Is there an SACD that can play cds well?

I got one of the early Sony SCD-1 to play SACDs. Also had the Levinson 31.5 which I sold because the Sony, in my system was more musical for regular CDs. So I sold the Levinson. The Sony is a pleasure to use but is quite slow. Hope you can find one to audition. It's well worth the price...even the original $5500. The current price, it's a steal! Good luck.

There is something strange about the Sony SCD-1: the more you use it, the better it seems to get on CD playback. I have a Levinson 37-dCS Purcell-Elgar combo, and in the beginning it was light years ahead of the SONY on CD playback. Then I started to use the SONY's filters, and really liked the result on some less than state of the art CDs. (Yes, the Purcell has similar filters, but they're harder to use.) Now the Purcell has been away for several weeks, and the SONY is really playing beautifully. I'm curious to A-B them when the Purcell gets back. If you can stand the slowness of the SCD-1's windup to play, you really might consider buying one before they disappear.

Hey Mgottlieb. You could be the missing link in most of the threads on this topic. So far no one has adequately (in my humble opinion) compared the top of the line Sony SACD player, with CD playback, to a state (or near) of the art CD only system. I'll bet I speak for many listeners out there when I say that I will never actually replace my CDs with SACDs of the same titles, but would like to begin purchasing new titles in SACD format. So, I too will need a system that can play both, whether that means one box or several.

So, "you're the man". Do us a big favor and report back when you have your Purcell back and compare the 2 in CD mode. Thanks in advance!!

I related my experience in a different thread( SACD dominates rec. list), so cliff notes version is: I A/B'd the 777 redbook against Theta Jade transport/ dCS Delius/Purcell. I thought the Sony sounded at least as good, maybe better. Sold the dCS pieces. There are few CD players out there that are clearly better than the Sony on redbook. They're out there, but clearly better is a key phrase. And they're typically boatloads more$$ than the$1500-1600 you could possibly pick-up a 777 for. Slightly more for the SCD-1, less for the 9000es. Not a bad deal in this day and age of inflated audio prices.

With no experience, with your gear i would say the new accuphase sacd player wood work,but cost mucho bucks.Have you tried the top sonys?