SACD/CD Drive Mechanism Replacement

@jayctoy 

I spent 3 days at AXPONA in both 2023 and 2024.  At both shows, I really enjoyed the sound at the Joseph Audio/Doshi room.  They were alternating between the wonderful sounding J. Sikora turntable and streaming.  Those were the first time that I ever heard digital sound really enjoyable.  I can't remember what they used for the streaming, etc.  I'll have to maybe investigate that more.

I have probably about 1000+  truly mint lp's in both jazz and classical.  I have zero SACD's but am willing to purchase to add to my collection of music.  I have probably 100 or so CD's.

Best wishes,

Don

I do it all.  CDs, SACDs, Streaming.  Not big on vinyl but I do have an analog rig that I use for LPs no longer digitally available or where I prefer the lp mastering to the digital rendition.

  SACDs when done right can be breathtaking in their realism.  Since you don’t own any SACDs, my practical suggestion is that if you buy a player, new or used, it isn’t going to get a lot of wear and tear for a while.  If I was in your shoes I would buy the used Esoteric, because they are as good as it gets in SACD.  Don’t waste money on an extra drive that you may not be able to install due to the reasons that the OP has identified.  If it goes, decide at that time if SACD is something that you really need in your life.  If it is, there will still be manufacturers.  SACD is valued a lot more in the Far East than in the West so someone will be making them for at least the next quarter century 

Don I have two good analog set up as well.I fell in love with vynil. But sacd with good sacp player is very close. I play sacd when I like convenience.Nowadays is the best time to collect sacd there is so much to choose from.

You can buy Ruby marantz open box at Music Direct and see if you have a tech who can install the lens just in case. The parts is available . If your player broke under warranty MD more like replace it. Because Marantz has horrible support when your player is out of warranty.The Ruby is equal to my SA10 in rca mode. They only differ on xlr.

I found what the Joseph Audio/Doshi room was using at the AXPONA shows for their digital streaming....

• Aurender N30A 8TB Music Server $25,000
• Berkeley Audio Design Alpha DAC Reference 3 $28,000
• Berkeley Audio Design Alpha USB $2,275

For that kind of money, it darn well sound pretty good, am I right??? Well, it did and it impressed the heck out of me!

So, my initial thought was to buy a very nice, but used SACD/CD player so that I could take advantage of my admittedly small cd collection of roughly 100 cd's.  I would then slowly but surely add to that as well as begin my SACD collecting.  It's good to hear that "now" is the best time to start collecting SACD's.

However, if I go the route of streaming, then I can't use my existing CD's, but it would eliminate the worry of a transport mechanism dying.  I just don't understand how the process of streaming works, etc.  I guess I'm showing my age, lol!

I guess another thought would be to get the used SACD/CD player and when the transport finally dies, then get a streamer and plug it into the DAC section of the player via USB, AES/EBU, Coaxial, or TOS Inputs.

Best wishes,

Don