What the heck is Resolution Audio

Megasam, if you're "curious why no SACD compatability", why aren't you asking those that designed it?

Sam, sure I'll loan you $3k, at 25%; the unit is beautiful, but at night, in the dark, I just close my eyes and enjoy the absolutely gorgeous sound. It sounds better today than it did yesterday. Unbelievable. That's the only way I can describe it. And beautiful. To listen to that is.

I can almost rationalize breaking my budget for $3000 by telling myself if I get CD55, I can eliminate pre-amp and go CD only......then it just as if I spent $1500 on each component, but end up with better sound. Really $3000 is a bargain for SOTA CD player, as many are $5-10,000+ range but unless you make six figures still a large investment, regards Sam

Does either the CD50 or CD55 have balanced (XLR) outputs? I need to run long interconnect, if I go directly to the amps. Will they drive 7m interconnect?

Yes, the CD 55 has balanced outputs. I don't know about driving 7 meters of cable.