1st SACD Purchase

One thing that I have found vis-a-vis  CD vs SACD vs High-Res (streaming or on Blu-Ray or Audio DVD) is that it's not so much the resolution that determines SQ but rather the care put into the mastering that matters. Here's an example: 
I have the RCA Red Seal  recording of Prokofiev's "Lt. Kiji" with Reiner/Chicago Symphony.  on three formats: vinyl. JVC XRCD (Red Book). and on BMG/RCA SACD. Both the XRCD and the vinyl sound BETTER than BMG's SACD remastering!  In fact it is one of the best sounding reissues I've ever encountered. The BMG version is dual layer and when I compare the CD layer of the BMG with the JVC XRCD, I'm gobsmacked at how much better the XRCD sounds!

I am also a McIntosh guy and SACD user.  I love the format, but getting music across a wide variety of genres is tough.  If you like jazz at all, Time Out by Dave Brubeck shows of what amazing sound can be had.

Dire Straights is also known for amazing recording quality, particularly Brother in Arms.

Food Luck in your journey!

Mike Oldfield -Tubular Bells, or Pink Floyd - Dark Side of the Moon.

The Pittsburgh Symphony recordings of the Brahms Symphonies led by Marek Janowski is a good example of the benefits of SACD.  The strings are more fleshed out, there is a good sense of Hall ambiance and reverb, just more of everything.  It isn’t super flashy music, like something a dealer might play to knock your socks off in fifteen seconds to get you interested, but if you what an Orchestra in a real space is supposed to sound like, this does the trick.  On the same Pentatone label, Mari Kodama Beethoven Piano Sonatas sound exceptionally realistic.

Mahler,
Your post caught my interest. Are you playing the sacd in a surround 5 speaker system or just two channel?

For that matter, Anyone else utilizing the only apparent benefit of sacd?