I think a full-fledged SACD player would be a superb product idea for PS Audio to consider. Please include multi-channel outs (including XLR) as well as HDMI.
Just use a Sony BluRay player😜. $180 and you're in. But then you'd need an AVR to decode the 6-channel mix. And what audiophile would be caught dead with an AVR😱.
Paul, as I stated in my recent email to you, after touring PS Audio I realized I really needed an SACD player. At the time of my visit, you had stopped making your disc transport (maybe only temporarily... I don't know and didn't ask - other than being told that they were not in production). Honestly though, even if you were still making the disc transport, adding a DirectStream DAC on to the purchase of the disc transport, would be beyond my budget. After careful consideration and listening to several talks by Ken Ishiwata, I bought what I thought was the closest thing at the time... the Marantz KI Ruby SACD player. Even that was $4K. If you were offering an all in one SACD player at that time, I would have not hesitated in purchasing it that day to add to my stack of Stellar components! So please, seriously consider an all in one SACD player for us semi-audiophiles.
You are not a 'semi'-audiophile brother. Don't do yourself short. If you can buy a $4k cd player you're definitely up there among the purest of audiophiles 🎉.
Paul, you clearly understand the concept of progressive upgrading. I started my adventure with a Sprout, step up to a Strata, to which I then added 700 monoblocks, and then bit the bullet with a gold preamp and dac. Adding an inexpensive dac to your transport (and at that level, why bother with a separate power supply) would allow a path for those on a limited budget to ease into the very best.
I guess Paul has forgotten, but PS Audio made a CD player back in the 80s called the CD-1. The reader asked specifically about an SACD player, not just a red book CD player.
I have over 200 SACD's, so I am very interested in an integrated SACD player. The saving is not just the chassis, but also the space, power cord, and inter-connect between the DAC and the player. There are few SACD players to choose from, PS Audio would own the market if it makes a decent one for under US$3,000.
Sounds a great idea, also like Naim Audio did with there cd players make provisions to upgrade the dac and power supply so a win win for customers and PS Audio. with make provisions for adding sockets
Yes, Paul, make a stand alone SACD player, and add in HDCD compatibility for us old school guys. Classe had such a thing in their SACD-2 many years ago, but it is hard to find now. Maybe throw in the ability to read Blurays, but no video, something like a modernized Ayre C5XEmp. It doesn't have to be "the best". It only has to be really dang good for those of us on a more limited budget. $5000- $6000 range maybe. You can do this! I think that would sell very well. Put it in a nice case with metal buttons. Make it look nice, high quality, give it a chunky metal remote. Make it sound good. That is what we need today. Esoteric, dcs, there are a lot of nice players today, but they aren't universal players and they are all over $10,000. Just be better than Marantz or Denon or Yamaha. Be more versatile than the the Uber expensive brands. Don't worry about being at the top, but do better than the bottom brands. That's what we need!
@@Krell666 well, you can always go with the mass market brands if you want rock bottom. That's not high-end. That's not what PS Audio does. What do you want to pay, $49?
With a budget of $5k-$6k you can buy a used Directsteam DAC and PerfectWave transport. Or, save even more by turning an Oppo player into an SACD transport like I did.
The Stellar Strata integrated amp includes a “full featured state of the art DAC” and costs $3500. So you can integrate a DAC into an affordable amp that meets a market need. I have been looking for a CD player or transport that isn’t made in China and has a tray mechanism that is solidly built. I would be happy with a transport and could use my AVR DAC. Schiit makes a CD transport, but it has too many features that I would not use - and they stick the power button on the back side (a deal killer idiotic regardless of their excuses). I would love to have a PerfectWave SACD Transport, but $7000 is out of my budget. Build a stripped down good quality CD transport and I will buy it.
The question I would have is what the price point such a CD player would fit into. There are a number of quality disc players from Teac, Rotel, Denon, Rega, and Marantz that cost between $1500-$3500. Some of them even include network streaming functionality or be able to serve as a DAC for external sources. Further up the food chain are players like the Hegel Viking at around $5000.
@@alexcrouseGuido on his channel called Anadialog did a similar test (cheap Chinese DVD player vs very expensive CD player) and the results are what everyone with two functioning braincells would expect
@@alexcrouse Teac VRDS-701at 2500 Euro is the best CD player in this price range and will easily best an older player, due to its custom transport mechanism, custom dac chips and three toroidal transformers.
Paul, actually, a more affordable SACD player would be a desirable one. You may not be aware of this, but Denon makes a more affordable disc mechanism than the one used in your current transport and top Denon/Marantz machines so you might want to use that instead. Made in Japan and still excellent, just with more plastics in its cobstruction. That would certainly be an important piece of the puzzle and with your long experience with D/A conversion, I am sure you could make it sound excellen for those of us who work for our money. Cheers!
Paul, with the resurgence of redbook cd's it would seem a logical move to have a high-quality CD player that could be integrated into many people's systems as many integrated amplifiers have a DAC. You already have a high quality SACD player which is a less common item already.
An SACD transport for the Sprout range would interesting! A new Sprout amp and an 2 channel SACD player in a nice matching case for about €1000 a piece over here in Europe😊
I bought in the 90´s what I think it was PS Audio first (correct me if I am wrong) CD transport: The PS Audio Lambda, which came with AT&T connectors, expensive but great. My father has it now. But nowadays you can get great sound with Audiolab transport and a nice DAC like an old Burson DA160, of course I modify it, we are talking of no more than 2000 US. By the way, that Audio Lambda gave me years of great joy. The AT&T connectors didn't sound better than the SPDIF.
