Digital as good or better than YOUR analog?

Once I had put my Arcam on "steroids" (Perpetual technologies P1, P3) difference was not subtle, it was jaw dropping. Difference between SONY and Arcam is only subtle, Arcam warmer, SONY harsher and brighter. But I had to sold P1,P3 they were causing so much interference with my TV, that I could not watch it. For now I do not have dedicated audio-only room. So I know how much improvement I could get with "good" player.

Sorlowski,

Ever you doubt your rooom? Maybe it needs some treatment. Sometimes, a room has bad echo on high frequency, so a revealing source make it worse. Therefore, a laid-back equippment, CD or amp or AC or speaker...., will save you in that room. SONY is usually on the brighter side, but not terribly bad. If it is very annoying bright sound, maybe room or other equipments add brightness too.
There are quite a few people actually think S9000SE is pretty good on SACD, they may have different gears/room and not "deaf" either. Also try some good SACD please, not 100th time remaster from mother tape recorded 30 years ago.

>Ever you doubt your rooom?
I'm far from claiming that my room is perfect, even good,
But I do not think so that even room with golden dimensions will make SONY sound analog. It lacks body, do not have harmonics of Arcam. Sounds very digital.
>There are quite a few people actually think S9000SE is pretty good on SACD
yes, hundreds of them, this is why I have bough it without audition, and have been disappointed ever since.
>Also try some good SACD please
Is "Various Artists - An Introduction to SACD Chesky Records" good ? I made my tests on this hybrid disk.

Lately I have listen at some dealer to SONY 999ES, the best I could say to him was "mid-hifi".
But I have found very analog sounding "raw" Cary 306. Could not believe the difference! It got to me that not technology CD or SACD, DVD-A but workmanship and brand matters the most.
I really do not see potential in SONY. But maybe it is just me.

Sorkowsi, good power delivery/noise control, tuning and room acoustics treatments are an integral part of a *systems* approach for your entire setup. Unless you do this right, you'll never get to reap the most of your money spent. End of story.

May the Force be with you.

Nope, not yet. But, then again, my SCD-1 is not in the same price league as my Basis Debut V vacuum table/Vector arm/Lyra Titan set up. In most of the things that matter to me -- musicality, clear harmonic structure, scale of soundstage, natural dynamics -- my analogue set up still sounds better to me. I feel the same way when I hear good analogue vs. digital in dealer set-ups, but some digital products sound very good.

I will be auditioning, in my system, the Audionote DAC-4 hooked up to the Sony, and the NAIM CDS3 sometime in the future. Both sound completely different from each other, yet both were fantastic when I've heard them in different systems. Other contenders I would like to audition at home include the Lindemann player (never heard it) and the Aero Capitole SACD player (I like their CD player).