Beating a dead horse.... SACD

If you would like something new Sony still makes players that play sacd.

https://www.crutchfield.com/p_158X1100ES/Sony-ES-UBP-X1100ES.html

@lalitk 

the whole point of me mentioning the ones that I did was because the OP said that he didnt want to spend more than $500.....and he was already familiar with the Sony model.

the one you suggest is already over what the OP wants to spend and the bidding isnt over yet.

@riley804,

I hear you. My post was not to knock down your suggestions under OP’s budget. It was more in line with a reality check on his bid for a ‘good sounding player’ :-)

@lalitk 

agree that the OP should look for something better......especially since the OP says that he has had high end equipment over the years....so he should know that it would make sense to spend a little more on a good quality player.

I recently got my Vacuum State moded Sony SCD-1 out of storage and back into my system.  I have to say it is a pleasant surprise after all these years. I am also enjoying the slower pace of selecting a disc and playing it on the SCD-1. A nice change of pace from the sometimes faster paced streaming I do via TIDAL and Qobuz.

The DAC on this player is 20 years old so I am thinking it is the Vaccum State V5+ mods I did 15 years ago is what is making this player still sound great. My current DAC is the Benchmark DAC3B a neutral and extremely revealing unit. It is a much different sound than the SCD-1's internal DAC, but I love both. 

I sometimes see this player on sale for under $1000. Though I would not use the original packaging to get it shipped to you. The packing foam will be useless at this point. It weighs about 50lbs.

BTW - Dark Side of the Moon on SACD on the SCD-1 is the best sounding disk and music on any format that I have heard.