I would certainly be interested in a good CD, especially SACD player from PS Audio. Maybe even have some way of just using the transport for that upgradability in the future.. turn off the integrated DAC and feed the transport data into a separate. I would buy one of those in a heartbeat!
I guess it depends on pricepoint also. And what functionallity it should have. Making a very good sounding sa cdplayer should not be that difficult, but adding too much extra's could defeat it's purpose of beeing somewhat affortable and easy going. It's easy to go down a rabbithole. And keep in mind what kind of buyer you are tagetting. If you keep things simple, also people who are not really technical minded, are capable of using the player to it's full good sounding potential. Some people just want a really good sounding (sa)cd player, without the latest and greatest of options. Something very friendly to use. What i would like to see, is a player with extra attention to good bones inside. A very good linear power supply, spliced individual power lines to the different circuits, and off course a high quality masterclock. Also shielding the important chips. I've been very succesfull retrofitting all of the above, and more to older and pretty humble cd players. The results are mindblowing, if you know where the weak points are.
I bought the ARCAM CDS-50 for this reason. If PS Audio had an SACD player with a competitive price, I would have been considering that too. And actually in the future, I will still consider a PS Audio SACD player for hopefully under $2000 if one ever drops.
The problem here is that integrating the same DAC in a CD transport will never sound as good as having separates. So the question people are asking is more in the line of: "Is PS audio going to make a Sprout kind of CD player?"
I think it could be a successful product *if* you focused on the transport and had a “decent” internal DAC but also had digital out so that customers could upgrade to a great external DAC when they are able to do so.
Your high-end DAC of course use the FPGA and combining that with an SACD transport will just end up with a very expensive all-in-one player. I think the market for such a thing will exist but only as a very small market. I just don't see a purpose for a specialty manufacturer like PS Audio to make a run-of-the-mill but affordable SACD player.
I think there certainly is a market for a PS Audio SACD player. Like the fellow audiophile who asked the question I believe a possible sweet spot is downstream from where your separates currently sit. It’s that not so perfect world where people really appreciate great hi-if, yet still have to make compromises for various reasons, budget, space, aesthetic preferences (of partners). In full confession, it‘s my world. Since I became interested in SACD a few years back I looked at players around the 3k US$/€ price point from, say Technics or Marantz.The reason was budget and uncertainty whether I could appreciate any sonic improvement compared to playing the DSD files from a Mac with Audirvāna to a CHORD Mojo2 DAC. I ended up with a Pioneer PD50 AE at an original price of 2k. It sounds very good and gave me certainty that I wanted a dedicated SACD player in my setup.I would have spent the 3k for the other two, but did not like the Technics streaming integration and never warmed to Marantz’s latest industrial design. For a PS Audio player I think I’d pay up to 5k. Players like Marantz’s SA10 at 7k, on the other hand, always felt out of my league.
Interested? Hell yeah! Especially if the integrated cd player idea is at a good price - it'll reduce the box count at the very least - perhaps may be a more stable load for my PSAUDIO Powerplant Premier (remember those?) which I still happily use to this day!
My basic requirements for a perfect transport are: CD/CD-R playback USB stick playback (only front panel input) internal SSD storage (2 TB minimum) primitive screen without album art support and VU meters primitive antishock remote controller (my kid is obsessed with remotes) AKM 32 bit DAC equilizer (just like foobar 2000) with some reasonable presets 10 years warranty $1500 retail price NO streaming, NO ethernet, NO bluetooth, NO HDMI, NO SACD support, NO touch screen, NO headphones input (if it can help to minimize the final product cost), NO CD rip app Thank you Paul in advance! :)
People seem to gravitate to "Plug and Play" solutions these days due to lack of space and less complication. This player might help usher in a younger "audiophile in the making" and might be a consideration to allow them to appreciate a HUGE improvement in sound over the streaming alternatives out there. There's still lots of CD's and SACD's out there!
Paul, you could build a great-sounding CD/SACD player. If Esoteric can have up to 4 transformers in their designs the Marantz SA-10 can use great DACs also and that model is where your transport comes from if I recall. So power supplies and using your own DAC should not be a problem if you have the drive to build an excellent on. I know myself I like one box CD player and I have owned many up to 20K, my dealer and I both agreed an all-in-one could sound as good and at times better than 2 piece units, Esoterics have superb DAC so why could PS Audio not have the skills and know how to do the same. I would buy from you if he showed you cared about sound quality. No need 2 pay for 2 pieces a great one well built one can do as much as my Marantz SA10-S1.
In comparison to cd-transport SACD technology, DAC technology is evolving fast. The DAC part of such a SACD player would become obsolete in a few years. If I buy a transport plus a separate DAC, I can always switch the DAC as technology progresses.
I would be very interested in a SACD player as I currently have no way of playing SACDs, but I don't want to have to change the rest of my system to do so. A few years ago I made the mistake of buying an SACD transport, however, due to licensing from Sony, it won't output the SACD signal via a digital out except HDMI - AND my stereo system doesn't have a plain HDMI input. It does have eARC, but that won't take the same protocol, so no SACD playback 😞
That is a great idea. I still like owning an actual item I can store and a cover that I can read etc,etc. Yes it would be a compromise but knowing PS Audio would is produced will be a top end CD/SACD player
There is decent coverage in the market of "main stream" Hi and Mid-Fi SACD/CD offerings today and I think this comes down to a price point. The Marantz SA-10 is a great unit but it's priced over $7k USD then you go to the McIntosh MCD350, Yamaha CD-S3000, Technics SLG700M2, Denon DCD-A110, Yamaha CD-S2100, Denon DCD-1700NE. Then if your up market and have an expensive DAC, your not going to be spending +$7k on a SACD/CD player with a built-in DAC.
