Sony 900ES SACD sound vs CD - Help

I do own a 777 Martice. I bought it to use as a transport and to play SACDs and, as Art Dudley suggested in a recent Listener editorial, to vote for the new format with my wallet. But at $1500, it was practically a no-brainer. I am plenty interested in others' experiences with these players, including your experience. But your opinions seem to be based soley on your sense of the industry and the outlook for the format, and apparently not on first-hand experience with the products. Meanwhile, lots and lots of owners (many are knowledgeable and experienced audiophiles) are very enthusiastic about the Sony players. Are they wrong?

Hi JD. In regards to my quotes maybe I can clear a few of them up for you.
1. Crappy meaning crappy SACD selection (relative to taste)
2. SACD is sonically better sounding than regular CD's is true. However, that is not what anyone was debating here. My gripe is why spend all that money on hardware when there is not a lot of SACD software. If you find that the price of the SCD-1 justifies the price of the unit as a CD player than that's fine too. Who's knows, if you're lucky, SACD might make it as a permanent format and you will really look like a genius.
3.I haven't realized my systems potential yet as far as I'm concerned and so I tweak and will continue to do so.
4.You're right, I've never brought the SCD-1 player home to audition but then again, you answered the reason why you bought it already. It plays CD's very well.
5. No! I'm not on Drugs! But then again...
6. I still say like I said earlier that (I) think that the Sony 9000es is most attractive because it's already capable to play two major formats being DVD/CD discs and it's progressive scan capable.
6. I never mentioned anything about a $1,000 DAc but from what I hear, Ric from tweak audio might feel a little different about the performance of his DAC versus the SCD-1 as a CD player but that's for you to take up with him. My beef is software shortages.

Hi Drubin. If you're saying that the unit plays CD's very well or well enough to justify the price paid, then what can I or anyone say to that? Point taken!!

There is another way to look at the big picture.If no one buys the hardware because of the lack of sacd selection,then there will not be a reason to master more software.My hats off to anyone who early adopts sacd,for it is far superior to any cd playback i have heard up to 10,000. I did not find a big difference in sound quality between the 9000 and the 777 so i went with the 9000.However had i more disposable income at the time i might have went with the 777 for its better cd playback.I too feel that the 9000 is the best deal in audio ever,at least in my buying experience.I plan on putting more money into ic's and isolation devices than i paid for the unit it self [1075.00]but i am just a dumb ass slob so what do i no.

Jadem6, I think you (and I too) may have misread some of Martice's post, as I went back to re-read it. Martice, I'll try to answer your ultimate question as to why I bought a 777ES with limited (certainly not no) software available. To begin with, last winter, when the only units out there were the SCD-1 and 777ES at $5000 and $3500, I bought a dCs Purcell in the same price range on the same rationale as you point out, that for the same price I could get something that improved the 1000+ CDs I now have vs. a piece that had only a few available titles, many of which I had in other formats. However, when the price of the 777ES came down last fall to $1600, I took another look at the format's software, which was increasing and included a number of titles I, as a classical lover, was interested in from good labels, and figured that at this price it was worth the chance that the format might not succeed and at least a listen. Upon listening to the 777ES, comparing CD and SACD on hybrid discs of the same recording, the superiority of SACD was clearly apparent to me. I bought the 777ES ultimately because SACD is what I, as an analog fan, have been wishing digital, even upsampled digital, could be and I figured I should put my money where my mouth was now that I could afford to pay the price. If enough of these SACD players are sold, the likelihood increases that more software will become available as the manufacturers and distributors see the format as commercially viable; but if the hardware isn't in the hands of the consumers, there's no chance for the format. I figured also that if the format never went forward, my son would have a hand-me-down CD player that was at least competitive with units in the $2500-$4000 price range. I'm encouraged by Sony's latest models, which have lower price tags and, with the 9000, includes a good DVD player--this kind of marketing could make the format a consumer success. And, at least with the 777ES since it has a digital output jack, keep in mind that you can improve your redbook CD playback by getting a better DAC than is offered in the stock unit and using the player as a transport. I believe that this is why many of us think of the unit as a comparative bargain at the $1500-$1600 price--in my system, it's had the additional benefit of keeping my Forsell transport on its best behavior (don't ask me why, but that unit had always been very tempermental till I brought in the Sony; now it works flawlessly)! Sorry for the length of this post, hope it makes some sense to you.