I was in your position and contemplated all SACD players that have been mentioned. I choose the Marantz SA14. From all the posts on Audiogon and Threads on AA, I believe all information suggests that for Redbook CD playback, the Marantz SA14 wins handsdown in stock form against anything else out there in your price range. Playing SACD, it's a toss up as to which sound one prefers. I've got about 150 hours of breakin on Redbook and 50 hours with SACD. My most recent CD player was a Cal Audio Delta/Alpha comb with NOS Mullard tubes. The Marantz blows the Cal comb away. I like you also have Thiel speakers. I'm running 22's. At 150 hours, I still need another 250 hours to go until complete break-in. If you can compare machines against one another, do so. Because of my geographic location I could not make comparisions. Thanks to all who post on these on-line forms.
Choosing a SACD player...please help
I am going to give SACD a second try. Two players I am considering are the Sony XA777ES and the Philips SACD 1000. I have also heard good things about the Marantz SA-14, and I've seen a new generation of Marantz SACD players out for below $1200. My budget is 2K, and I am wondering whether to spend 2K on a stock machine or get a less expensive machine and get a bunch of mods done (I don't need multichannel).
In the end, I would like this machine to be killer on SACD and eminently enjoyable on redbook. Can you help me?
In the end, I would like this machine to be killer on SACD and eminently enjoyable on redbook. Can you help me?