Digital Man Posted September 22 Share Posted September 22 Hi All, I am currently using a Cambridge Audio bd751 with the Cambridge Audio 551R amplifier, I am now ready to build a dedicated two channel system, the aforementioned Cambridge Audio system being primarily for home theatre and surround sound music, what I would like to know before I dive fully into the said dedicated two channel system is this, I am wanting a dedicated SACD player, two channels only, if I do so, is it a big difference between the Cambridge Audio to a dedicated SACD player for two channel playback only ? and the same question is to apply also to two channel cd playback as well. Having said that, I am also considering a dedicated cd player as well as the SACD player, or would the cd playback from the SACD Player be good enough ? I am considering either buying second hand or new for the cd player and second hand for the SACD player, any thoughts and suggestions in this regard will be greatly appreciated. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
georgehifi Posted September 22 Share Posted September 22 (edited) @Digital Man Many were unreliable, I believe Marantz followed by Sony made one of the most reliable SACD/CD players. Here is a 2 page list to look for Cheers George Edited September 22 by georgehifi 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonGreen Posted September 22 Share Posted September 22 Hi Glen. Any good SACD player will do justice to any redbook CD in my opinion. I previously owned a Cambridge Audio CD player, and the step up from that to my Marantz KI Pearl SACD was just incredible, even for just CDs. I am lucky to have found an Oppo UDP-203 for my 4k Bluray duties, and even that sounds great with CDs and SACDs, almost to the level of the KI Pearl. I can't make accurate comparisons yet, as they are connected differently, HDMI versus Analogue, but they both sound great with all types of media. I would recommend to go with the best SACD you can find. I often buy secondhand, and haven't had any major issues with any equipment so far, fortunately. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Digital Man Posted September 23 Author Share Posted September 23 I do have the opportunity to purchase a Marantz SA7001 KI Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snoopy8 Posted September 23 Share Posted September 23 Curious to know how many SACDs you own? And adding a SACD player does not guarantee better stereo sound with the CA AVR, which is likely limited by its analogue circuitry. 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neo Posted September 23 Share Posted September 23 A good idea would be to go and have a listen to a sacd player in a good stereo setup. Asking for opinions is like asking how long is a piece of string. Neo 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rantan Posted September 23 Share Posted September 23 29 minutes ago, Snoopy8 said: And adding a SACD player does not guarantee better stereo sound with the CA AVR, I would forgo the purchase of an SACD player and buy a better amplifier AND a regular but decent quality Red Book cd player,which would probably end up costing the same. Also, SACDs are not widely available and can be quite expensive. I would also be interested to know what speakers you intend to use in your system? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bob_m_54 Posted September 23 Share Posted September 23 9 hours ago, georgehifi said: @Digital Man Many were unreliable, I believe Marantz followed by Sony made one of the most reliable SACD/CD players. Here is a 2 page list to look for Cheers George That's a very good reference site.. link here: https://vasiltech.narod.ru/CD-Player-DAC-Transport.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Digital Man Posted September 23 Author Share Posted September 23 I do have a few SACD’s and I am continuing to buy more, so, for me, it is worth investing in a standalone SACD player, as for red book, I am also prepared to buy a standalone cd player as well, I am at the moment thinking of buying either the Arcam 7se or the Arcam CD73 cd players, speakers are the Cambridge Audio 5.1 mini speakers with the matching subwoofer, in short, my surround sound system is done, complete, I am just wanting to maximise the two channel sound for SACD and CD, I do intend to listen to some of these machines in store, when time allows, but I thought that I would also ask for some experienced feedback as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neo Posted September 23 Share Posted September 23 (edited) Based on last response ideal thing to do was to volunteer a budget in mind in your first post. Neo Edited September 23 by Neo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snoopy8 Posted September 24 Share Posted September 24 15 minutes ago, Digital Man said: I do have a few SACD’s and I am continuing to buy more, so, for me, it is worth investing in a standalone SACD player, as for red book, I am also prepared to buy a standalone cd player as well, I am at the moment thinking of buying either the Arcam 7se or the Arcam CD73 cd players, speakers are the Cambridge Audio 5.1 mini speakers with the matching subwoofer, in short, my surround sound system is done, complete, I am just wanting to maximise the two channel sound for SACD and CD, I do intend to listen to some of these machines in store, when time allows, but I thought that I would also ask for some experienced feedback as well. To do justice to stereo playback from a dedicated SACD player, you should be connecting to a dedicated stereo integrated via RCA (analogue). Unless you invest in a top of line AVR (or AV processor), the stereo SQ will fall short. I note that you mentioned surround sound music. Not sure whether you want to go down the path of multi channel SACDs, player connected via HDMI to the AVR? You can either use a Sony Blu Ray player or a universal player like an Oppo. There is also the option of ripping SACDs and bypass the limitation of either using HDMI for digital output or RCA for analogue output. Last, but not least, going down the SACD path is very expensive, not only for a dedicated player, but also for the recordings. Money spent collecting SACDs will quickly exceed the cost of the player. P/s have many SACDs, mainly multi channel, but also MOFI stereo, all ripped. