DAC suggestion

i don,t think sacd can be digitally sent to a dac.it has to be send analogue. for under 300 dollars there are some music fidelity v-dacs available from on line companies that have usb, digital ic, and optical inputs. not sure about audio dvd

perhaps you'd be better off buying the about-to-be-released oppo bdp-95 (amazon, musicdirect). it'll play anything you can throw at it and most likely will sound considerably better than any of your current gear + you'll eliminate some clutter, not need a digital cable, etc.

admittedly, for the $1K price, you might be able to find a used DAC that will sound a smidge better on redbook (+ even that is questionable) - but it won't play DVD-A, SACD, blu-ray, mpeg, etc.

daniel

I haven't paid much attention to what can/can't be done with bluray, but it doesn't surprise me.

On the oppo bdp-95, that's a DVD Player.. or maybe I should say multi-disc player. Surprised you guys on here think it'll be great musically. But given I know zero about it, I'll keep my eyes open for reviews..thanks!

My experience with DVD players is that I purchased a pioneer a few years ago, that played DVD-Audio and folks raved about it.. well it does play DVD-Audio but I found it very dry and small sounding. I can't really listen to it. It does make a great transport though and i can pipe the digital to my DAC for redbook and hdcd (dvd-audio doesn't seem to work).

the bdp-95 is their replacement for the bdp83se; you could search for reviews of that one to get a sense of what to expect.

the whole point of the 'se' version of the 83 was to make a player geared towards audiophiles (as opposed to blu-ray fans). the 95, being more expensive and 'next generation', by all rights ought to be even better. since they're internet only, they offer a money-back guarantee, although I don't know how they are re 'I just don't like how it sounds' (vs. 'it doesn't work'...).

it's a fair guess that there will be plenty of chatter about them - including here - once they're out.

Thanks again for the clarification. I'll look around. I have to admit my higher end audio bug comes and goes so I'm coming back from a lapse.

I've been listening to a VDAC with my squeezebox touch and I love it!

Matrix Mini-i. Inexpensive, sounds great, flexable and well built. $330 or so. Research and you'll find plenty of rave reviews. I sold my MSB GOLD Link with Monolithic PS in favor of this.

If your budget is $1k, the Rega DAC that just came out must be auditioned IMO. I can't say enough good things about it. As good as the Rega Apollo is, for equal money the DAC betters it in every way.

I think it'll be the next must have piece once the audiophile rags get their hands on it.

Thanks guys, I can't wait to see a review of the Rega. I'll look at the Matrix mini-i and VDAC as well

Terri

After a bunch of research on all of the suggestions, I had the opportunity to get a really good deal on a PS Audio DAC and GCPH phono stage. I'll have them later this week..
In the meantime my SACD player came back from service with a new laser and I don't think it's ever sounded so good (sa8260 Marantz)!

Terri

I received a Musical Fidelity V-DAC for Christmas and I am absolutely BLOWN AWAY with how much of a difference it made in my wireless music system! Detail and soundstage just opened up like magic - highly receommended...

Meinhard. I felt the same way. Wish I'd had this thing YEARS ago.