SACD and build quality (1 Viewer)

[John_Lee]

I've seen some humdinger prices on SACD units lately, low enough to get me wondering. I've got a lot invested in higher echelon CD and DVD players, and a 777ES receiver, but haven't made the jump to SACD yet. So the question is, how important is the build quality to SACD performance? How important is error correction and jitter compared to the CD format? Obviously the DACs will have to be internal and I won't get to use my 777's. So how do to the DACs perform in 'budget' SACD players?

If build quality is still important enough to make a difference, I'm willing to wait until I can afford a quality unit. But if the nature of the format renders build quality less important, or irrelevant for other than asthetic reasons, I may consider jumping on with a budget unit now.

 

[KeithH]

John, as an optical digital format, I feel that error correction and jitter are at least just as important with SACD as CD. So, build quality is an important factor to consider in choosing a player. That said, the budget Sony SACD players (SCD-CE775, DVP-NS500V, and DVP-NC650V) are surprisingly good with SACDs. CD playback is particularly lacking on these models. It could just be that Sony has focused more on SACD playback in the design of these players. As you move up the ES line, both SACD and CD playback improve, but in comparing the 'CE775 and 'C555ES changers, for example, the greater improvement is in CD playback. Still, SACD playback of the ES player is better. If you can swing it, get an ES model. The 'C555ES is an excellent all around player for $600 or so. At $2000, the 'XA777ES is a wonderful player.

By the way, the 'C555ES and 'XA777ES have better DACs than the cheaper models.

 

[Matthew Anker]

I don't know that I would exactly say that the higher price SACD players have better DACs than their lower price counterparts. Their DACS are definently older, current pulse types, but I don't know if that makes them better.
Yes, jitter is still an extremely important factor with SACDs, yet Sony still uses cheap clocks in all their players (except SCD-1 and SCD-777ES). If you want the ultimate in jitter control, buy a CE775 for $199 and have me install a LClock XO2 in it. THe LClock has a rated precision of 2ppm. This eliminates the jitter that keeps the DSD1702 DACs in the player from meeting their full potential.
-Matthew Anker
www.SACDmods.com