Super Audio CD - Playback Hardware

Playback Hardware

Hybrid Super Audio CDs, which include both CD and Super Audio CD layers, can be played on CD players, or other equipment which can play CDs; non-hybrid SACDs cannot. The SACD layer can be played only on a player that supports the SACD format. Not all SACD players support multi-channel playback—some are simply stereo.

The Sony SCD-1 was a player which was introduced concurrently with the SACD format in 1999, at a price of approximately US$5,000. It weighed over 26 kg (57 lb). The SCD-1, no longer produced, was introduced before multi-channel SACDs existed and played two channel SACDs and Red Book CDs only.

Many electronics manufacturers, including Onkyo, Denon, Marantz, Pioneer and Yamaha offer SACD players. None, however, has offered a portable SACD player capable of playing the high-definition layer of an SACD. Most portable CD players will play the conventional CD layer of a Hybrid SACD.

Sony has made in-car Super Audio CD players.

Several brands have introduced (mostly high-end) Blu-ray Disc players that can play SACD discs.

SACD players are not permitted to offer an output carrying an unencrypted stream of Direct Stream Digital (DSD). Players initially supported only analog output; later some proprietary digital interfaces such as Denon Link permitted encrypted transmission of DSD. There are now two standard digital connection methods capable of carrying DSD in encrypted form: i.Link and HDMI (version 1.2 or later, standardised in August 2005).

The older i.Link interface is generally found on older mid- to high-end equipment and some current top-of-the-line units from Japanese manufacturers. HDMI is more common, being the standard digital connection method for high-definition video with audio. Most new mid-level and higher 2007 model year and later A/V processors support the HDMI 1.2 specifications DSD over HDMI feature. Most boutique manufacturers still do not support DSD. Some HDMI 1.1 spec DVD players convert DSD to LPCM and then pass it to an HDMI 1.1 spec or later processor. Lower end processors usually convert the DSD to LPCM, higher end ones usually convert it to LPCM for bass management or DSP but can also process it natively at the expense of DSP and bass management. Some new DVD players from Oppo Digital, Pioneer, Onkyo, etc. now support HDMI 1.2 or 1.3 and will pass DSD over HDMI as well as LPCM. Be aware that some players, for instance, Onkyo DV-SP504, will not support DSD or LPCM over HDMI without resampling it to 48 kHz. SACD or DVD-A will be played through analog outputs instead. The older i.Link interface has been dropped from all but high-end A/V processors and DVD players.

Unofficial playback of SACD ISO on a PC is now possible through freeware audio player foobar2000 for Windows using an open source plug-in extension called SACDDecoder.