If it would cost again gazillion Dollars than spare from it as there are already expensive ones on the market . Someone needs to make a 1000usd quality transport ONLY with i2s output .
My issue with integrating things is component failure imagine the cd player failing and having to send the whole piece of gear somewhere for repair in comparison to separate components if one fails you only have to deal with that component I prefer separate myself
That makes sense if you're using the DAC as a preamp with multiple things connected to it. Otherwise, it's basically just a CD player and sending it for repairs wouldn't affect playing anything else in the system.
His question was about a possible SACD player . There are lots of CD players , but not many SACD players . What would you have to sell it for & what does the competition have @ price point ?
I am not an audiophile, but I am interested in very good sound and trustworthy quality and durability. I am not willing to invest thousands into modifying my home to accommodate tens of thousands of dollars into audio equipment to get that last 10% of audio perfection. I just cannot justify it until I win the lotto or something. That's just me and my situation but I suspect I'm not alone. So, a midrange line or upper midrange from PS Audio would be nice.
Another problem of a high end CD player is - what if you want to upgrade the DAC portion but are happy with the transport, or vice-versa? You can solve this with digital outs from the transport and digital inputs to the DAC portion, but then you'd wind up with half the player being wasted dead weight.
Given that this is channel for people SERIOUSLY into Hi-Fi, I'm literally AMAZED that Paul has to explain about "spinny" CD transports? You'd have to be a total Hi-Fi novice, not to know a CD Player is an integrated CD Transport and DAC. And novices are unlikely to follow a channel that sells (for example) speakers costing an OBSCENE amount of money?
I mean a $180 sony Bluray player will happily send 8- channel 192/24 PCM, 6-Channel SACD DSD 128 and even the humble red-book 44.1/16 CD over HDMI with ecc and HDCP. Save your money on the transport and get a decent processor/dac. Given its likely youll want to stream and heaven forbid, watch a dvd or bluray concert/movie 🎥
Hi Paul , I would love to see a more budget friendly Sacd 0ption. Currently in New Zealand, the PS Audio Sacd transport retails for $17,399, and the Direct Stream dac for $ 14,910 . A grand total of NZ $ 32,309. ( Approx US $17,900 , July 2024 price ). I am saving hard and do intend to buy the combination for my retirement, which is coming up in a couple of years. However, I'm sure a lot of my audiophile buddies would jump at an affordable PS Audio Sacd player. Bring it on. ........... Karl from Auckland.
32,000.00 for a transport and a DAC?? That is insanity...but what do you expect from "audiophiles"? Why would Paul make a stand alone unit when he can sell separates for $32,00.00?? That would be cutting his own profit margin. PS audio has never been known for making budget components(with a very view exceptions) I can't see Paul putting his name on a budget friendly unit that has moving parts. Electrical components is one thing, but mechanical units is altogether something else...
Yes, absolutely. A universal, play everything unit would be nice. Call it the Legacy. Somewhat akin to the former Oppo's flagship read-everything capabilites. That, blended with PS Audio's superb digital chops, 𝙏𝙃𝘼𝙏 would be killer. Grasshopper, ... your Kung-fu is good.
There is a shortage of quality SACD players being built today. I would love to see PS Audio offer something to compete with an Esoteric SACD player at whatever price point you guys land on.
To right you should, don't try and make it to compete with your reference transport and dac, build a stand alone CD player aimed at the middle ground for around $3,000 bucks or so. Don't bother with SACD, just red book 16/44 CD standard. CD is amazing value for money, sounds better than streaming and won't bankrupt you like these audiophile vinyl pressings. I have been listening to the latest Beyonce CD, Cowboy Carter. and it sounds amazing. What is there not to like! 👍
Here is an idea. Why not make something like the old oppo units to entice people back into quality audio and media ? That way you appeal to the masses with decent gear but as your brand , they can then consider upgrading if needed.
If you did a CD player with a high end DAC, you would need to either use the player as your system DAC, or have a second high end DAC, for streaming etc..
I’d like a CD/SACD transport with built in ripper and 2TB hard drive. I would want a preloaded software that does not require a subscription to navigate the files.
Currently I have a Bluesound Vault which works well most of the time. I do not like the tractor load CD mechanism. It is out of OEM American car from the 90s and gets stuck at times refusing to eject a CD. I can not just play a CD without automatically ripping the CD. I’d like it to a double as just a CD transport where I have the option to rip the CD. It may not happen often but a friend may have a CD that you just want to demo. I also have some local bands and DJs which just don’t play well with meta data software. The addition of SACD, and I2S would be very nice. IMO most entry level integrated amps have a DAC and most of us who are down budget spending for pure analog amps can buy an inexpensive DAC. I am currently using the DAC on my decade old NAD integrated.
I currently own the Bryston BCD3, just a Redbook player. You may be able to beat it with a stand alone, but I wonder how much better. I think to be realistic, by the time you can make one that can be better than the Bryston or the Hegel Viking, you really will end up only having to stretch a touch more for the separates. People with players under $2000 will likely not upgrade to a $5000 one. I think the idea of a stand alone is a good one, but I really don't think the market will support one. I wish, when I was finally able to afford a better player, that PS Audio had one to compare. For me, anyway, that ship has sailed.
There are no decent multichannel SACD players on the market today. That is, player with analogue m/ch output. Yet, SACD in surround is amazing. I’d be in the market for such player from PS Audio, even if it wasn’t as good as your separates.
