Marantz SA-1 SACD player....worth it ?

Reverend Joe in a nutshell they said it was on better than the top the line Sony which is now steeply discounted. This was the opinion of two very experienced reviewers who spent time comparing it on two different systems.

I have the Purcell and the Delius so I am biased, but with that many CDs I would seriously consider buying a used Delius/Purcell combo. dCS's service after the sale is outstanding. Later when dCS releases the new SACD Transport you will have both upsampling for all your CDs and I am sure a wonderful sounding SACD transport. This is the path I am taking. If you have an analog preamp the Delius can do pass through as well. The dCS gear is truely wonderful stuff, but again I am biased. Cheers - Dan

One more thing ... Just talked to Audiophile Systems and they said dCS is planning on using the IEEE 1394 (aka Firewire) Interface between the SACD transport and the Delius/Elgar DAC. So dCS has chosen a standard interface, but now it remains to be seen what the other companies will do with their SACD Transports. - Dan

Wait 2 years and that same 5 grand will buy you 10x the player of the SCD-1. I know you can't wait forever but there will be many changes and new players (if the format is a hit)to choose from.

Remember that the SCD-1 can be bought under $3,000.

Sony has announced a $1,700 list multichannel player in April. Only time will tell how it compares with the SCD-1. I would assume it will be better than the $1500 S9000ES CD/DVD/SACD player.