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rantan Posted September 24 Share Posted September 24 I am really not at all certain that you can advance your two channel listening with the existing speaker set up. You could buy the best SACD layer on the market and the sound will be as good as the weakest link which is certainly the speakers. Ultimately this is none of my business, and I have absolutely NO intent to offend, but I am trying to be helpful and to do that I also need to be honest. FWIW, I would leave the surround system like it is now and buy a quality, dedicated stereo amplifier and a pair of decent quality speakers and worry about the SACD aspect when you have that part sorted. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stereo coffee Posted September 24 Share Posted September 24 For your standard player, perhaps think of more than one disc capacity. 5 disc is quite common, with many manufacturers to choose from. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Digital Man Posted September 24 Author Share Posted September 24 To be clear, I do not intend to use the current surround sound for the two channel side, the two channel system will be a totally separate system, I intend to buy a Weston Acoustics amp for this purpose and then buy corresponding speakers to suit 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Tremain Posted September 25 Share Posted September 25 On 23/09/2023 at 12:32 PM, Digital Man said: I do have the opportunity to purchase a Marantz SA7001 KI Quick opinion SACD v CD with medium price equipment CD sounds better it takes a very good system before very minor improvement of SACD becomes noticeable cost simply outways value, You are fortunate to have chance to buy Marantz K1 would be very good idea. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Digital Man Posted September 25 Author Share Posted September 25 Hi Richard, Yes, very fortunate as I have just made the purchase for the Marantz SA7001 KI, so that’s the SACD two channel sorted, for now, still thinking of adding a dedicated cd player as well Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonGreen Posted September 25 Share Posted September 25 14 hours ago, Digital Man said: Hi Richard, Yes, very fortunate as I have just made the purchase for the Marantz SA7001 KI, so that’s the SACD two channel sorted, for now, still thinking of adding a dedicated cd player as well Congratulations Glen. I absolutely love my KI Pearl, I'm sure you'll be blown away by this unit. I would listen carefully to the redbook performance of this player before rushing out and spending your hard-earned on a straight cd player. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Digital Man Posted September 26 Author Share Posted September 26 Thanks and I will listen very carefully Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
POV Posted September 26 Share Posted September 26 17 hours ago, Digital Man said: Hi Richard, Yes, very fortunate as I have just made the purchase for the Marantz SA7001 KI, so that’s the SACD two channel sorted, for now, still thinking of adding a dedicated cd player as well Why do you want a seperate player for redbook? The SA7001 is a great unit, sounds killer with redbook. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rantan Posted September 26 Share Posted September 26 18 minutes ago, POV said: Why do you want a seperate player for redbook? The SA7001 is a great unit, sounds killer with redbook. I was thinking exactly the same and didn't understand, but I guess the OP has his reasons. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Tremain Posted September 26 Share Posted September 26 1 hour ago, POV said: Why do you want a seperate player for redbook? The SA7001 is a great unit, sounds killer with redbook. A SACD player is automatically a dedicated CD player. Only difference is SACD DISCS have a second layer which is the Red book CD layer. You can play back the layer you choose! with a SACD Player. It is a possibility these players will perform better on CD than a CD only player so you are already there. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Digital Man Posted September 26 Author Share Posted September 26 Yes, I know, firstly I will listen to both aspects of the sacd player, being sacd and cd and then decide for myself if I want to also add a dedicated cd player as well Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rantan Posted September 26 Share Posted September 26 2 minutes ago, Digital Man said: Yes, I know, firstly I will listen to both aspects of the sacd player, being sacd and cd and then decide for myself if I want to also add a dedicated cd player as well Just make sure you audition a red book player of equal quality to your KI. I cannot honestly say I have ever seen or heard a system with TWO cd players in it concurrently but I wish you well in your journey. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Tremain Posted September 27 Share Posted September 27 On 26/09/2023 at 6:55 PM, Digital Man said: Yes, I know, firstly I will listen to both aspects of the sacd player, being sacd and cd and then decide for myself if I want to also add a dedicated cd player as well Which would do what? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robbiefest Posted September 27 Share Posted September 27 On 24/9/2023 at 9:25 AM, Digital Man said: I do have a few SACD’s and I am continuing to buy more, so, for me, it is worth investing in a standalone SACD player, as for red book, I am also prepared to buy a standalone cd player as well, I am at the moment thinking of buying either the Arcam 7se or the Arcam CD73 cd players, speakers are the Cambridge Audio 5.1 mini speakers with the matching subwoofer, in short, my surround sound system is done, complete, I am just wanting to maximise the two channel sound for SACD and CD, I do intend to listen to some of these machines in store, when time allows, but I thought that I would also ask for some experienced feedback as well. I've got an Arcam cd72 I'd consider selling if you're interested? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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