I for one would be very interested in a (SA)CD player on lets say the Strata series (with XLR outs also) , that way it would (should ;) ) not bite into the Perfectwave series transport and DAC
Well, if you are using Sigma Delta DACs you could very well put a very high quality DAC in the same chassis as a very good transport (SACD players use a slightly different laser than redbook players and some SACD players had two lasers, one for redbook and one for SACD). and it would be standard dimensions and it could easily sound just as good as separates if designed correctly, so your generalization is a bit off. If on the other hand, you are using ladder R2R DACs, then yes, that would be a challenge and the unit would be at least the size of your biggest amp and nobody would buy it. The other factor in this case is that the SACD format is all but dead.
To your point, Paul, an "integrated" CD player doesn't seem to fit your product/marketing model. I have no skin in this game since my system is far below what PS Audio makes and sells, but as someone who developed and marketed high end professional products you have to have one eye on what advantage you are offering over "the rest" and one eye on how many potential customers you will have. I don't know if Paul has ever talked about the fact that his customer base within all of hi-fi audio is very small. Is it big enough to warrant the development cost and associated production cost of what to PS Audio would be a brand new product? Only Paul and his associates know that answer.
If it's just a CD player, make it the best that any company has ever made in competition with the regular CD players out there period. If it's SACD like the viewer asked, then at least make it multi-channel. Coming from PS Audio, it will most likely be better than anything regular consumer brand out there even if not the best ever. SACD/HDCD players are hard to come by and are outdated in features, style, versatility, etc. Fill the void.
I'll put my 37 year old CD player ($400 new) against any transport/DAC combo at any price. Testing conditions must be double blind, statistically valid, and repeatable with various speakers, electronics and recordings. Loser buys dinner.
@@tothemax324 Magnavox CDB 650. My point is, there are transport/DAC combos today for well over $100K. Of course they have separate power supplies, so that means at least four boxes to do what my one box does. Don't forget the $5K AC power cords. P.T. Barnum was right.
Well… why don’t you think of merging PSA world-class DAC with PSA world-class transport into one (maybe bigger) chassis and this being predominantly a DAC (ie plugging in all other digital sources) with integrated transport. McIntosh did with MCD12k and I bet PS Audio can do that too. So it is not really a CD/SACD player with a DAC but a DAC with a transport. Why is that appealing? firstly, doesn’t have to be cheaper just a bit cheaper than separates, secondly, one extra separate is an extra space in an expensive hifi rack, some (or a lot) don’t have so much space to get all these separate racks into place. I suspect the majority would opt for: 1. Two speakers 2. Two mono blocks 3. One preamp 4. One DAC (with Transport) 5. One turntable 6. One streamer. 7. Out of rack and to the side, a Powerplant! You might have better market intel but I guess MC move with the MCD12000 was a smart one presenting as a DAC with transport. Lastly, instead of redoing it for existing separates why not design it from scratch on the next generation of PSA DACs, avoiding duplicate RnD for existing investments PSA did.
I would rather aim at a universal player like the OPPO 105 or 205, or the Magnetar. With multichannel DAC and capable of playing both SACD and Blueray.
I think a full-fledged SACD player would be a superb product idea for PS Audio to consider. Please include multi-channel outs (including XLR) as well as HDMI.
100% agreed
Just use a Sony BluRay player😜. $180 and you're in.
But then you'd need an AVR to decode the 6-channel mix. And what audiophile would be caught dead with an AVR😱.
@@manitoublack I'm not dead yet!
@@manitoublack I have a AVR🤷♂️
Paul, as I stated in my recent email to you, after touring PS Audio I realized I really needed an SACD player. At the time of my visit, you had stopped making your disc transport (maybe only temporarily... I don't know and didn't ask - other than being told that they were not in production). Honestly though, even if you were still making the disc transport, adding a DirectStream DAC on to the purchase of the disc transport, would be beyond my budget. After careful consideration and listening to several talks by Ken Ishiwata, I bought what I thought was the closest thing at the time... the Marantz KI Ruby SACD player. Even that was $4K. If you were offering an all in one SACD player at that time, I would have not hesitated in purchasing it that day to add to my stack of Stellar components! So please, seriously consider an all in one SACD player for us semi-audiophiles.
You are not a 'semi'-audiophile brother. Don't do yourself short. If you can buy a $4k cd player you're definitely up there among the purest of audiophiles 🎉.
Paul, you clearly understand the concept of progressive upgrading. I started my adventure with a Sprout, step up to a Strata, to which I then added 700 monoblocks, and then bit the bullet with a gold preamp and dac. Adding an inexpensive dac to your transport (and at that level, why bother with a separate power supply) would allow a path for those on a limited budget to ease into the very best.
I guess Paul has forgotten, but PS Audio made a CD player back in the 80s called the CD-1.
The reader asked specifically about an SACD player, not just a red book CD player.
Yes do a CD player!! My friend has your separates, and they are out phenomenal and out of my price range! Keep it Made in USA!!! 😎🤪🇺🇸
Thanks Paul for your honesty
I have over 200 SACD's, so I am very interested in an integrated SACD player. The saving is not just the chassis, but also the space, power cord, and inter-connect between the DAC and the player. There are few SACD players to choose from, PS Audio would own the market if it makes a decent one for under US$3,000.
Yes Paul, I think it will be a great idea if PS Audio makes a SACD Player!
But ultimately pricing is going to be all important!
