Rob,
The comment that Wadia does not see any point to SACD is interesting. That apparently is the opinion of the Theta people as well. In the manufacturer's comment to Stereophile's review of the Theta Generation VIII DAC, the manufacturer noted that its DAC would be retrofittable for SACD playback, once a digital interconnection protocol is worked out, but they thought redbook CD playback done correctly is superior.
So far, I have found really good CD playback to be better than the SACD machines I've heard. By really good CD machines I mean, specifically, the Audionote DAC-4 and DAC-5 and the Naim CDS3 (the machine I own, it replaced a Sony SCD-1). Other machines I heard and liked include the Audio Aero Capitole, the Burmester 001, and the MSB machine. I saw and heard the Audio Aero universal player at CES, but I cannot really comment on its sound; the system, however, sounded good.
The comment that Wadia does not see any point to SACD is interesting. That apparently is the opinion of the Theta people as well. In the manufacturer's comment to Stereophile's review of the Theta Generation VIII DAC, the manufacturer noted that its DAC would be retrofittable for SACD playback, once a digital interconnection protocol is worked out, but they thought redbook CD playback done correctly is superior.
So far, I have found really good CD playback to be better than the SACD machines I've heard. By really good CD machines I mean, specifically, the Audionote DAC-4 and DAC-5 and the Naim CDS3 (the machine I own, it replaced a Sony SCD-1). Other machines I heard and liked include the Audio Aero Capitole, the Burmester 001, and the MSB machine. I saw and heard the Audio Aero universal player at CES, but I cannot really comment on its sound; the system, however, sounded good.