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

Blues Man, I assume the point you're making is that players have become better (sonic) value for money? i.e. incorporating now, & at an "affordable" price, quality/technology that only very expensive units offered years ago (bar a few advances in playback tech)?

As you're running a Spectral, I wouldn't doubt your view -- rather, compliment you on the choice that I, for one, did not make when I could!

Tight finances often steer us up a slow "upgrading" path. By the time we're near to "getting there", hype & corporate diversification enters the scene to confuse the issue further. Hence Pen's dilemma...

BTW, am I correct in assuming that PCM is really 15 bit info + 1 bit control??

Cheers all!

There is no control bit. There is additional data in the packet. Being an engineer, I pick well engineered components , instead of components based on really esoteric designs. I remember when I first got into CDs in the early 90s, companies were selling CD players with DSPs to create different effects. In high end audio, someone from StereoShill says something and thousands of audiophiles spend huge amounts of money for things that are grossly over-priced. I know someone who spent more money on his speaker cables, than on his speakers, amp and pre-amp combined. People spend thousands of $$$ on power cables (just for one). That's absurd. You can buy hospital grade power cables and power generators that are as good or better than any audiophile product for a fraction of the cost. The hype will never end as long as people will throw their money away.

Blues_man, we agree to some extent. I am an engineer and can't see spending more than $50 or so for a power cord. My favorite cord I made myself using parts from Home Depot!

But I also feel that digital component technologies have improved significantly in just the past few years making it worth while auditioning some of the newer gear, CD players and DACs in particular. I disagree with your quote "this chip vs that chip is all marketing crap". The newer "chips" HAVE made an improvement in the quality of sound from recent model CD players and DACs.

Some info on "chips" from Jeff Chan, another engineer and audiophile. And he's not in the audio business:

http://MyCollins.net/audio/filter-comparison.html

Blues_man, you commented about early CD players using DSP's to create different effects. Some of the latest digital filters used in the best sounding CD players and DACs are based on modern DSP chips.... Sony uses DSP in their SACD models and any players that use HDCD decoder/filter from PMD.... PMD HDCD decoder/filters are based on DSP chips. Just a thought since you seem to like HDCD.

The comment about DSPs was in their use to create audio effects. I tried one out, and found that on certain recordings, certain settings produced subjectively pleasing results, but for the most part it just got in the way of the recording. As far as DACs getting better, I just don't buy it. Now I haven't listened to that many different DAC chips lately ( besides, you can't separate the DAC from the rest of the hardware to make a fair comparison ). At home I listen to LPs 90+% of the time. So I'll just keep my old Spectral and hope that everything gets remastered in HDCD.