SACD - Pioneer Elite any good? Cambridge Audio?

I was going to suggest a used Denon 3910. A lot of them seem to be coming on the market now. They're well built and sound very good at their price.

If what you're interested in is SACD playback adding an external DAC won't do you any good.

rongon:
you're correct--the sony would only output redbook, not SACD to the dac. i believe there are a few players that will output DSD over HDMI as well as a number that will output DSD over iLink, firewire or other uncommon interfaces, but you're talking much bigger bucks. essentially, if you kept the sony, you'd connect digitally to a dac and use the analog outs of the sony directly to your amp for sacd.
all that said, then, the denon 2910/3910 are genuinely great sounding players with very good inboard dacs--not the most reliable, but i see 'em used for as low as $150 or so, so that might be a way to go. i personally own a pio elite 59, which is very competent, and also a good inexpensive choice, though i prefered the denon for music

The AIR studios enhancement is standard on the Elite DV-79 and I believe it is also standard on the newer DV-58. I really can't say if it works because I've never heard it without it. But mine sounds as good on SACD as my Denon 5910CI. The Oppo sounds better than both on SACD though. I have all three.

What are the AIR studios enhancements?

maybe a stupid idea but how about a PS3 and a puny monitor? SACD, DVD audio, cd and internet wireless streaming tossed in for free. have not heard SACD but the bluray performance is really good so the transport does not suck. For $500 you can get what youwant plus streaming and a 120GB HDD.

sorry of its a dumb idea for your use.

p

nput connectors on the TV or AV amplifier (receiver) PS3™ system output connectors Channels that can be used for output
2 Ch. 5.1 Ch. 7.1 Ch.
HDMI HDMI OUT connector
Digital Out (Optical) Digital Out (Optical) connector -
Audio Input Connector / SCART / AV MULTI AV MULTI OUT connector - -