It's not an accident that the center of the CD/SACD player universe is Japan, where the physical media is still very popular.

Can someone comment on the differences, if any, between SA-10’s reproduction via the disc player and the asynchronous USB connected to a computer? I hear very nice things about the player and I would like to have a SA-10/PM-10 pair one day, but I’m worried that without an extensive SACD collection I would be using the less optimised part of a very expensive component. Also, does the SA-10 support playback of SACD images burnt on DVD-R? Thanks.

anoutsos... Welcome to AA! :wave:

It's the best CD player I've owned for compact discs. It doesn't have the smoothed over detail of DSD conversion that my Lumin streamer has or Esoteric K-01X had. I haven't used the usb input but the coaxial and optical inputs are on par with disc playback and I read at least one review (either of a streamer or perhaps an SA-10 review) that utilized the usb input that described playback as without faults.

It's essential to try the filters/noise shaping/dither settings once you get time on the player. I have my favorites and you might find settings that better suit your taste instead of the default options.

Thank you, @Masterlu! :welcome3:

That's great! Thanks. I am seriously considering it for a future system, but I think room treatments are a priority. And do you find that you use the disc tray much, given that you can digitise all your collection and just use your streamer? This is the one thing that I'm in two minds about – i.e. paying for functionality I will rarely use. Although, I must say having the option to just pop in a cd/sacd is quite convenient sometimes.

I've had a problem buying compact discs that's continued for 35 years so I spin them, often!
I have most of them burned, too, but I still play them as I get them and don't add to the digitized library regularly.
For the last month or two I've mostly played discs, actually. Otherwise it might be 60/40 in favor of streaming.