SACD or vinyl? Looking for great sound and mid $$

One benefit of going with vinyl is that classical vinyl is dirt cheap ('shaded dogs', mercury living presence, etc. excepted). Hit the garage sales and you'll be able to pick the stuff up for a buck a pop. That being said, if you're into opera, the pain in the butt factor of changing records 26 times for a single opera vs., say 3 or 4 cds could be a factor. Also, even though vinyl sounds better than digital, the dynamic range on lps can be problematic (i.e.the noise level on the soft parts is as loud as the music and the loud parts are not as loud as they're really played). For jazz on vinyl, the OJC reissues are great: well made, great sounding and cheap!

Forget the sonic differences for a second on a $500 SACD player vs a $500 turntable/cartridge combo. Concentrate on the medium.

Vinyl for $1-5 each. SACD for $20-25 each.
Vinyl with gads of music. SACD with limited selection.

Your choice should be easy..
Bob

Great point Bob. The enormous supply of affordable jazz and classical LP's should clinch the decision. Unless he's into new jazz, everything he likes is available now. Who knows when or if much of it will be reissued on SACD, or at what price?

I'll respectfully disagree with Musicslug about dynamic range, since the experience in my system is decidedly the other way around. LP's contain musical information at much lower levels than CD's, and also contain dynamic peaks that can relocate the sofa. Whether you can reproduce either or both is a function of your system and how well you clean your records. Ms. Concious should be pleased if he starts washing anything. That's more than most guys do!

The Shanling scd-s200 retails for about $1900. Lots of decent analog front ends could be had for that budget.

I'll offer a different perspective. I am a vinyl-addict. My system is all-vinyl, and I have a record collection of over 6000 LPs. I'd love nothing better than to see more people heavily involved with vinyl. But, would I recommend someone else dive into vinyl as their primary playback medium? Hmmmm, I'm not so sure.

Yes, I think vinyl sounds better than CD, SACD, DVD, etc. But, good digital playback can be pretty satisfying, it is a hell of a lot easier to use and maintain, CDs are also reasonably cheap and plentiful on the used market even if SACD is not. In many cases, good CD playback can sound better than SACD.

This is not an easy equation, and I would not presume a choice on this matter for someone else. For me, the additional effort and care needed to maintain a high-quality vinyl playback system is well worth it. But, it does require extra care: Extra care of the software, extra care of the equipment, replacement of cartridges that deteriorate over time and usage, setup and alignment that requires some knowledge and experience to accomplish...

I'm also of a somewhat different opinion about the cost of a vinyl front end. You can get some good deals in the used market on a turntable and tonearm. But there is some risk that they are functioning correctly, that the bearings have not worn, that the tonearm can be properly aligned, etc. These issues are not trivila and should not be ignored. If you are not already a knowledgable user who is able to evaluate this for yourself, be sure to have an acquaintance you can rely on for these things. Assuming you are comfortable here, be mindful that there is a higher risk in buying a used cartridge. Some people I know have done this successfully and been very pleased with the outcome. I'm sure there will be other who can attest to their experience in this forum. But that is one piece of equipment I've never been brave enough to buy used - and I've been doing this for over 30 years. If you share my reservations, you're talking about buying a new cartridge. So, my cost calculation places me easily over $1200 and proably closer to $1800-2200. As is so many things related to audio, YMMV. But I thought an alternative view needed to be expressed in this thread.

Good luck in your search for the right solution for you. If it turns out to be vinyl, then WELCOME!

Wow! Thanks for the quick responses all. I think I was leaning in the way most of you suggested: with the abundance of affordable media, LPs certainly have the advantage. I appreciate the caveats mentioned by Rushton and can't see buying a used cartridge in my future.

As it would happen I stopped by my (sorta) local mid-fi today and listened to his only turntable - Rega P3, with RB 300 arm and Rega Super Bias cartridge. Amplification was the Arcam 75 integrated and speakers were the Tannoy M2's or Totem Sttaf's. Since I don't own any LPs, I had to use the stores but most of them were records I was familiar with.

Comparing John Coltrane's Blue Train with a Cambridge D500 cd player was night and day. Even the comparably priced Music Hall cd 25 couldn't reproduce the shimmer of the ride cymbal or the depth of harmonics from the sax. The guitar in Dire Straits "Why worry" had the "wave" sound of the sustained chord with a chorus pedal, where it was nowhere to be found on either cd player. Jennifer Warnes "Song of Bernadette" (Famous Blue Raincoat) was very, very moving.

One thing that did not impress me was the bass response. Their was no visceral impact of Pink Floyd's "Run like Hell". The salesman - a very nice man with wonderful patience, I might add - suggested that the lack of bass repsonse could be attributed to the cartridge which was decidedly below the level possible with the P3 and arm. What do y'all think?

He's offered my the whole kit for $800 canadian (about $605 american). I realize I may be able to save a few bucks by finding one used - if they'd ship to canada - but I'd like to swing this guy some business and buying new with warranty and local support is attractive to an analog neophyte.

Are there other options for under $1 grr cdn (about 7 fidy us) that would make me a happier camper. Or should I just go for the P3 and rb300 and swap in a new cartridge.

Thanks again for all of your responses.