Best SACD player for the money - Marantz SA-11S1


My sense is that the Ed Meitner unit is the best SACD together with the Esoteric DV-50. However, after a lot of research on the net my sense is that there is a new player that is in the same top notch category for a lot less. This is the Marantz SA-11S1. Two channel - Great. I am not interested in five channels. My sense is that it is a great value for about $ 3,000. Looking for folks that have the player and hear their experience compared to the other top notch players. I currently have a Sony SCD-C555ES and think the Marantz will be a lot better than a Modified Sony unit. Thanks for responding.
dcaudio

Showing 1 response by john_beavers

Pardales,

I had the player for about a month and a half before sending it off for modding. Based on the performance I heard, compared to my modded Denon 3910, I was questioning whether the mod was necessary for this unit. Ever the audio adventurer though, I sent it in for the evalution. I'd heard good things about the mod outfit that had agreed to attempt the effort. They are not going to be able to put a superclock 3 in her though, as it turned out that the players clock speed is almost double that of even the Superclock 3. They are working on an upgrade to the SC3 that could handle the Marantz player's speed, so it'll be a two part mod. Upgrade power supply, caps and critical parts now, and later the upgraded super clock.