Upgrade CD transport/player vs. Sacd transport/player

@kjl1065  -    

@hjdca gets to the heart of the matter.  If you go the transport & DAC separates route -  to make it all work out nice and neatly - you will need to go with I2S (HDMI like) connections.  So your choices in equipment may be limited.

I went with the PS Audio PerfectWave SACD transport and PS Audio PerfectWave DAC (Mk I).  With special purchases, I am all in for about $6K.  Big money to me, bigger now with how prices have skyrocketed in the last 3 or so years.

If I didn't go this route, I would have looked at Luxman's cd player offerings more closely.

Prior to purchasing the PSA equipment, I had one of the original SACD changers, the SONY 555 SCD from 25 years ago.  It was/ is still working fine, but I became nervous about getting it repaired or having a laser replaced, since SONY's Laredo repair facility (the ones who performed repairs) had mixed reviews.

With the PSA transport, Redbook CDs sound much better - fuller sounding, more detailed.  So much so, that I felt redbook approached how SACDs were sounding.  

Rich   

@kjl1065 Roon is very solid if you get their Nucleus One. I wouldn’t worry about phone support. They provide support via their forums and you can post your questions here and get answers quickly. This should not be a deal breaker. Most roon issues are with roon core installed on DIY servers as well as Mac and Windows computers. Stick with Roon Nucleus…pretty much plug and play. 

@rar1 

you will need to go with I2S (HDMI like)

Not at all!  You can use HDMI the way it is intended.  I2S is not HDMI-like, but it can use 4 wires of the 19 in most HDMI cables.

I guess small North American manufacturers are loath to pay HDMI licence fees and have conned everybody into I2S, which was never designed for transmission over any cable, is only designed for PCM, and only two-channels at that.  No error detection or recovery.

HDMI is purpose designed for high resolution multi-channel audio as well as video.  Buy transports with HDMI output and your choice of downstream equipment with HDMI inputs.  Simple really.

@richardbrand -

Hi -

Accepting that the SACD roll-out and its associated support could have been handled differently and better, but just what does Joe Audiophile do in 2025?  It's not like SACD is in better shape from when first introduced 25 plus years ago.  

After I purchased the PSA Audio SACD transport, I purchased a Gustard DAC which had I2S connectors and lo and behold, it didn't get to the appropriate DSD/ PCM data level.  So, I2S to I2S connections don't always work.  As I understand it, the pins on each side of the HDMI connector have to line up correctly (as much as I remember or understand).

I just wanted my transport to work with SACD as it should and the most straightforward way to accomplish that was to purchase a PSA DAC.  I guess I could have researched this a lot more.  I just wanted to play my SACDs.

Rich 

@larsman  +1

 Thank you, really tired of those, who constantly cry "Streaming is nearly as good as physical media" then their solution is spend more money on a streaming package. Some of us have a vast library of optical media, some of which can not be found by streaming. Go disc, Go!