Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Technical Questions 5-Disc SACD Changer Recommendations

Well my CD changer is finally giving out and I am looking to replace it with a 5-Disc SACD changer. From my research I have found a few that combine DVD playback with SACD, but haven't found many. Ideally I would like this equipment to playback SACD and DVD audio as well. My stereo receiver is old and eventually I plan to replace it with surround capability so I am not against the most recent technology. I am using the M80's v3 with a decent sub and have a couple of small floor standing celestions I'll be using for surround for now. I am looking to spend no more than $250 and so far it seems that a Sony DVP-NC875V/B is closely matched to my needs. I am willing to pay a bit more if necessary, but not much...I rarely if ever watch movies on DVD (at least for now). Recommendations please!

Hello Captain,

Given that SACD and DVD-Audio are commercially dead formats, I doubt you'll find what you are looking for in a changer.

Anyway, the Sony changers are OK and are reasonably reliable if a bit wonky at times.

I've been using two 300-disc Sony CD changers in tandem for years now. The sound quality is fine.

Regards,
Alan

I have a Yamaha universal changer (DVD-C750). It's kind of annoying in its slowness, and I never found any SACD changer that would random play the tracks on SACDs. CDs, sure, but not SACDs or DVD-As. So be aware of that little hiccup.

Lee, good to hear from you again. As you've probably found in your research, there are very few units available that meet your requirements. CD/DVD changers are available, but SACD play narrows the choices and DVD-A makes them almost disappear. Many previously made have been discontinued and are available, if at all, only used.

I use mega-changers for music play, but if I wanted one similar to what you need, I'd probably consider the Onkyo DV CP802 which was reviewed here , and try "sammy" for the buy. This does include DVD-A play and goes the Sony one disc better.

Incidentally, I'm now studying the Nordic romantics beyond the Grieg, Nielsen and Sibelius I've been familiar with. Got a bunch of Atterberg, Langgaard, Pettersson and Rangstrom symphony discs from the various libraries I have access to. So far, Langgaard is an interesting discovery and a particular gem is the Pettersson 7th . If you're not familiar with these works it might be worthwhile to give them a listen.

What Ken.C said, I too have the Yamaha DVD C750 with the only caveat of it's slow loading time but I'm used to it. Good build and audio quality...plays all formats you're looking for.

http://www.audioholics.com/reviews/transports/dvd-players/yamaha-dvd-c750

You must have gotten the non-C-stock one... Mine doesn't open the drawer all the time, the remote's horrible (and I know that's a "feature" of all of them) and the random play is silly. It does actually have a more helpful UI than my Oppo 970, though.

The only issue I've had with the Yamaha is that it will "freeze"...I then just unplug and it resets itself. Probably not an uncommom phenom as with other units. My next player will be an Oppo or Marantz.

Thanks to all for your recommendations. Regarding Alan's comment...I still see several SACD formatted discs in the classical genre that have recently been released and continue to be, so I still think it viable for me. It was Alan's comments I read many months ago that convinced me to try surround for music in the first place (I have yet to purchase a surround receiver but it will come at some point in the future). My SACD collection is growing and I do have some DVD-A discs as well so I think I will investigate John's recommendations, and yes, I have only found used units on Amazon and ebay. Hi John, I am familiar to some degree Atterberg. The others you mention I know of but either I don't remember them or haven't heard them...yet. Actually I am getting into more of the American composers like Chadwick, Piston, Hansen, Harris and started to listen to the Ives symphonies and works. I've resisted many of the English/Irish composers in the past so Vaughn Williams, Walton, Bax, Elgar, Stanford and others I am now exploring, especially their symphonies and a few concerti. I'm a late comer to some of these composer's works, and I have played many pieces by Elgar, Walton, Vaughn Williams, Britten, Holst and others, but not the symphonies. I'm also on the search for 18th century works from lesser known (at least to me) composers and found a great reference in an older issue of Gramophone Magazine with a very comprehensive listing. Enjoy your search and discovery!

Hey FireGuy, just ran into this yesterday when I moved the thing and was trying to play a video for my kids. Glad I'm not alone. Wish I'd remembered that you'd had the same problem a little faster, though...

Hi Captain,

I certainly don't want to deter you in acquiring SACD or DVD-A recordings. I have a fair number, and some have very fine sound quality, not because of the so-called "hi-rez" technical specs but due to the extra care in recording and microphone placement. (In terms of human hearing, CD is already a hi-resolution recording format.) I also have some poor-sounding SACDs and DVD-A recordings.

