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Dumb Question

Recently I have been playing and buying more SACD.s than CD because I think they sound better. I am using an Oppo 205 to play the SACD’s and would like to up-grade from the 205, which was only a $1300.00 player when I bought it. It seems like Esoteric keeps coming up as one of the better SACD players, however at pricing which starts at $12,000 for their lower line player. Will their players be an up-grade over the Oppo and which model do you recommend. I am big into streaming as well,  but think the SACD is superb. Thanks for any feedback. Sam

128x128samgar2
jasonbourne71's avatar
jasonbourne71
820 posts
 

I already have a Sony CD/SACD changer and a Sony Blue Ray Universal player. Optical disk playback has been a mature technology for at least twenty years. Nothing new under the sun! I doubt that in a blind test an Oppo and a Samsung can be told apart!

mjcmt's avatar
mjcmt
710 posts
 

Sam,

Many other forums sing the praises of Esoteric SACD players. For under $1500 new Marantz, Denon, and Yamaha SACD players get a lots of positive feedback.

mahler123
3,041 posts
 

I will repeat advice that I have offered elsewhere.  I use an Oppo 105 and I also prefer SACDs.  I use a DAC with HDMI inputs (Bryston DAC3, there are others) and output the DSD layer of the SACDs into the DAC.  The DAC runs about 4K now.

mahler123
3,041 posts
 

btw, not a dumb question

coralkong's avatar
coralkong
591 posts
 

Esoteric makes brilliant players. 

I can assure you that you won't be disappointed 

Pricey, but top notch. You can also check used, where they are a lot more economical. 

There are several brands with excellent reputations in your price range.

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