SACD & other Formats

"03-09-15: Musichead
To try SACD in my system can I just buy a cheaper SACD player and and use it as a transport to feed my DAC? Or is a full player required?"

You need to get a full SACD player. There's very few SACD transport/dac combos in production. And the ones I do know of are very expensive. But getting a cheap SACD player to try SACD's is not the right way to do it. A well designed, good sounding Redbook player will almost always sound better than a cheap SACD player. The format alone can't overcome every obstacle and always sound better than CD. You need to buy an SACD player the way you buy any other piece of audio gear. And that's to employ careful consideration of any player you are looking to buy. Like any other component, you need to make sure the player is the right fit for your expectations.

Thanks ZD542, makes sense! I'm thinking from a vinyl perspective. A good 1st pressing shines through almost all levels of tables. When digital fails very little shines through :-)

Any opinions of the Cambridge Audio Azur 752BD? read some online reviews, similar to the Oppo 105 but with better audio. I really don't need the all of the video options in these universal players, is there a good red book, SACD, HDCD player that is reasonably priced?

Hello again Musichead. I haven't heard and don't own the OPPO 105D but is sounds like THE very safe bet for you. By all accounts it plays SACD very decently; as well as all other formats(wow) and it will also do downloads (including hi-res) when you want to use that feature. It supports HDMI IN and OUT and numerous other inputs. It upsamples audi and video. By accounts here on Audiogon there are upgrade paths available for $2600 and less that transform its sound to that of $10,000 to $15,000 players. What else do you need?

"Any opinions of the Cambridge Audio Azur 752BD?"

I don't read reviews. I'm sure that the reviewers are well intentioned, but I find them to be of very little use. I don't know what you're budget is, but have a look at this listing for an Esoteric DV-60, lis64eee. It looks like a really good deal. It should be the last player you'll ever need to buy. If you can find a good used Ayre 5 series universal, that will definitely be the last player you buy. But it will be a bit more expensive. If you're looking for something more affordable, I think Marantz has several players that should be as good as anything else in their price range. I've had some Cambridge components, but I would still go with the Marantz. Look at the Esoteric first, though. That's probably the best value and the most reliable. Esoteric is a division of Teac, and they make the best transports.

Haven't heard the Cambridge Audio Azur 752BD, but it's marketed as a home theater deck. That tells me it's built to be all purpose, but not specialize in any one format. I don't think this is the path to take for superior sound.

Zd's list raises my pulse when I think of how good audio can sound, although the decks listed also include CD/SACD models unless video is a necessary option for you.