I have a dumb question. I've just picked up a used denon sacd player and have a question about which output to receiver I should use for standard cd's? I've read that it's best to use standard RCA to let the player's DAC enhance the sound, but then again, wouldn't spdif be better since there's no conversion?
Denon DVD-758 is the player, my amp is a Yamaha RX-V800.
There has to be conversion somewhere. The 1s and 0s on the disc have to be converted into music in order to get sound.
If you're using the CDP's RCAs, the CDP's DAC (digital to analog converter) is being used. If you're using the digital out (coax or optical), the receiver's DAC is being used. The signal is being converted in either the CD player or receiver. But wherever it happens, its being converted.
Sound quality will mainly be based on which DAC does a better job. There are other things as well, like jitter, cable quality, and so on, but the main thing will be the DAC.
Try both and see which sounds best to your ears. There's no wrong answer. If using coax, make sure its a digital cable, and not an ordinary RCA cable. Both will pass the signal, but they have different specs, and will yield different results.