CD Sound Quality -- please help educate me

Get yerself an SACD player and a nice collection of SACDs.
I love SACD.

LoL, me, an audiophile? Well, I do enjoy listening to music but I'd hardly consider myself an audiophile (yet) in the ranks of folks on this forum any more than playing Need for Speed makes me a race car driver. :) I just know a few buzzwords.

So, if I understand the comments thus far, it does help to buy a 'current' CD player, not necessarily for 24/192 but to minimize things like jitter and for higher quality electronics - better data paths not necessarily data manipulation.

So, just taking an conceptual example: both a Marantz CD5400 (16/44?) as well as a Cambridge 540C (24/192) would be better than my Sony because of newer electronics and design, regardless of bit depth and sampling rate. And these units may be comparable as well (same generation).

Does your Sony have a digital out? If it is in good shape you may consider just buying a newer DAC and a digital cable.

I agree with Hoopster. When you use your player this way, it becomes a transport. I have not been able to determine any differance in CD playback using various transports costing up to $6000. DAC,s are a different story. I have never heard 2 DAC,s sound the same. Even same brand/model.

Thanks -- interesting idea. Sounds reasonable although I know nothing about DACs.

But.... taking a quick peek at the classified. Wow -- I think we're talking about different price leagues here. I'd really need to read why, for example, a $350 Cambridge dac magic unit is better than a Cambridge 540Cv2 at $225.

In any case, for know, I'm still trying to reconcile how music is recorded onto CDs and the DACs used in players -- there seems to be a mismatch -- CD's are 16/44 (or up to 24/44) while players are now 24/192?

From a practical standpoint, do I only need a well designed, good quality parts, 16/44 player? Is the design and parts (outside the DAC) more significant than the bit/rate of the DAC?