Sony ES series SACD players - any comments on how good they are?

[The Black Adder]

Yep.. I can tell you that the sound is up there with the gods. And the build quality is second to none.

Unfortunately the lasers are very nearly obsolete and if you ever did get a laser from another player it's not a simple switch a roo.. you need very specialised equipment. When I had mine I found a Pioneer technician who could at that point install a new laser unit but after he moved premises he sold the equipment.. apparently the only kit left in the UK.

Some techys in Germany can install lasers but then you wouldn't want to send the player all that way just for it to come back bust..

If they could be fully serviced I'd have another one in a flash but I'm not in the market to one day find that I've got a £500 paper weight.

[darkmatter]

Nearly all "ES" gear is very nicely made, IME the lower models sound alright but the higher end models are sublime... The only negative is that I have read of reliability problems on the CD/SACD players, I don't know if its accurate but something to bear in mind.

Personally I've owned & enjoyed the Denon DVD-2900, DVD-3910 & DVD-3930 which can all be picked up quite cheaply now. I found the 3910/3930 to be a leap forward in SACD sound quality over the 2900... I think either would be a step up from the Pioneer.

Does anyone know if lasers for the 3910/30 are still available?

[Bazil]

Does anyone know if lasers for the 3910/30 are still available?

Yes , those two machines use different lasers.


Hitachi HOP-1200R or Hitachi HOP-1200S
and
Sanyo SF-HD65