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Are Sony SACD Machine Owners Crazy??

I am sorry about the "tabloid" title..but another
post I did got little response on what, I think, is a real
question. Ie:.. many people have stated that the playback
of standard format cd's (16/44) on these SACD machines is
very good...indeed beyond things like Levinson..etc. The
question is ..in this age of "upsampling" 24/96..and beyond, how can these one bit/bit-stream (in "redbook" format) units
be so good? This is asking the owners of the model 1, 777,
9000..etc. Sony players..how can this be so. I had owned
the Xa-7es at one time, and thought that the excellent
playback was the FET analog stage...these new SACD machines
are all using OP-AMPS....not very "high-end". The concern
I have is that while we all hope for a format that will give
us analog sound in a digital format, the near-term concern
is what any unit...SCAD or DVD-A will do with my collection
of standard CD's?
whatjd
frap
213 posts
 
Whatjd, I think the real question here is, As good as the performance of the Sony SACD player is now, How much better would it be WITHOUT the use of $1.00 OP-AMPS?
This company has always been this way. You get all this great mechanical construction, great everything, and then the el cheapo op-amps. How is it possible, that this giant mfr, cannot see this?..........Frank
whatjd OP
1,139 posts
 
Frap......thank you! You are so right, and this has been
my point. We may be able to buy great pre-amps, power amps,
cables...and speakers, but without great source components
much of our efforts are lost. Why labor over choices
in the rest of our systems..and debate the tube vs. solid-
state, CJ vs. ARC, Krell vs. Levinson..etc., if we are
placing a $1.00 OP-AMP in the chain? An OP-AMP is a kind
way of saying..big IC chip..integrated circuit. Even the
best are not up to real tube and real transistors..they
are a cost saving device...and until we start getting
source components with excellent audio sections...we are
running in circles.
How can we debate formats, tube vs. transistor, dynamic
vs planer/electrostat..etc...when somewhere in the path of
the signal we place a one or two buck OP-AMP?
jschrimpf
32 posts
 
According to Robert Harley in isssue 120 of The Absolute Sound the SCD-1 and 777ES DO NOT use op-amps.

To quote RH directly:
"Commendably, the analog output stage is an all-discrete design(no op-amps)."
Issue 120, p. 36.
jschrimpf
32 posts
 
An additional quote may help clear up some misconceptions:

"Two transformers supply power to the unit, one for the analog circuits, one for everything else. The SCD-1 has more power supply regulation than I've seen in a Japanese product, and even uses discrete regulation rather than IC regulators. Moreover, the analog output stage has additional on-board discrete regulation and power-supply filtering right next to the audio circuits. This a decidedly High End design technique"

"This is clearly an engineering-driven product designed to show the SACD format in its best light, not a product dictated by the marketing department. In fact. the SCD-1 is perhaps the tweakiest product I've seen from a large Japanese company."

The Absolute Sound, Issue 120, pp. 36-37
jschrimpf
32 posts
 
According to Robert Harley in isssue 120 of The Absolute Sound the SCD-1 and 777ES DO NOT use op-amps.

To quote RH directly:
"Commendably, the analog output stage is an all-discrete design(no op-amps)."
Issue 120, p. 36.
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