My Arcam CD player is getting old and . . .

[cse]

I think you should try and buy a second hand Roksan CD player. It would fit perfectly with your system and you can't beat the ease of use.

 

[the record spot]

bretty:Is it definitely the case, that SACD isn't compatible with an external DAC? I notice Pete was feeding his DAC with HDMI in his set up (unless I mis-understood his post). I wonder if using optical might enable it to work?

Yep - hi-res and offboard DACs don't mix. Sorry! You might be thinking, however, of AV amps that allow you to stream a DSD (Direct Stream Digital) from a suitable disc. One or two of those sometimes give you the SACD feed. Different thing, however, from streaming directly from an SACD later via a DAC.