Sounds a great idea, also like Naim Audio did with there cd players make provisions to upgrade the dac and power supply so a win win for customers and PS Audio.
with make provisions for adding sockets
Yes, Paul, make a stand alone SACD player, and add in HDCD compatibility for us old school guys. Classe had such a thing in their SACD-2 many years ago, but it is hard to find now. Maybe throw in the ability to read Blurays, but no video, something like a modernized Ayre C5XEmp. It doesn't have to be "the best". It only has to be really dang good for those of us on a more limited budget. $5000- $6000 range maybe. You can do this! I think that would sell very well.
Put it in a nice case with metal buttons. Make it look nice, high quality, give it a chunky metal remote. Make it sound good. That is what we need today. Esoteric, dcs, there are a lot of nice players today, but they aren't universal players and they are all over $10,000. Just be better than Marantz or Denon or Yamaha. Be more versatile than the the Uber expensive brands. Don't worry about being at the top, but do better than the bottom brands. That's what we need!
$5-6K is a limited budget? Wow...
@@Krell666 well, you can always go with the mass market brands if you want rock bottom. That's not high-end. That's not what PS Audio does. What do you want to pay, $49?
With a budget of $5k-$6k you can buy a used Directsteam DAC and PerfectWave transport. Or, save even more by turning an Oppo player into an SACD transport like I did.
Keep it under $3k.😅
@@watchnut I could also buy an old dcs Puccini! That might yet happen!
Stellar Sacd Player！❤
The Stellar Strata integrated amp includes a “full featured state of the art DAC” and costs $3500. So you can integrate a DAC into an affordable amp that meets a market need. I have been looking for a CD player or transport that isn’t made in China and has a tray mechanism that is solidly built. I would be happy with a transport and could use my AVR DAC. Schiit makes a CD transport, but it has too many features that I would not use - and they stick the power button on the back side (a deal killer idiotic regardless of their excuses). I would love to have a PerfectWave SACD Transport, but $7000 is out of my budget. Build a stripped down good quality CD transport and I will buy it.
Absolutely Paul! I think that it's a great idea and I'm sure that there's a market for it...
But are *YOU* doing to buy it?
@@hugobloemers4425Good point. It would seem the dumbest thing you can do is make something based on surveys of potential buyers. They never buy it.
The question I would have is what the price point such a CD player would fit into. There are a number of quality disc players from Teac, Rotel, Denon, Rega, and Marantz that cost between $1500-$3500. Some of them even include network streaming functionality or be able to serve as a DAC for external sources. Further up the food chain are players like the Hegel Viking at around $5000.
The Teac beats the Hegel Viking one on one according to Darko. Which is not surprising as the Teac has superior specs.
I'd love to see a double blind test between a $5000 cd player and a decent late 90s component player that's $20 on craigslist.
@@alexcrouseme too...
@@alexcrouseGuido on his channel called Anadialog did a similar test (cheap Chinese DVD player vs very expensive CD player) and the results are what everyone with two functioning braincells would expect
@@alexcrouse Teac VRDS-701at 2500 Euro is the best CD player in this price range and will easily best an older player, due to its custom transport mechanism, custom dac chips and three toroidal transformers.
Paul, actually, a more affordable SACD player would be a desirable one. You may not be aware of this, but Denon makes a more affordable disc mechanism than the one used in your current transport and top Denon/Marantz machines so you might want to use that instead. Made in Japan and still excellent, just with more plastics in its cobstruction. That would certainly be an important piece of the puzzle and with your long experience with D/A conversion, I am sure you could make it sound excellen for those of us who work for our money. Cheers!
In a well-engineered component, it’s synergy isn’t compromised😎.
Paul, with the resurgence of redbook cd's it would seem a logical move to have a high-quality CD player that could be integrated into many people's systems as many integrated amplifiers have a DAC. You already have a high quality SACD player which is a less common item already.
I agree. Standard CD player. Market it in the Stellar line.
An SACD transport for the Sprout range would interesting! A new Sprout amp and an 2 channel SACD player in a nice matching case for about €1000 a piece over here in Europe😊
I bought in the 90´s what I think it was PS Audio first (correct me if I am wrong) CD transport: The PS Audio Lambda, which came with AT&T connectors, expensive but great. My father has it now. But nowadays you can get great sound with Audiolab transport and a nice DAC like an old Burson DA160, of course I modify it, we are talking of no more than 2000 US. By the way, that Audio Lambda gave me years of great joy. The AT&T connectors didn't sound better than the SPDIF.
I would be very interested in an sacd player.
I've been using an Oppo BDP-95 as a CD/SACD audio player and also for video. It does a pretty good job with the ESS DAC chips.
I would certainly be interested in a good CD, especially SACD player from PS Audio. Maybe even have some way of just using the transport for that upgradability in the future.. turn off the integrated DAC and feed the transport data into a separate. I would buy one of those in a heartbeat!
I guess it depends on pricepoint also. And what functionallity it should have. Making a very good sounding sa cdplayer should not be that difficult, but adding too much extra's could defeat it's purpose of beeing somewhat affortable and easy going. It's easy to go down a rabbithole. And keep in mind what kind of buyer you are tagetting. If you keep things simple, also people who are not really technical minded, are capable of using the player to it's full good sounding potential. Some people just want a really good sounding (sa)cd player, without the latest and greatest of options. Something very friendly to use.
What i would like to see, is a player with extra attention to good bones inside.
A very good linear power supply, spliced individual power lines to the different circuits, and off course a high quality masterclock. Also shielding the important chips.
I've been very succesfull retrofitting all of the above, and more to older and pretty humble cd players.
