Sony 900ES SACD sound vs CD - Help


I now have a little over 120 hours on my 9000ES DVD. Here's the problem: When I use the Sony as a transport (The digital output fed into an MSB Link Dac 2) the sound quality is MUCH better than the Sony supplied SACD music played through the SACD internal decoding circuits and output form the analog outputs on the Sony.

How can this be? I thought the SACD was supposed to be much better than the CD. Is it possible that the SACD circuits need much more time to break in?

The Sony when used as a transport is almost as good as my SimAudio Moon Eclipse cd player (when also used as a transport) which has a floating suspension.

I have the Sony on a magnetic levitation system which I designed that floats it 1/4 to 1/2" off the shelf.
This isolates the transport and circuitry from low frequency vibration. The result is: better bass, more open midrange, and clearer highs.

I just don't understand why the SACD part of this doesn't sound as good as everyone says it does. Maybe the sampler sacd is very good?

Any ideas??
128x128darrell
Martice,
I do not have the money to spend on audio that some people find, but more than others. I have a quality system: Legacy Focus speakers ($5,400), M1rage OM-2 center ($700), Mirage rears, Velodyne sub, Rotel pre-pre 985 ($2K), three PSE amps ($1K each), and Rega 3 TT.
I have both a vinyl and CD collection of software that I'm not throwing away. The S9000ES is worth it's money without progressive scan and SACD. The CD and DVD-Video audio play are so much better than what I had. Sound with Movies is far more extended and dynamic, and my CDs have never sounded better. It's a more significant improvement, in just CD and DVD play, than when I replaced my ESS AMT-3 rock monitor speakers with the Legacy's. Then there's SACD, and for me there's many wonderful SACD titles available--both old standards and new recordings. Go to www.sonymusic.com/sacd for a list of Sony's. In addition, SACDs are produced by Telarc, Chesky, FIM, Groove Note, DMP, Virgin, and others. DCC recently announced that they will be producing SACDs. My S9000ES rekindled my interest in music and home theater.
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Don't read this paragraph if you get bored. My CD player broke a couple years ago, so I've been relying on my Sony 300 DVD player. I bought two DVD/DVD-A players (one $500 and the other $600) for Christmas and planned to return one. I wanted to improve my CD sound. Both had CD play similar to my Sony 300. DVD-A was an improvement, but not as good as my 96/24 discs. So I decided to test the S9000ES. I own the Willie Nelson Stardust remastered CD, and Stardust is one of the SACDs and is on Sony SACD sampler disc. My 22-year old son and I first played the CD version of the Stardust cut on the S9000ES and listened to the entire 3-4 minute play. We then switched to the $600 JVC723GD and played the same cut. Within 20 seconds, my son and I were talking how flat and distorted it sounded in comparision with the S9000ES. We didn't listen to more than 1-2 minutes and felt no need to relisten or try other CDs. It was a huge difference. We then relistened to the Stardust CD cut on the S9000ES and after it had completely played, played the SACD version of Stardust. Again in 20 seconds we were talking about how much better SACD was over the CD version. The difference was not as great as between the 9000 and JVC, but it was more dynamic and detailed than the CD. The silent sections appeared quieter and there appeared to be a "sparkle" with the music that was absent with the CD version. I returned the JVC the next day. Since I bought my S9000ES (late December), I've been relistening to many of my CDs and DVDs--and they sound so much better.

If you rely on a $600 (or less) DVD player for your CDs and DVDs, you're missing so much. It's amazing how much better the S9000ES is on both CDs and DVDs. I am sure there's other DVD players as good as the S9000ES, but I bet they are in the same price range. Martice, what DVD player do you recommend since you so strongly opposed to the S9000ES?
The $1,000 Pioneer 37 supposed to be very musical. It does not have DVD-A, SACD, or progressive video. Some say, that it's not as detailed as the S9000ES in playing CDs or DVDs.
Martice - I agree, software is going to have to drive the desire to own a player. I also agree that the Sony 9000ES is the most likely purchase since it's a high-end DVD player to boot.
I made an error. The Pioneer 37 DOES have progressive video. It is an excellent CD and DVD player for a reasonable price. It doesn't have DVD-Audio or SACD.
Thanks to you all for your responses!!
I did burn in the sacd section for another 72 hours and it did make a difference, now the sound is as good as what I get with the MSB dac and the cd analog output is now within 95% of the external dac. I think with time both the CD and the SACD will continue to improve! I've ordered some SACD disks and will give the SACD another chance to impress.
The cool thing is that if you don't like a format, no one is forcing you to buy the player or even listen to the unit. I bought my SCD-1 in Nov of 99 and I am very pleased with the CD playback quality. I have about 20 SACD's and it is growing. The analogy between the player and the computer is IMHO not realistic as the unit is fully backward compatable with the old PCM format, and despite what some have said, the player does a much better than average job on CD. My SCD-1 drives +$50K worth of amps/pre/speakers and I am very pleased with the level of playback. One thing I have noticed is that power cords make a difference. I use the FIM Gold with great results.

Regards,

Mike