CD v. SACD

As was prviously stated, there a few other discussions on this.

It is a tough call, obviously only you can make the right decision for you, that said, there is nothing wrong with getting a wide range of views from others.

There are pros and cons for each.

The combo player, obviously, allows you to play two formats quite well, not the best of each, but quite well.

A dedicated player is designed to do just the one task and *should* outperform the redbook performace of the combo player at the same price point.

CD clearly has the advantage when it comes to software, availability and price, plus you already have a large collection.

In the immediate, the CD player would probably give you the most gratification, but this is my opinion; based on your current collection and availability.

For around 1600 dollars you could get a naim CD5 or a meridian 508.24 which would be better than the jupiter anyway. As for SACD, if you interested in the new format, SACD's will sound much better than redbook, but the sony is not quite as good as some CD players in this price range. In my opinion the Sony will better the Jupiter on plain CD playback, but try the merdian and naim, they are great players, even a musical fidelity player, just try it!

Give it SACD try !

I agree that the sony will outperform the rega on redbook and the SACD play back capabilities of the sony are a plus.

Buying used player means less loss $$ when you want to resale than buy the new one.

Ones you try to play on SACD,you'll just keep buying SACD in the future.

Good luck.

Hi Tom: here's a "radical alternative" if I may suggest?
Would you (or anyone for that matter) be interested in a way to make ALL your current redbook CD's sound significantly better, & simultaneously be able to enjoy a higher-resolution format, with those high-res CD's available at the same prices as redbook?
You can do so with the Pacific Microsonics 20 bit HDCD backware-compatible format. And your HDCD's will still play on a standard non-HDCD machine with better fidelity than redbook.
If you haven't heard an HDCD player yet then definitely give it a try. Comparing the same release on an older 16 bit disc against a newer HDCD release is a true revelation. HDCD also offers better software availability than SACD.

Keep it simple. Buy the Sony. You won't regret it.