Are Sony SACD Machine Owners Crazy??

Depends on what you want. I have not jumped to SACD because I care much much more about the quality of the musical performance, than a lesser performance that might sound better. In other words, I listen to music not sound. I keep looking at what's available on SACD and I do not see much of anything that could replace what I have on Redbook and LP in the performance department.

I think the 2 questions you posed, 1)how can the units be so good, and 2) what will they do with your standard CD's are essentially rhetorical and theoretical, and whatever answers posed will be subjective from a given individuals perspective. Listen for yourself. You like Key Lime pie and I like Apple. Who's right? Who cares- you like what you like and so do I. Your reasons are your reasons, mine are mine. These threads are great as a springboard for further exploration, however in the final analysis it's what yanks yer crank when sitting in your room with your favorite music that counts. SS/tube, vinyl/CD/SACD etc etc, the debates will always rage on. I appreciate all the info I glean from this site including that which disagrees with me, but when it's gametime, what sounds best to me, regardless of format and your opinion of my gear and it's measurements, is what ultimately counts.If I like it, I like it. Right or wrong don't even enter into it. 1 bit or 50, if you like it better or not, YOU like it better or not. What a piece of gear does on paper or how it measures or what you think of it is inconsequential when the rubber meets the road at listening time.

This crazy had his 777's audio board and power supply caps and resistors upgraded (no circuit modification) for $480 and moved his modified 24/96 DAC to a secondary system after determining that the upgraded 777 did Red Book noticeably better. On a side note, the more I listen, the more I'm convinced that the three most critical contributors to superior CD (and SACD) reproduction are transport, transport, transport.

Oh, and owning a SACD player or not has nothing to do with my being crazy. I think it was something in the water where I grew up, yea, yea, the water,and my parents, and the school system, and my brother, yea my brother, that's the ticket.....

I bought a (demo) 777 as a way of killing 2 birds with one stone - get a fairly high-end redbook player and be able to play sacd. There's the added benefit that it's an excellent transport (for redbook) but that wasn't my objective. At any rate, I agree that the available catalog of sacds is pathetic. I have an LP12 so I don't need to rebuy "Tapestry". That being said, I had to at least go rebuy something just to hear what sacd can do, so I got "Sketches of Spain", and the difference is not subtle - it is pretty much on a par with good analog. Supposedly the 777 can be mod-ed to improve its sound a good bit for about $450 - maybe when the warranty runs out - but in the meantime let us pray that the 'format war' results in sacd being a new standard because it kills redbook. And if not, I'll have a great transport.....