2. digital
  3. 1183744486

is a SACD+CD player better than a universal player

Many people argue that separates are better in audio, whether it's amp/pre-amp, sources, etc.

So, based on experience with the available models, is it better to go with a unit that is SACD+CD and do video (and if you want it DVD-Audio) separately?

Carrying this to its extreme, do you think it should be all three -- one source that maximizes redbook CD peformance, one that maximizes SACD and one that maximizes video.

And the wrinkle in all this is HD-DVD/Blu-Ray which is beginning to appear as a rationale for separating audio and video once and for all.....

Your thoughts?
dgaylin
audio_obsessed_novic
8 posts
 
I hope I am not hijacking your post here, but I have been wondering why a universal player isn't as good or "musical" as a straight CD player or SACD player.

I mean, do they(a DVD player and CD player) not operate on the same principles with the servo system, pickup, processor/DAC, etc.? And neglecting the quality of the component parts, wouldn't a DVD player do a better job on these tasks, given the higher standards of DVD and the need for greater precision?

As for your question: I apologize, as I of course do not know the answer.

However, I would think that using seperates would allow each part, each player, to be specialized to playing that particular type(CD, SACD, DVD, etc.) and aspect(audio/video) of media and therefore maximize its potential.

But my question is: in the arena of digital audio, WHY? For example, why would a straight CD player sound better than a DVD player? Again, disregarding the quality of the components, woulnd't both players read, process, and output the same audio information?
dgaylin OP
250 posts
 
Hey I'm just glad someone responded. Not sure why people aren't weighing in on this. Your question isn't too different than mine.

I have a fairly high end universal player (Bel Canto PL-1A) that I am very happy with. It's video performance is perhaps marginally less good than it's audio performance, and I've trialed in my home a couple of UDP's with video that seemed to be slightly better (but based on memory only, it wasn't a head-to-head shoot out) but I'm okay with that since I'm more of an audiophile than a videophile.

As far as audio, the PL-1A is among the very best I have heard on both CD and SACD. I don't listen to enough DVD-Audio to be able to speak to that.

But that is the motivation for my question -- since I don't listen to very much DVD-Audio and wouldn't miss it if I lost it AND since Blu-Ray/HD-DVD are making the debut, I'm wondering if switching out the PL-1A for a high end SACD/CD player and having a separate high definition video disc player isn't the way to go.

If so, then the SACD/CD player would have to beat the SACD/CD performance of my PL-1A....
dgaylin OP
250 posts
 
By the way, apologies to all for the spelling errors -- I'm typing too fast!
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