One problem that early universal players were said to had with SACD was related to converting DSD to PCM (since most lacked DSD-capable DAC's). The Pioneers in particular were frequently noted as being better with DVD-Audio than SACD (even though both represent lossless digital audio formats). In addition, both DVD-A and SACD are subject to the specific surround mixes used - I've found that some sound more pleasing than others. These days, the debate over whether DSD output is better than PCM tends to end in a draw.

The 980H is a very nice player, especially for the money. Mine is still hanging around as a player with my RR2150, and the analog output serves me well.