Is DEQX a game changer?

Quote: "Al, you and I are both old enough to know that some questions are best not asked. I'm "freeze tagging" on the DEQX's analogue functionality viz my phono. The thought that my Ref 5 SE could be an irrelevant artifact is too difficult to bear"

I am nearly 60 and although I also have around 4000 CDs, a few dozen SACDs and (at last count) around 54,000 (!?) mostly FLAC digital files (Rock, Hard Rock, Blues, Folk, Indie, Electronic, Folk) I still prefer Vinyl through my DEQX - 2 TTs via phono amps. 3 very fine preamps are now in other rooms or unused and will never be in the main system again

Drewan ...can I use the transport in my CD-8 to play SACD discs? I don't know what the bit/FR is with SACD or other high resolution discs. This is new territory for me. I think redbook CD is 16 bit/44.1 KHz. What is SACD?

What about hi-rez computer downloads? I have no idea what is out there.

09-26-14: Bifwynne
Drewan ...can I use the transport in my CD-8 to play SACD discs? I don't know what the bit/FR is with SACD or other high resolution discs. This is new territory for me. I think redbook CD is 16 bit/44.1 KHz. What is SACD?

SACD, as you know, stands for Super Audio CD.
It uses 1-bit DSD (direct stream digital) that is sampled at 2.8224MHz which is 64*44.1KHz. I.E. SACD is 64X oversampled compared to redbook CD.
SACD technology utilizes noise-shaping quantization techniques to recover the 20Hz-20KHz audio while at the same time pushing the unwanted noise to a higher/inaudible ultrasonic (to a human ear) frequencies. SACD, thus, almost always used delta-sigma demodulators to convert the 1-bit DSD stream to a 16-bit/20-bit/24-bit/32-bit recovered audio. The delta-sigma demodulator is digital circuit hence there is digital signal processing (DSP) done on the 1-bit DSD stream to recover the audio. The claim of SACD is that is supposedly provides a 120dB dynamic range (while 16-bit redbook CD has an upper limit of 96dB & signal processing done with 20-bit redbook also has a dynamic range of 120dB-same as SACD).
As you already know, to play a SACD disk, you need a player that is SACD capable - a redbook CD player cannot play SACDs.

Bombaywalla or perhaps Drewan77 --- what is the DEQX's digital capabilities?? Can I use the CD-8 as a transport and the DEQX as a pure DAC to play SACD?

Btw, just updated my comments on the "Absolute Redbook DAC" thread. Too long to repeat here ... but I think the redbook DAC functionality of the CD-8 (with gain circuit) and running the analogue signal through my Ref 5 SE pre into the DEQX analogue input is a rough draw as compared to running the signal directly into the DEQX's digital input off the digital output of the CD-8 (san gain circuits of both the CD-8 and Ref 5 SE, and of course san CD-8 DAC).

Btw, still holding that the DEQX's time alignment and room EQ corrections are significant improvement. Just talking about the DEQX's digital DAC capabilities here.

Bif, SACD has a sample rate of 1 bit/2,8224Mhz vs 16 bit/44.1Khz for standard CD. It cannot be handled by a conventional DAC so processing is done by the SACD player and enters the DEQX via an analogue input

I believe the CD-8 will only play regular redbook CDs, SACD requires a dedicated player (inc some Bluray players)

There are also relatively few SACD disc being produced these days, most of mine were purchased when originally issued. As always in audio, mastering of the original recording has the greatest audio impact (IMO), so a really great CD or digital file sounds better than a so-so SACD or LP

I have a lot of FLAC files at CD quality, quite a few at 24/96 and some at up to 24/192. The same comment about mastering applies so I don't get too hung up about it. The 'best' vinyl beats everything else but then maybe I am a dinosaur?