The results are mindblowing, if you know where the weak points are.
Very Interested. Thanks
I bought the ARCAM CDS-50 for this reason. If PS Audio had an SACD player with a competitive price, I would have been considering that too. And actually in the future, I will still consider a PS Audio SACD player for hopefully under $2000 if one ever drops.
The problem here is that integrating the same DAC in a CD transport will never sound as good as having separates. So the question people are asking is more in the line of: "Is PS audio going to make a Sprout kind of CD player?"
It's definitely something I would be interested in, especially if it had maybe a usb input to use the dac too.
1) I/O (front): headphone (6.5mm, 6.35mm, or 4.4mm), USB-C, SD
2) I/O (rear): USB-C (compatible with: RS-232C, IEEE 1394, Lightning, Thunderbolt, DisplayPort, XLR, HDMI, etc.), BNC and TOSLINK (compatible with: I2S and S/PDIF)
Absolutely! Build it and we will come 😊
What about universal audio player compatible with: Enhanced CD, XRCD, HDCD, SACD, HRx Disc, SHM-CD, DCC Gold CD, MFSL CD, K2HD CD, DTS-CD, DVD-A, BD, HFPA, AVCHD, Blu-spec CD, DSD, PCM, FLAC, MQA, MQS, Opus, etc.
I think it could be a successful product *if* you focused on the transport and had a “decent” internal DAC but also had digital out so that customers could upgrade to a great external DAC when they are able to do so.
Your high-end DAC of course use the FPGA and combining that with an SACD transport will just end up with a very expensive all-in-one player. I think the market for such a thing will exist but only as a very small market. I just don't see a purpose for a specialty manufacturer like PS Audio to make a run-of-the-mill but affordable SACD player.
A multichannel audiophile SACD player would be tremendous.
I think there certainly is a market for a PS Audio SACD player. Like the fellow audiophile who asked the question I believe a possible sweet spot is downstream from where your separates currently sit. It’s that not so perfect world where people really appreciate great hi-if, yet still have to make compromises for various reasons, budget, space, aesthetic preferences (of partners). In full confession, it‘s my world.
Since I became interested in SACD a few years back I looked at players around the 3k US$/€ price point from, say Technics or Marantz.The reason was budget and uncertainty whether I could appreciate any sonic improvement compared to playing the DSD files from a Mac with Audirvāna to a CHORD Mojo2 DAC. I ended up with a Pioneer PD50 AE at an original price of 2k. It sounds very good and gave me certainty that I wanted a dedicated SACD player in my setup.I would have spent the 3k for the other two, but did not like the Technics streaming integration and never warmed to Marantz’s latest industrial design.
For a PS Audio player I think I’d pay up to 5k. Players like Marantz’s SA10 at 7k, on the other hand, always felt out of my league.
yes please! a full CD player, less expensive than the PerfectWave transport, would be great!
Basically having a dedicated transport that plays back every conceivable audio format that comes in the form of a disc? Oh yeah. I want that. ❤
Interested? Hell yeah! Especially if the integrated cd player idea is at a good price - it'll reduce the box count at the very least - perhaps may be a more stable load for my PSAUDIO Powerplant Premier (remember those?) which I still happily use to this day!
My basic requirements for a perfect transport are:
CD/CD-R playback
USB stick playback (only front panel input)
internal SSD storage (2 TB minimum)
primitive screen without album art support and VU meters
primitive antishock remote controller (my kid is obsessed with remotes)
AKM 32 bit DAC
equilizer (just like foobar 2000) with some reasonable presets
10 years warranty
$1500 retail price
NO streaming, NO ethernet, NO bluetooth, NO HDMI, NO SACD support, NO touch screen, NO headphones input (if it can help to minimize the final product cost), NO CD rip app
Thank you Paul in advance! :)
People seem to gravitate to "Plug and Play" solutions these days due to lack of space and less complication. This player might help usher in a younger "audiophile in the making" and might be a consideration to allow them to appreciate a HUGE improvement in sound over the streaming alternatives out there. There's still lots of CD's and SACD's out there!
Paul, you could build a great-sounding CD/SACD player. If Esoteric can have up to 4 transformers in their designs the Marantz SA-10 can use great DACs also and that model is where your transport comes from if I recall. So power supplies and using your own DAC should not be a problem if you have the drive to build an excellent on. I know myself I like one box CD player and I have owned many up to 20K, my dealer and I both agreed an all-in-one could sound as good and at times better than 2 piece units, Esoterics have superb DAC so why could PS Audio not have the skills and know how to do the same. I would buy from you if he showed you cared about sound quality. No need 2 pay for 2 pieces a great one well built one can do as much as my Marantz SA10-S1.
In comparison to cd-transport SACD technology, DAC technology is evolving fast. The DAC part of such a SACD player would become obsolete in a few years. If I buy a transport plus a separate DAC, I can always switch the DAC as technology progresses.
Do we get multichannel sacd? DTS ? HDCD ? ....YES PLEASE
Yes please 😊 with an HDMI stereo output would be nice. Playback support for HDCD, DTS and of course stereo SA-CD.
I would be very interested in a SACD player as I currently have no way of playing SACDs, but I don't want to have to change the rest of my system to do so. A few years ago I made the mistake of buying an SACD transport, however, due to licensing from Sony, it won't output the SACD signal via a digital out except HDMI - AND my stereo system doesn't have a plain HDMI input. It does have eARC, but that won't take the same protocol, so no SACD playback 😞
That is a great idea. I still like owning an actual item I can store and a cover that I can read etc,etc. Yes it would be a compromise but knowing PS Audio would is produced will be a top end CD/SACD player
I think what the listener (and I) want is a Steller priced and sounding SACD transport.
