Sony SCD-XE597 or Cambridge Audio Azur 650BD?

[SeanDon71]

Having ordered the Sony I then saw the details of the Azur and cancelled my order. Thing is, now I can't decide which one is best for me. To be honest I'm not really that bothered about Blu Ray at the moment. It's the SACD part that appeals to me the most. The added bonus of the Azur I suppose is that it also plays DVD-A, although my Panasonic DMR-ES10 does this, but it would be nice to have a player that does both. I'm not really that much of a Hi-Fi buff, but looking at the specs the Sony would appear to the better option for SACD due to the Frequency response (2-40KHz compared to 20-20KHz), or am I on the wrong track? I'm not really in the position to be able to audition them and I tend to rely on reviews and other peoples opinions for such things (Can't believe What Hi-Fi have never reviewed the Sony yet?!), so any advice would be gratefully recieved.

 

[the record spot]

Interesting proposition from the Cambridge there; one of the very few units that'll play SACD, DVD-A and HDCD. Very few of these players are knocking around for less than £700, except this and the Oppo. NAD, Arcam and one other firm (can't recall) brought some out a couple of years back, but nothing for less than £500 has all three.

My money? Check out the pair of them, but the CA unit looks very impressive. The Sony is a bit long in the tooth now, and while decent enough isn't going to be breaking down the walls of any awards ceremonies these days.