Looking for a CD Player

If you are into classical music, I would highly recommend SACDs. They are about the same price as CDs, and almost always include a Redbook CD layer so they can play (at CD quality) on any CD player or transport. I play them in native SACD mode where they normally contain 5 channels of Direct Stream Digital (DSD) sound, sometimes with an additional subwoofer channel. (They usually also have a 2-channel DSD version). I do not have a center speaker and the center channel is automatically added to front left and front right by my AV pre-processor.

Over 6,000 SACD titles are available from Presto in the UK, and they also have a streaming service under A$20 a month which allows you to download, avoiding the issue of your streaming service removing the items you want.

The latest CD players I purchased are universal players and play CD, SACD, DVD, BluRay and 4K Ultra BluRay. They output over HDMI, so function as transports, and the DACs are built-in to my AV pre-processor. All 8 DACs handle DSD natively, something to really check for!

I have a very cheap Sony (about A$250) and a Reavon (about A$3,000) which is closer in execution to the famed but no longer available OPPO universal players.

The Reavon has two Burr-Brown DACs, one for CD playback, and one for multi-channel SACD. Unbelievably, SACD is reduced to CD quality when using the internal DACs. I am older than you, but instantly picked the loss of sound quality, which I have not seen mentioned in any review.

There is a cheaper Reavon which plays SACDs but skips the on-board DACs, but I have not used it so can’t comment on playback quality.

I do understand that many on this site will be horrified by my suggestions! No streaming service that I am aware of provides the full resolution of either SACD or 4K. If a recording engineer has gone to the expense and trouble of recording 5 channels, why throw 3 away! And there are newer recordings coming out in more than 5 channels, such as 2L,no and their Atmos sound-only disks (Grammy award winners)

You don’t need a SACD player or DAC. Instead, consider something currently in production with a strong dealer network. Personally, I recommend the Marantz 50n CD player, priced at $1,800 (the SACD version is $3,000). It’s built like a tank, sounds smooth, and offers many useful features.

Do not buy a used CD player.

@hasmarto How arrogant and typical of this site that you feel able to dictate to the OP what they need.  SACDs have been around for 25 years, it is just a pity that the US was not ready for them.

@richardbrand 

Now you’re trying to draw me into an SACD vs. CD argument. It’s not my fault that SACDs aren’t very popular here, especially with streaming readily available. I’m a senior and do own an SACD player (you can look up my system here), but I haven’t used it in the past seven years. This site is for sharing opinions and suggestions, not dictating to others. Please don’t reply to me; we’re clearly speaking different languages.

I would recommend Marantz Ruby sacd player buy brand new don’t buy used. This player is almost the same as the their SA 10 player costing 7k plus. The only difference the SA10 is balance.