I would love a Sprout CD player and Sprout network streamer. Slightly off topic, but a man can dream.
There is decent coverage in the market of "main stream" Hi and Mid-Fi SACD/CD offerings today and I think this comes down to a price point. The Marantz SA-10 is a great unit but it's priced over $7k USD then you go to the McIntosh MCD350, Yamaha CD-S3000, Technics SLG700M2, Denon DCD-A110, Yamaha CD-S2100, Denon DCD-1700NE. Then if your up market and have an expensive DAC, your not going to be spending +$7k on a SACD/CD player with a built-in DAC.
If it would cost again gazillion Dollars than spare from it as there are already expensive ones on the market .
Someone needs to make a 1000usd quality transport ONLY with i2s output .
How about a Stellar SACD player?
Possibly with I²S
My issue with integrating things is component failure imagine the cd player failing and having to send the whole piece of gear somewhere for repair in comparison to separate components if one fails you only have to deal with that component I prefer separate myself
That makes sense if you're using the DAC as a preamp with multiple things connected to it. Otherwise, it's basically just a CD player and sending it for repairs wouldn't affect playing anything else in the system.
Definitely interested
His question was about a possible SACD player . There are lots of CD players , but not many SACD players . What would you have to sell it for & what does the competition have @ price point ?
Yes a SACD/CD player with digital inputs (coax and USB) would be a good PS audio product.
I am not an audiophile, but I am interested in very good sound and trustworthy quality and durability. I am not willing to invest thousands into modifying my home to accommodate tens of thousands of dollars into audio equipment to get that last 10% of audio perfection. I just cannot justify it until I win the lotto or something. That's just me and my situation but I suspect I'm not alone. So, a midrange line or upper midrange from PS Audio would be nice.
Another problem of a high end CD player is - what if you want to upgrade the DAC portion but are happy with the transport, or vice-versa? You can solve this with digital outs from the transport and digital inputs to the DAC portion, but then you'd wind up with half the player being wasted dead weight.
Given that this is channel for people SERIOUSLY into Hi-Fi, I'm literally AMAZED that Paul has to explain about "spinny" CD transports?
You'd have to be a total Hi-Fi novice, not to know a CD Player is an integrated CD Transport and DAC. And novices are unlikely to follow a channel that sells (for example) speakers costing an OBSCENE amount of money?
I mean a $180 sony Bluray player will happily send 8- channel 192/24 PCM, 6-Channel SACD DSD 128 and even the humble red-book 44.1/16 CD over HDMI with ecc and HDCP.
Save your money on the transport and get a decent processor/dac. Given its likely youll want to stream and heaven forbid, watch a dvd or bluray concert/movie 🎥
We like to separate everything, introducing more interference issues with cables and power supplies.
Hi Paul , I would love to see a more budget friendly Sacd 0ption. Currently in New Zealand, the PS Audio Sacd transport retails for $17,399, and the Direct Stream dac for $ 14,910 . A grand total of NZ $ 32,309. ( Approx US $17,900 , July 2024 price ). I am saving hard and do intend to buy the combination for my retirement, which is coming up in a couple of years. However, I'm sure a lot of my audiophile buddies would jump at an affordable PS Audio Sacd player. Bring it on. ........... Karl from Auckland.
32,000.00 for a transport and a DAC?? That is insanity...but what do you expect from "audiophiles"? Why would Paul make a stand alone unit when he can sell separates for $32,00.00?? That would be cutting his own profit margin. PS audio has never been known for making budget components(with a very view exceptions) I can't see Paul putting his name on a budget friendly unit that has moving parts. Electrical components is one thing, but mechanical units is altogether something else...
I have a CD player and thinking going separate after I use my line out to a separate DAC. It sounds better.
I would buy your CD player today. Being 70 years old, I'm not interested in separates anymore.
Yes, make one but make a separate brand if you feel doesn’t fit the PS Audio line standards. The main brand should be all out.
Yes, absolutely. A universal, play everything unit would be nice.
Call it the Legacy. Somewhat akin to the former Oppo's flagship read-everything capabilites.
That, blended with PS Audio's superb digital chops, 𝙏𝙃𝘼𝙏 would be killer.
Grasshopper, ... your Kung-fu is good.
Yes Paul please make a quality SACD player and I will be your first customer.
There is a shortage of quality SACD players being built today. I would love to see PS Audio offer something to compete with an Esoteric SACD player at whatever price point you guys land on.
Also a shortage of SACD discs!
To right you should, don't try and make it to compete with your reference transport and dac, build a stand alone CD player aimed at the middle ground for around $3,000 bucks or so. Don't bother with SACD, just red book 16/44 CD standard. CD is amazing value for money, sounds better than streaming and won't bankrupt you like these audiophile vinyl pressings. I have been listening to the latest Beyonce CD, Cowboy Carter. and it sounds amazing. What is there not to like! 👍
I've already got a CD player. My Cyrus CDi with separate power supply is good enough for me.
Here is an idea. Why not make something like the old oppo units to entice people back into quality audio and media ? That way you appeal to the masses with decent gear but as your brand , they can then consider upgrading if needed.
If you did a CD player with a high end DAC, you would need to either use the player as your system DAC, or have a second high end DAC, for streaming etc..
Modular Approach.... where thin plug together but separate core power
The TEAC 701 vrds delta sigma dac and pre amp. Or the rotel dt-6000.
