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What high-end multichannel SACD players are there?

Hello,

My SACD collection is growing! It looks like SACD is here to stay, as more and more discs are popping up on the MusicDirects of the world.

Anyway, I have an ONKYO SP1000 universal player. It plays SACDs. It is multi-channel. It sounds pretty decent, but I'm sure there are much better players out there.

I'm trying to find out what my options are to replace it with a better sounding SACD player. Looks like there are a bunch of players out there from the likes of Esoteric, DCS, McIntosh, Ayre, Krell, etc... BUT they ALL seem to be only 2-channel!

Isn't one of the main points of SACD to be MULTI channel? All the dics have multichannel tracks, and I would hate to give up the option to play them by moving to a better sounding player.

Basically what I'm wondering is this - What are the options for a true high-end SACD player that also has mutichannel capabilities?
goatwuss
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dbphd
1,631 posts
 
Kal:

Edorr wrote, "If you do not need the Blu Ray, you can get a Sony XA5400. According to Kal marginally better than the Oppo on HDMI out."

I recalled your comment being the Oppo 95 HDMI was marginally better than the Sony XA5400. Did I recall incorrectly?

db
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kr4
3,691 posts
 
I preferred the Oppo with analog outputs but the differences on HDMI were miniscule and resulted in a toss up. The Sony had a bit more low end but the Oppo was a bit better defined. Any choice between them would, and should, be system dependent.

Kal
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kr4
3,691 posts
 
BTW, guys, I had to look up what I wrote (http://www.stereophile.com/content/music-round-50-page-2-0) because, in effect, I use them almost interchangeably today.
edorr
714 posts
 
My recollection is Kal's statement was made in his review of Ayre universal player. He compared the Ayre to both the Xa5400 and a plain vanilla Oppo, but I believe this was a 93, not a 95. However, since the 93 and 95 should be identical, this should make no difference. Look up the ayre review online and you'll find out.
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dbphd
1,631 posts
 
The reason for my question, Kal, is that I have an Oppo BDP-93 connected to my Cary 11a via HDMI, and have been thinking about moving my Sony XA5400ES back into the media room cabinet as well, connecting it to the Cary via analog XLR. Not sure what that gets me, though, but I have a spare Sony DVP-S900ES for use in the living room that sounds very good playing CDs & SACDs.

db
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