# PS3 as a universal (SACD) player



## wgmontgomery (Jun 9, 2011)

I'm thinking of getting a PS3 to use as a SACD player (I've located one of the old ones that will play SACD) and wondered if anyone had any thoughts as to how it performs. I'm drawn to the PS3 as it will play Blu Ray, SACD and stream music/Netflix in 5.1. I don't know of another player that will do all of that, but I admit that the music streaming is not that important to me...yet. 

The few reviews that I've found seem to point to it as a quality unit. I'm currently using a 1st gen PS1 as a CD player, and it is impressive. I read that the PS2 has better sq, but I can't find any info on it's SACD capability. Pq and sq are the most important considerations to me.

Thanks in advance for any help. I can get a 20g for $199 if I act soon.


----------



## Ares (Nov 23, 2009)

The price of the 20GB is unbelievable considering you usually find it in the $300-500 range, on the matter of the PS2.. SACD is not listed as one of the formats supported.

*Supported Disc Media: *


PlayStation 2 format CD-ROM
PlayStation format CD-ROM, CD-DA
PlayStation 2 format DVD-ROM, DVD Video
DVD5 (Single-layer, 4.7 GB)
DVD9 (Dual-layer, 8.5 GB)
Later models starting with SCPH-50000 are DVD+RW and DVD-RW compatible
Unfortunately I don't have an opinion in terms of how the SQ of the PS3 when used as a SACD player hopefully one of the other members will have some insight into this.


----------



## wgmontgomery (Jun 9, 2011)

I was looking at the specs a bit closer, and it doesn't seem to support DTS-MA 7.1. Did I read something incorrectly, or is that true? That's kind of a deal breaker IMO.


----------



## Ares (Nov 23, 2009)

Hi Gary,

The thing with the Fat PS3's is they won't bitstream True Dolby HD or DTS-MA but they do support it, the PS3 will decode the True Dolby HD and DTS-MA and send it via PCM 7.1 through the HDMI to your receiver.


----------



## wgmontgomery (Jun 9, 2011)

Thanks!


----------



## The 7th Taylor (Sep 14, 2009)

SACD and PS2 were launched at around the same time but they're not compatible.

For much more about SACD on PS3 check the PS3 SACD FAQ.


----------



## wgmontgomery (Jun 9, 2011)

BTW-I ended-up getting a 60g for $200. I _may_ have a source for more of these players (about the same price) if anyone is interested. Once I have mine and check it out, I'll be happy to point anyone in the right direction.

Sorry if that seems selfish, but these are hard to find (especially at this price), so I want mine "in my hands" before I reveal my source. If anyone is interested, let me know; I'll post the info (or PM) as soon as mine arrives.

Thanks to all-I hope that I can return the favor some day!!


----------



## smally21 (Apr 24, 2012)

I find the player to have good SQ but there is something laborious about involving the tv and gui just to throw on some tunes. once up and running very cool but it takes a certain amount of time to boot, then go through the proper shutdown procedure, blah blah. i listen to music on the direct setting and the ps3 gives a comparable reproduction to some decent players i could compare it to, oppo, rega

the use of the ps3 as an all round media player certainly saves space on the AV furniture..


----------



## wgmontgomery (Jun 9, 2011)

smally21 said:


> I find the player to have good SQ but there is something laborious about involving the tv and gui just to throw on some tunes. once up and running very cool but it takes a certain amount of time to boot, then go through the proper shutdown procedure, blah blah. i listen to music on the direct setting and the ps3 gives a comparable reproduction to some decent players i could compare it to, oppo, rega
> 
> the use of the ps3 as an all round media player certainly saves space on the AV furniture..


I agree; the main reason that I got it was to have a good BDP, SA-CD player and Netflix 5.1 in one unit. As far as I know the old PS3 is the only unit that will do all of this.

The SQ from the HDMI is not all that great compared to the RCA outputs; I actually use my old PS1 for regular CDs as it sounds better than the PS3 and saves me from turning on the TV just to hear a disc.


----------



## smally21 (Apr 24, 2012)

ive never tried them, perhaps i should.


----------



## wgmontgomery (Jun 9, 2011)

I think they sound _much_ better. My girlfriend who doesn't know a tweeter from a woofer walked into the room when I was listening to a CD via HDMI and asked, "What's wrong with your stereo? It sounds horrible."


----------



## smally21 (Apr 24, 2012)

i had a girlfriend tell me my stereo sounded terrible once. 

like i said "had" a girlfriend...

the stereo is still here.


----------



## wgmontgomery (Jun 9, 2011)

smally21 said:


> i had a girlfriend tell me my stereo sounded terrible once.
> 
> like i said "had" a girlfriend...
> 
> the stereo is still here.


:rofl: In my case I was surprised that she could _immediately_ tell the difference between the HDMI and RCA outputs of the PS3. She was used to it sounding much better but did NOT like the way it sounded when I used the HDMI outs.


----------