I’d like a CD/SACD transport with built in ripper and 2TB hard drive. I would want a preloaded software that does not require a subscription to navigate the files.
Currently I have a Bluesound Vault which works well most of the time. I do not like the tractor load CD mechanism. It is out of OEM American car from the 90s and gets stuck at times refusing to eject a CD. I can not just play a CD without automatically ripping the CD. I’d like it to a double as just a CD transport where I have the option to rip the CD. It may not happen often but a friend may have a CD that you just want to demo. I also have some local bands and DJs which just don’t play well with meta data software. The addition of SACD, and I2S would be very nice.
IMO most entry level integrated amps have a DAC and most of us who are down budget spending for pure analog amps can buy an inexpensive DAC. I am currently using the DAC on my decade old NAD integrated.
Yes, interested
Yes please Paul
Do it. If nothing else it will spread the ps audio name into other markets. That's not a bad thing
I currently own the Bryston BCD3, just a Redbook player. You may be able to beat it with a stand alone, but I wonder how much better. I think to be realistic, by the time you can make one that can be better than the Bryston or the Hegel Viking, you really will end up only having to stretch a touch more for the separates. People with players under $2000 will likely not upgrade to a $5000 one. I think the idea of a stand alone is a good one, but I really don't think the market will support one. I wish, when I was finally able to afford a better player, that PS Audio had one to compare. For me, anyway, that ship has sailed.
There are no decent multichannel SACD players on the market today. That is, player with analogue m/ch output. Yet, SACD in surround is amazing. I’d be in the market for such player from PS Audio, even if it wasn’t as good as your separates.
I for one would be very interested in a (SA)CD player on lets say the Strata series (with XLR outs also) , that way it would (should ;) ) not bite into the Perfectwave series transport and DAC
Yes… an all in 1 CD player like my Oppo would be welcome…
Simply...yes.
Well, if you are using Sigma Delta DACs you could very well put a very high quality DAC in the same chassis as a very good transport (SACD players use a slightly different laser than redbook players and some SACD players had two lasers, one for redbook and one for SACD). and it would be standard dimensions and it could easily sound just as good as separates if designed correctly, so your generalization is a bit off. If on the other hand, you are using ladder R2R DACs, then yes, that would be a challenge and the unit would be at least the size of your biggest amp and nobody would buy it.
The other factor in this case is that the SACD format is all but dead.
To your point, Paul, an "integrated" CD player doesn't seem to fit your product/marketing model. I have no skin in this game since my system is far below what PS Audio makes and sells, but as someone who developed and marketed high end professional products you have to have one eye on what advantage you are offering over "the rest" and one eye on how many potential customers you will have. I don't know if Paul has ever talked about the fact that his customer base within all of hi-fi audio is very small. Is it big enough to warrant the development cost and associated production cost of what to PS Audio would be a brand new product? Only Paul and his associates know that answer.
If it's just a CD player, make it the best that any company has ever made in competition with the regular CD players out there period. If it's SACD like the viewer asked, then at least make it multi-channel. Coming from PS Audio, it will most likely be better than anything regular consumer brand out there even if not the best ever. SACD/HDCD players are hard to come by and are outdated in features, style, versatility, etc. Fill the void.
As one with a more modest budget, this would pique my interest and willingness to invest.
PS Audio makes one of the world's best CD/SACD transports...👍
I suppose you could make a Stellar CD player?
I’m more interested in an active speaker, love you videos but I’ll wait till you make an active speaker
How about a less expensive CD transport?
the letter writer asked for an SACD player. you didn’t mention that in your response.
A Stellar level CD (not SACD) transport perhaps? Pro-ject do a cd transport with I2S output...
I'll put my 37 year old CD player ($400 new) against any transport/DAC combo at any price. Testing conditions must be double blind, statistically valid, and repeatable with various speakers, electronics and recordings. Loser buys dinner.
And your CD player is?
@@tothemax324 Magnavox CDB 650. My point is, there are transport/DAC combos today for well over $100K. Of course they have separate power supplies, so that means at least four boxes to do what my one box does. Don't forget the $5K AC power cords. P.T. Barnum was right.
@@a.o.424 Stop comparing and just enjoy the music and journey dude and let others do the same, bye
Yes please
watched a video selling used Marantz cd56. Paul sound complex to a simple issue like all audiophiles
maybe add a cd player to the _Stellar_ line?
Mini disc player 😊
Yes a good idea!
Well… why don’t you think of merging PSA world-class DAC with PSA world-class transport into one (maybe bigger) chassis and this being predominantly a DAC (ie plugging in all other digital sources) with integrated transport. McIntosh did with MCD12k and I bet PS Audio can do that too. So it is not really a CD/SACD player with a DAC but a DAC with a transport.
Why is that appealing? firstly, doesn’t have to be cheaper just a bit cheaper than separates, secondly, one extra separate is an extra space in an expensive hifi rack, some (or a lot) don’t have so much space to get all these separate racks into place.
I suspect the majority would opt for:
1. Two speakers
2. Two mono blocks
3. One preamp
4. One DAC (with Transport)
5. One turntable
6. One streamer.
7. Out of rack and to the side, a Powerplant!
You might have better market intel but I guess MC move with the MCD12000 was a smart one presenting as a DAC with transport.
Lastly, instead of redoing it for existing separates why not design it from scratch on the next generation of PSA DACs, avoiding duplicate RnD for existing investments PSA did.
Follow the money
I would rather aim at a universal player like the OPPO 105 or 205, or the Magnetar. With multichannel DAC and capable of playing both SACD and Blueray.