Redbooks: as good on Sony SACD as on Cary 303?

In my experience, I've found that THD (total harmonic distortion) and S/N (signal to noise ratio) are the best indicators of sound quality - newer chipsets, increased power supplies and DACs notwithstanding.

For example, the Cary 303 has a spec'd THD of 0.0008%(1 kHz) and a S/N of 120 dB(1 kHz). The Cary 306 has a spec'd THD of 0.0008%(1 kHz) and a S/N of 122 dB(1 kHz). On paper, the 306 should sound a tad better because of the higher S/N - the THD is the same. This appears to be the consensus of posts I've read about the two players. I've heard both myself in a side by side comparison and the 306 was just a little bit better, but not much - IMHO the sonic differences were so slight that the 306 didn't merit the increased cost.

I think folks get so caught up in the chipset/power supply/DAC "thing" that they disregard basic sonic measurements. These measurements are quite palpable. IMHO, all the commotion about SACD vs. DVD-A vs. HDCD vs. Redbook CD is just a bunch of hooey. I don't think format should be the deciding issue. In fact, one can read about many instances where a high-quality CD player (playing Redbook CDs) sounds better than a lower quality SACD player. Most times, the quality differential is in the sonic measurements of the machines, NOT the chipsets, etc.

In short, first look to the specs. of the player(s) you have in mind(regardless of format) to weed out inferior machines. Then, A/B audition (if possible) to choose what sounds best to your ears.

People get caught in the hype. That's spelled BS. You're right. The upsampling vs oversampling vs this chip vs that chip is all marketing crap trying to get people to blow their money on different products and then spending absurd money on the software. Since CD is the "perfect" media, why do we need any more?

Blues_man, you are joking aren't you? To a certain extent I agree that its marketing crap but on the other hand there have been significant improvements in the digital domain over the past few years. 18-bit DAC's vs 24-bit DACs. Improvements to the digital filters like the Burr-Brown DF1704 vs Pacific Microsonics PMD-100 and PMD-200. CD isn't "perfect" media and if all CD players were the same, I'd be using a $99 Emerson or other brand from JC Penny or Sears.

There have been some improvements in hardware, but mostly hardware has become cheaper not better. I still think that the HDCD system is the best and should be used by all manufacturers for CDs. Digital filters are getting better. They couldn't get much worse. How is a 24 bit DAC better than a 20 bit or an 18 or a 16. Again just marketing. CDs are 16 bit. CDs ARE THE perfect media. The audio industry wouldn't lie to us would they? They told us 20 years ago that this would be perfect sound. Do you think then that this was all marketing hype?

Has anyone had an A/B comparison with the Cary 303/306 against the Sonic Frontier SFCD-1?