CD layer on hybrid SACD versus regular redbook

You don't have to give up on anything Dgaylin. Get a Sony XA5400ES for about $1099 and you will finally understand why SACD can be special. On the other hand, the Redbook will blow you away. It is the first digital player/system I have owned (I've had $15K CDP's) that delivers tonal accuracy without digititus. It approaches vinyl but has no drawbacks. Don't quite understand completely why the XA5400ES is so good, but it is different then all my Levinsons, Wadia's, Meridian and MF stuff. The architecture is new and breaks some new gound for digital playback. As to the Hybrid disc, well? SACD's alone vary alot, as do the Hybrid discs. I have noticed that the RB layers seem to sound particularly bad vs the SACD layers...conspiracy? Maybe. Bottom line is that you need to live and learn what recordings are special...many of my RB recordings are far better than any SACD recording I own:O)

Dgaylin: My experience is that most of the time, the Hybrid layer with rbcd sound better than the CD itself. Maybe it is remastered, I do not know.

No, no, no. Buy a refurb Sony 595 at Sonystyle for $60. You will be very pleased with both SACD and CD sound. Just saved you $1,000.

New SACD releases are coming out on a regular basis. My entire priority is to first purchase a hybrid mulit-channel SACD, then HDCD, then digitally remastered older CD recordings to 24 bit, then simply newly recorded Redbook CDs. I just purchased Honky Chateau (Elton John) for example on SACD. Oh my word, when I played it, I thought I died and went to heaven. In multi-channel (5.1), you are simply engulfed in the sound with details you never ever heard before coming at you from angles. The group Spyro Gyra is now releasing their newer CDs in SACD format. I just purchased "Wrapped in a Dream" in SACD. One word: Fabulous. So don't give up. Keep checking the SACD websites for new releases. You'd be surprised. Now I do agree, we have a long way to go but I firmly believe it's the future.