for $60. Hopefully you are a brave soul and will give an honest listen. Don't like it? They will take it back and refund all costs, including shipping. Hey, I just saved you $3440. What do I know as I have a Sony 777es and a Cal Labs Alpha, and the 595 will blow you away. I recently heard the new Esoteric at a friends house and while I agree, it does sound slightly better, it is not $15,000 that better. My friend refuses to let me bring my 595 over to see if I can trick him into a blind test. Many audio people live with that kind of fear, which leads to 'how much did you pay for that unit'.

Dcstep,

I did not know you could get a Playback Designs for $3500.00. Srwooten I would suggest either the New Marantz SA-KI Pearl $2999.99 or the New Esoteric SA-50. Both have Digital in's. The Esoteric has a USB, Coax, & optical. The Marantz only has Optical in.

Hope this helps,

Johnny