SACD or not

mahler, how can you miss that in each of my posts I say that if the OP is primarily interested in classical music, he should go ahead and start a collection of SACDs?  That is implied in my second post but I think it's pretty clear that's what I'm saying.

That Arcam player looks pretty good. My question would be is there a DAC/Transport combo that could beat the sound quality of the Arcam for redbook, forgetting the SACD? I don’t think in terms of functionality, you will beat that, except for of course a decent universal player that does UHD Blu-Ray which is top tier disc sound right now (as far as I know). As far as somewhat current, this Pioneer fits the bill as I’m sure some Oppo did.
https://www.amazon.com/Pioneer-Elite-UDP-LX500-Universal-Player/dp/B07HCL34WK
I have a very low-end DSD SACD machine and some discs even shine through there. But for some music it just doesn’t make much difference, despite the big story. So I stopped at about 50 after ten years or so. If I was doing it again, I’d go universal as Blu-Ray audio has some deals as someone posted recently.  But it depends what type of music you are after as well as mentioned.

As a general comment I think the Marantz sacd players are built better than the Sony.  I had a Modwright Sony ES5400 and the transport tray was a weak point.  I now have a Modwright Marantz SA 8005 and it is built very well.  I can't comment on the sound difference since I never heard them prior to the mods.  However, the after mod sound of the Marantz is better than the Sony with the same modifications.

I I have owned an SACD player for many years.  With the right combination of gear and SACDs, they can be quite pleasing.  I enjoy many diverse genres of music and some SACDs make you wonder why there is not more content available.

For example, Time Out by Dave Brubeck is amazing.  As has been noted by others, classical music is the main driver.

If you can find enough content in the music you like, it is a no brained to me.  I have been using a McIntosh MVP871 for probably 10 years, so I am not one to make hardware suggestions as I am not current about more recent players.

Happy Listening and Good Luck

Tomcy, no ill  will intended, but reading back your posts it isn’t sufficiently clear to me that you are saying that Classical SACDs can be had at more reasonable rates non Classical.  Anyway , I think that we are in agreement there, now that I better understand you.
  I only own 2 non Classical SACDS, Kind of Blue and an earlier SACD incarnation of Sgt Pepper (I understand that the latest remastering of Sgt. Pepper is an improvement).  If those 2 discs are indicative of non Classical SACD, I would agree that they don’t have much to offer compared to Redbook