I would urge you to get a surround-sound receiver. With careful setup, the improvement in realism of 2-channel CD playback throught Dolby Pro Logic II, dts Neo6 or Logic 7 is really thrilling and classical stereo recordings that contain some natural hall ambience "decode" wonderfully into surround.

It's great to discover other forum members who appreciate some of the wonderful yet less well-known English composers like Bax, Walton, and Vaughn-Williams. I was just listening to Walton's Belshazzar's Feast in surround; highly recommended if you have not yet heard it. Great dynamic swings in the chorus and orchestra and it decodes into surround extremely well. It's a thrilling musical experience.

As to disc changers, none are "speedy" in terms of disc-changing so I wouldn't let that hold you back.

Regards,
Alan

Lee, I always listen to 2-channel music source material in surround, using DPLII or similar. This releases the surround ambience that was imprisoned in the front channels because there was no place else to put it and sends it to the surrounds where it belongs. When the levels are properly balanced the result may seem relatively subtle, but switching suddenly to straight stereo mode clearly demonstrates the collapse of the sound field toward the front for a less realistic effect.

Commenting on some of your current exploration: the gorgeous Hansen 2d Symphony is a real favorite; Piston's The Incredible Flutist is a must; all of the Vaughan Williams symphonies are loved(two complete sets with Boult and Handley plus individual discs with Bakels, Barbirolli, Haitink, Previn and Slatkin); The Elgar 2d Symphony is his finest work in my view; besides numerous copies of Holst's The Planets, his The Perfect Fool has to be included. One set of American symphonies that is way under the radar, but should be far better known are those by Ned Rorem .

Alan and John: Your comments are really helpful. Since I do have a single player that decodes DVD-A and SACD perhaps its best for me to concentrate on first purchasing a surround receiver. I'd really like to try the decoding technologies for CD's of which I have so many.

Alan, I have played Belshazzar's Feast before (literally) so I am very familiar with the work and have two great recordings. John I'm very much enjoying Previn's Elgar's 1st & 2nd with a few overtures and marches thrown in. I have the Hansen, but haven't heard it in a while. I also have about 4 of the Vaughn-Williams symphonies (#2 with Bakels and really like it). I think Piston is so very musical as is the Chadwick 2nd and Ives 1st and cleverly conceived 2nd with the traditional New England announcement that the end of the night (end of the piece) has come. His 1st is also very interesting and quite beautiful. His 1st symphony melodies accompany me in thought throughout the day (which drives me crazy). I think I have some Rorem and some Alwyn and others that I had given to me and a Corigliano symphony. In time I will get to them. In any case, I think I should concentrate on a surround receiver rather than a changer inasmuch as I do have the means to play all my discs as they were meant to be heard.

Captain:

I posted this a couple of months ago that might help in your search:

Yesterday I happened to check out one of our local Mom & Pop AV stores. I found a new, long discontinued Denon DVM 2845CI 5 Disc Changer sitting on the shelf waiting patiently for a new home. It plays multiple formats. The sticker price was $550 CAN & without any whining or snivelling on my part, the proprietor offered it to me for $200 just to finally unload it. Last night I checked it out on the net & it seemed to be a very good product with great sound quality. After seeing that Dak-Mart in the US has refurbished units for $270 US, it was a no brainer.

TAM (exMajor, ha!)

Captain::

I just checked DAKMART. They still have Denon factory refurbs with 1 year warranty for $269. This is still a good buy considering that this machine originally listed at $500 or so.

The pickings for dedicated SACD players is pretty slim. I'm really happy with mine that I use exclusively for SACD (2 channel) in a 2.1 audio only system. Info here:

http://www.dakmart.com/p6574/Denon-Dvm-2...oduct_info.html

TAM

Note that you probably can't play SACD over HDMI on that unit, so be ready with your six RCA cables.

I have been using an Integra DPC 8.5 for a few years. If HDMI is not important to you, the 8.5 has performed flawlessly, and it is pretty quick. You may be able to find one on Ebay??

http://www.integrahometheater.com/model.cfm?class=DVD&m=DPC-8.5&p=i

Ken:

Correct - no HDMI output for SACD on the Denon that was released some time ago - in 2007. I use only the 2 Channel RCA Audio Outputs to my audio only tube amp - perfect for me. For surround to a receiver, a bunch of RCA cables will be required.

The latest inexpensive Sony Blu Ray players (390, 590 & 790) output SACD over HDMI. In fact I'm going to get one to hook into my HT system for surround playback to compliment my PS3 that does not play SACDs; however, they are not the 5-disc changer type.

From what I've seen in the market place, SACD playback is not supported by many manufacturers. It's a shame as there are a ton of SACD discs for sale on the net & more are continually being released. I really like them...

TAM