Are Sony SACD Machine Owners Crazy??

Can't say I know why, but the redbook CD playback on my Sony 9000-ES is certainly of a high caliber. I haven't made direct comparisons myself yet, but some very respected members have, and they are satisfied that the Sony CD playback is good enough to lead them to selling their high end CD rig. Without paying a lot of extra cash for upsamplers, outboard dac's, etc. the cd playback of my 9000-ES gives me just about as much as the CD format allows. I think that perhaps it has been wishful thinking on my part in regards to SACD being the next format. Both DVD-A, and SACD represent a refinement of an existing format, and not a true innovation, like the Walkman or the compact disc itself. People that have a decent, if not high end system will hear a subtle improvement in sound quality, but nothing so fantastic as to make them run to the store and buy one. DVD was an obvious winner, CD convenience for video playback, but I suspect that SACD will become the digital format of choice for audiophiles, and not the general public, unless every record company releases all their titles with both CD and SACD capability, for maybe a dollar more than current prices.

everything is trash unless you use an elgar plus and purcell or greig, thats the end of the story.

Whatjd, I think the real question here is, As good as the performance of the Sony SACD player is now, How much better would it be WITHOUT the use of $1.00 OP-AMPS?
This company has always been this way. You get all this great mechanical construction, great everything, and then the el cheapo op-amps. How is it possible, that this giant mfr, cannot see this?..........Frank

Frap......thank you! You are so right, and this has been
my point. We may be able to buy great pre-amps, power amps,
cables...and speakers, but without great source components
much of our efforts are lost. Why labor over choices
in the rest of our systems..and debate the tube vs. solid-
state, CJ vs. ARC, Krell vs. Levinson..etc., if we are
placing a $1.00 OP-AMP in the chain? An OP-AMP is a kind
way of saying..big IC chip..integrated circuit. Even the
best are not up to real tube and real transistors..they
are a cost saving device...and until we start getting
source components with excellent audio sections...we are
running in circles.
How can we debate formats, tube vs. transistor, dynamic
vs planer/electrostat..etc...when somewhere in the path of
the signal we place a one or two buck OP-AMP?

According to Robert Harley in isssue 120 of The Absolute Sound the SCD-1 and 777ES DO NOT use op-amps.

To quote RH directly:
"Commendably, the analog output stage is an all-discrete design(no op-amps)."
Issue 120, p. 36.