Is my HK-330 receiver capable of playing these audio formats & if so what do I need to do it?What would you recommend & what might be the cost?Also is there much of a selection of recorded material in these formats(what do they cost?) as I have not seen it yet?
I'm not familiar with the HK-330, but if it has a min of 6 (being 5.1) anologue inputs on the rear panel, then yes it is capable. What you need next for playing both hi-res audio formats (DVD-A and SACD) is a universal DVD player that clearly states that it supports both formats and then, plug RCA cables from the 5.1 analogue outs of the DVD player into the analogue inputs of your receiver. There are several universal models from Pioneer, Denon, Marantz. Other brands will have one format or the other. They all range from a few hundred dollars up to well past a few thousand! The recordings are about the same price as cd's and the numbers are steadily increasing. Hope this helps. Try using the search engines and brand websites for more info.
The selection of SACD and DVD-A titles is still limited. To get an idea, you might try Best Buy or Tower Records. They have a separate section of hi-res discs. There are also websites that have a larger selection and usually cheaper prices, including Tower's website. The high-res discs are usually the same price or slightly more expensive than CDs. I like the multi-channel, hybrid SACD format, because you can listen to the SACD layer in surround or stereo and the CD layer on any player that plays CDs. You could decide whether hi-res is worth it by taking a hybrid SACD to an audio shop and comparing the SACD layer with the CD layer.