SACD

@jimmycg,Sorry for your loss. I can very well imaging what you must be going through. A few days back, a pipe from the mains to the whole house humidifier developed a pinhole leak and an unfinished portion of my basement had a bit of water. That was scary enough for me.Like most of the posters said - it depends on the mastering process. I have a few SACDs that I enjoy. Whenever possible, I try to get the SACD instead of the CD. Acoustic Sounds produces good SACDs and new ones keep coming. Get a player that plays SACD as well as acts as a DAC for DSD files. So you now necessarily have to buy SACDs. Instead download the DSD files. I like my SACDs and enjoy them. If you like your SACDs and can get a SACD player, got for it. Let the other posters not detract you.
A tip that I would like to share - when ever you go on vacations, or even a 2 day trip, shut off the water mains. Then drain all water from any one outlet in the sink, bathroom, kitchen, wherever.

Was just researching the same...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_Audio_CD

Out of 350 discs I have 42 with layers that won't play on a red book only CD player. (That number may go up sharply now that I've found Dutton Vocalion, who sells SACDs for $20 here https://www.duttonvocalion.co.uk/ and on Amazon) Of those 42 there are perhaps 5 that sound no better to me than the red book layer and only one that actually sounds better in red book. That makes a universal player a must for me. On some, Beck - Sea Change, Norah Jones - Come Away With Me, Jennifer Warnes  - The Hunter, Neil Young's Greatest Hits (DVD-A) for example, the difference is breathtaking.

I am using an Oppo BDP-95 in my main system. I still have my first UP, an Oppo DV-980H. They are quite good for the money. I replaced it in my smaller system with an Oppo DV-983H, which is awesome for the money; but only come up rarely. I'll be selling the 980 now, but I wouldn't post it here, where people post asking "What's the best DAC for red book in the $15,000 to $20,000 range." I don't think many would even read an ad for a sub-$100 UP. I am not judging; I'm just not in that league....yet. ;^)

I am in the camp that is in disbelief that anyone could NOT affirm that a well produced SACD doesn't sound sound SIGNIFICANTLY better than it's CD counterpart. I refer here specifically to multi-channel. Listen to Steely Dan "Gaucho," Roxy Music "Avalon," Peter Gabriel "Up,"  Diana Krall "Girl in the Other Room," or Dire Straits "Brothers in Arms," and I think anyone would be hard pressed to state "no difference." After all, compared an average CD with no more than 750 Mb of data to a multi-channel SACD with 10 X the data and there is a REASON why the fidelity is so AWESOME. What is true is that the platform failed, sadly, but if you can find any of these coveted titles at a good price, get them while you can! A good choice would be any OPPO model and would encourage anyone to try to get the latest 4K model which is simply superb and while the CD player is good, it is not = to some of the higher end players. But the SACD player and video is over the top great!