State of HDCD and SACD


I am contemplating a new digital front-end and wondering if I should give preference to HDCD or SACD. It seems that you do not see these two technologies combined too often in a CDP, at least not well!

So, what I want to decide is "What has more of a future as a format?" I think both can sound excellent - that's not the question. I have a MiniMax CDP in my 2nd system that does great things with HDCD, and I previously owned a Shanling T200 that was great with SACD (and Redbook).

If I decide to put my eggs in the HDCD basket I'll probably get a Raysonic CD128. If SACD, a Marantz SA-11.

So, I would appreciate hearing takes on the respective futures of these formats. SACD has many titles available but still a drop, of course, compared to Redbook, and it seems views differed greatly on its future the last time I looked into it, about a year ago.

Would also consider other recommendations for players. Is there something there under $3K (preferably new - I don't trust used digital transports) that does HDCD and SACD and does them both well?
paulfolbrecht

Showing 1 response by bigamp

I second the vote for the Denon universal players. They are very good for the money. I own a 5910ci. Denons sound quite detailed, but are on the cool side of the spectrum. If you're looking for warm and lush, look elsewhere.

Haven't bought anything from them, but I see that American Theater Systems has a perpetual auction for new 5910ci's on Audiogon. Before I bought my unit, I called American about their ad, and the reserve price for a new unit was around $2700 at that time.

I doubt anyone really knows the future of these formats. Perhaps not even Microsoft and Sony. It looked promising when the new HDMI spec supported DSD (SACD). However, in a strange turnaround, Sony's Blu-Ray spec does not.