SACD Player vs. CD Player in CD reproductions

I have a Wadia CD transport and DAC -- not at all shabby CD reproduction. Doesn't play SACD's of course. Recently bought a $129 Sony multiformat player. I compared two identical recordings in the two different formats. The Wadia/CD combo was only SLIGHTLY better than the Sony/SACD combo. Had the Sony cost $10K more, I bet it would have wiped the Wadia. Depressing, huh!?

In my experience I have found very little differences in CD players. Certainly not as much as I would have expected given the price differentials of some of the players I listened to. Were the higher priced units better "yes" but only with the subtle nuances within the music and only when comparing redbook to redbook. When comparing SACD to redbook on the same player SACD won everytime (IMO). Actually my old Philips CD-80 held its ground very well when compared to some of the much higher priced units. I was very surprised. However, SACD was usually always better to my ears than standard redbook irrespective of the player. SACD while still not high end analog (read vinyl) certainly is much closer to the real performance than redbook. Again just my thoughts

Chuck

I have never heard any two high-end cd players that sounded alike in any way. They all have their own unique sound.