“holy schitt” pricing aside, Esoteric has some amazing SACD players…
LOL… Holy Schitt…
Don’t get the two-box player, their one box K1X SE is still the best one-box SACD out there. (I know, it is still not cheap). It is a good thing that I do not listen to discs often nowadays.
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I believe half the people here do not realize they are listening to PCM that was later encoded into DSD64…a glorified Redbook CD experience. The only way to be reasonably certain that SACD on any particular player will offer objectively superior audio quality, is to spring $40-$50 bucks per SACD disc, for original (or back-up) master analog tape transfers directly to DSD64 (I think?). Or am I missing something?
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Well done transfers from analog tape onto DSD can be very good. The other option is to buy recordings from sources that are transparent about the process used, such as NativeDSD. That way, you will know exactly how the recording was made (originally in DSD or high-res PCM or whatever) and can decide what you wish to purchase.
I have certainly heard some SACDs that sound better than their red book counterparts. But without knowing the exact provenance of the recording, it’s hard to draw meaningful conclusions.
like all format debates, it all comes down to the mastering of the particular recording in question…