CD quality versus SA-CD ?is it worth it?


Hello.
Seems like it is becoming easier to find/buy SA-CD`s today .
Are SA-CD`s of better musical quality than CD`s? Would someone take the time to explain the principle and difference?
Also, what CD player would you purchase/used/under $1000 to upgrade to SA-CD?
Much obliged.
rockanroller
There are a million threads on this, so you can search around. Basically, SACD is "hi-rez" audio, done at a higher sampling rate. Is it better? Sometimes yes, sometimes no. I personally have experimented with it and, IMO, the multi-format players I've tried do not play CD as well as the dedicated CD players.
So I've pretty much given up on SACDs and just try to get the most I can out of the CD playback. In good conscience, I don't think I would recommend it to anyone who was interested only in 2-channel stereo, unless they were willing to spend a lot of money on a high-end player like the Esoteric K-03 or something like that. At the lower end of the spectrum, I think someone would be better off just upgrading their CD player, assuming you want to continue playing physical media. But that's another story.
I have found it goes from disc to disc and how well its done. There are some good SACD and some that just not worth the extra money. It helps to have a good SACD/CD player. But you do not have to break the bank to get into one. I had a OPPO 105 using the XLR outs that sounded good on SACD and CDs. Moved up to the ESOTERIC KO3x and really enjoyed some SACDs.
Enjoy Pete
If you can come up with another $200, there is an Esoteric DV-50s, a really good older CD/SACD/DVD player, on Audiogon right now for $1200.