Marantz, which supplies SACD drives for PS Audio transport unites, ceased their SACD drive production ...
Are you sure? Marantz lists multiple SACD players on its website and the SACDM-3 transport mechanism looks like a recent introduction.
My SACD Transport feeds so much better signal to my DAC compared with streaming end...
I mostly use Roon to stream my 2000+ album digital collection with Bluesound Node + Ideon 3R Master Time reclocker + Ideon Ayazi MKII DAC. Recently I got a used PS Audio PerfectWave SACD Transport to rediscover my CD collection from years ago that my parents brought back to me from their home, which I have not touched for a very long time. I thought the 3R reclocker would clean up much of the signal from the Bluesound to the extent that streaming will not sound much worse than CD -- Indeed, I have been satisfied with its performance. I was wrong. The CD playback experience totally blew me away. Much darker background, much better soundstage and depth, lots of details, and better dynamics with great authority... I guess you really need a good streamer to catch disc playback! At any rate, I plan to upgrade my front end to one that works with the SACD Transport's I2S output so that I can enjoy my SACDs as well...
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Or you can get a good streamer and DAC and have millions of albums at your finger tips that sound the same or better than the physical media. Bluesound is very good sounding for the money but is in the bottom tier of the budget streamers. I own one. CD Players and SACDs are physical transports, streaming the signal to an internal DAC. The quality of the output of the box is dependent on the performance of its internal components. Good quality streamers cashe the bits coming in from the network, isolate from noise and pass on to a DAC. Which ever of these are of better quality will sound better. My CD, stored files, and vinyl all sound the same (outstanding), and I have access to millions of albums. So, it is worth the effort to put together a streamer and DAC that sounds as good or better than a physical media player. Saves money and storage space. I got rid of all my CDs. |
@cleeds I am pretty sure, at least the drive that companies like dCS, PS Audio, Wadax, etc are using. I am not sure about their other product lines, but it does have significant impact on those independent transports. PS Audio's Paul McGowan also confirmed that their new PMG Signature SACD Transport will only have a few hundreds of supply due to the end of production. Hopefully they can figure something out or some other manufacturers (Luxman, Esoteric, for example) would be able to fill the gap. (I have no clue about that though.) |
@ghdprentice I agree with most of what you said. Streaming is certainly my primary chain which I spend most of my time with. I am planning upgrade my DAC to a MSB Discrete or Premier with Renderer V2 and I2S module so that SACD playback can be unlocked and I will get a much better streaming experience.
On the other hand, I still play CD for nostalgia, collection habit, and fun. I do see a strong value in CD playback, especially for classical music. I get too easily distracted when streaming! And the lack of booklet for most albums is plainly annoying. Some combination of physical and non-physical playback is ideal! |
I, too, am one of those who, after extensive comparisons, went to a streaming music exclusively audio system. Oh, I still have all my old CD, DVD Audio, HDCD, and SACD discs sitting on the shelf collecting dust, but I no longer play any of them (just looking at them harkens me back to my youth). Why? Because I discovered that streaming, done right, at a high level, either matched, or trumped (mostly), the sound quality of my old physical media, whether it be via a transport/DAC combo, or a stand alone player. I even stopped ripping CD's and just stream them, except for those that aren't available on Qobuz. In over 30 years in the hobby, I've never been happier!!! Happy listening. |
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