Thread: Concern with sacd disc players

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Post by Kutyatest November 27, 2015 (11 of 30)
stahlhelm said:

Hi all,

I have a bad feeling towards sacd disc players. I dug up the web and I found tons of info that after a certain use all players will refuse to read the sacd layer of a hybrid disc. No matter what manufacturer, what laser, what transport. It is only a question of time when the laser weakens and can't catch up the layer what we buy the discs for. I also own a player which surrendered and laser is not available any more. Another fact is that for compatibility reasons almost all sacd discs are hybrid we know the story.
Don't misunderstand me I like the physical format. I would not go to PC listening if I could avoid. But at the moment I am afraid of investing a pile of money into a player which will die in three years of time. Second-hand players are risky.
What are you thoughts? How do you see the situation? Please share you opinion any inputs are welcome.

Regards

I can't speak with any great experience, as the player that I own is the first hi-res player that I've ever owned. I bought my Arcam DV137 brand new nine years ago in November 2006, and it plays all discs perfectly well - same as the day I bought it. That's both hybrid SACDs and DVD-As, DTS-CDs, DVD-Vs and the humble audio CD. It is not very often that my Arcam DV137 gets a day off, and I'm overjoyed with it. So much so, that if Arcam were to release another true-universal disc player, I wouldn't hesitate to buy it.

I dug deep into my pockets in November 2006 - or at least that's how it felt at the time - but I don't think I could expect any more from a player.

If my DV137 were to pack up, I'd probably get Arcam to repair it - or give consideration to the Cambridge Audio CXU universal disc player - that's another story though.

Post by stvnharr November 27, 2015 (12 of 30)
stahlhelm said:

This is a typical example what I am trying to describe here. Worst case you can't get laser any more and replacement is not straight forward either. What a pity.

Are you actually looking for a player to possibly buy?
Or are you posting just about how some players have lasers that can go bad?

Post by krisjan November 27, 2015 (13 of 30)
My Marantz SA11-S2 was purchased Dec, 2007. It has been left on virtually since I put it in my system. It gets nearly daily use. It's never failed to plan an SACD. There have been a few RBCD's that have failed to play but those discs did not play on other players either. Love this player - hope it keeps going.

Post by Disbeliever November 27, 2015 (14 of 30)
my XA5400ES mch SACD player has functioned perfectly for 7 years now . However I also bought a Sony BD player that plays SACD should my 5400ES fail and could not be repaired.

Post by stahlhelm November 30, 2015 (15 of 30)
stvnharr said:

Are you actually looking for a player to possibly buy?
Or are you posting just about how some players have lasers that can go bad?

Yes I would like to buy but I hesitate because of the (un)reliability of the players.
I you imagine that you put a pile of money into a player which becomes in three-four years of time unusable for sacd play that's not the greatest investment. I can't afford buying a new player every 3-4 years this is the point. I am willing to spend a bigger sum if I find a good a reliable player.

Post by stahlhelm November 30, 2015 (16 of 30)
krisjan said:

My Marantz SA11-S2 was purchased Dec, 2007. It has been left on virtually since I put it in my system. It gets nearly daily use. It's never failed to plan an SACD. There have been a few RBCD's that have failed to play but those discs did not play on other players either. Love this player - hope it keeps going.

Maybe these bigger Marantz players are the expections. But I don't trust in cheaper players though.

Post by stahlhelm November 30, 2015 (17 of 30)
Disbeliever said:

my XA5400ES mch SACD player has functioned perfectly for 7 years now . However I also bought a Sony BD player that plays SACD should my 5400ES fail and could not be repaired.

IMHO a universal player may not substitute a player which was designed for sacd playback...

Post by Kal Rubinson November 30, 2015 (18 of 30)
stahlhelm said:

Yes I would like to buy but I hesitate because of the (un)reliability of the players.
I you imagine that you put a pile of money into a player which becomes in three-four years of time unusable for sacd play that's not the greatest investment. I can't afford buying a new player every 3-4 years this is the point. I am willing to spend a bigger sum if I find a good a reliable player.

I have used about 2 dozen SACD/universal players over the years and none have failed. While my typical use for review is limited to a few months, I have had several in regular use since 2009, including Oppo and Sony, without any problems.

Your concerns seem rather exaggerated to me.

Post by stahlhelm November 30, 2015 (19 of 30)
Kal Rubinson said:

I have used about 2 dozen SACD/universal players over the years and none have failed. While my typical use for review is limited to a few months, I have had several in regular use since 2009, including Oppo and Sony, without any problems.

Your concerns seem rather exaggerated to me.

Maybe the "new" players do not suffer of the sacd hybrid reading problems or the laser lifetime became longer (which I don't beleive). Try to google for "sacd hybrid problem" and you'll fint tons of threads of hybrid non reading players. Including Sony's flagship model SCD-1 back in time...

Post by stvnharr November 30, 2015 (20 of 30)
stahlhelm said:

Maybe the "new" players do not suffer of the sacd hybrid reading problems or the laser lifetime became longer (which I don't beleive). Try to google for "sacd hybrid problem" and you'll fint tons of threads of hybrid non reading players. Including Sony's flagship model SCD-1 back in time...

I think you are exaggerating things, as Kal has mentioned. You only seem to reference to older first generation players from 10-15 years ago. The newer players from Oppo and Marantz, look at the 8004 or 8005 Marantz models and Oppo 103, will serve you fine for as long as you want to have a player.

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