I recently put my Marantz SA11 s3 for sale on Audiogon. I had some work done on it, (by an authorized Marantz service Center)and have it listed for $1600.00. Now that I have replaced the laser/tray mechanism this unit will play beautifully for at least 10 years without issue. The unit was not reading SACD's properly-redbook was fine. It sounds remarkable. I bought the unit new back in 2008 and have enjoyed it for years. I have now upgraded to a Marantz SA10 and it is also amazing. But the sa11s2 still is almost as good.
I have always been a fan of Marantz Reference CD players going back to the Marantz CD94 in the 1980's.
In the past 15 years I have also owned the Marantz Reference SA-1, SA-7, SA-11S3 sacd / cd players. All excellent players but the Marantz Reference SA-11S3 stands on top as the best natural sound and technology. Dead silent transport compared to the SA-1 & SA-7 and very eco friendly using less than 1W in standby. Many other state of the art features on the Marantz Reference SA-11S3. Just simply a great player.
any of you using Audioquest cabling w/ your Marantz spinners?
Which models? Happy Listening!
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Yes. I went thru a trial and error interval for ICs (various MIT, AQ, and Kimber) for my Marantz KI Pearl and settled on a used set of AQ Jaguars as the "goldilocks" choice.
SA 11s2 owner here. good to see some discussion of how to make the unit sound better. I will be trying the main fuse replacement shortly. One reminder - check your filter setting. Mine was somehow set to three, probably for a long time. I went back to one and found more clarity and a more natural bass response out of my ProAc D15's.
Your out of luck trying to replace the main power fuse on the Marantz SA11-S1 as it is hardwired into the unit. But you can try a WA Quantum chip ($6.00 ) placed on the fuse or try the Synergistic Research Electronic Circuit Transducers ( ECT ) places next to the fuse. My Marantz unit has the WA chip and seven of the Synergistic Research ECT's inside. I did replace the five rail fuses with the Synergistic Research Black fuses. 1.6 amp, small, slow blow. Each fuse location did make a sonic difference but I did not try to establish which location made the greatest difference.
This unit really sounds good after these upgrades and they are removable if you sell the unit.
I hope everyone reading this thread will get that darn lid off, and at least replace the main power fuse. It is the fuse off by itself. The Marantz units really do respond to putting in a Synergistic Research "Black" fuse.
How about the s-3? same as the 2 but better? I was just looking at a new player, currently have a Cambridge Audio 651 c, I imagine the 11-s would be a jump up?Any thoughts?
Hi, you will need to get a fine flat head screwdriver and pry the top back (the top is also the sides). Looking down at the top, there is a lip at the front where the top butts up against the front face. Put some cheesecloth or other material around the tip of the screwdriver so not to scratch anything - put the tool in the tiny gap and twist the screwdriver a little at a time and you will see the case move backwards. Once you see this you should be able to slowly work the case backwards to remove it. It's easy once you get where you need to put the screwdriver. I had same problem with mine. I would love pics on where the power fuse is to replace it with a Synergistic or whatever.
I have a SA-IIS2 and want to replace the fuses. I removed the three screw from the back but the cover will not budge. Any tips on removing the cover? Also, what are the fuses sizes, has to be one of the following I guess: 5 x 20mm/0.2" x 0.75” 6.3 x 32mm/0.25" x 1.25” 6.4 x 25mm/0.25" x 0.98”
Haven't heard the Lite, but the original Pearl was/is a VERY good player. Limited to 500 units, as I understand. A guy I knew had one, and I heard it at his house compared with an ARC spinner (I forget the exact model, but I remember it was MUCH more expensive). He liked the ARC a little better (and eventually sold the Pearl), but I thought the Pearl was a bit more resolving and even more musical. Given the price difference, I thought the Pearl acquitted itself really well. If I hadn't already had an SA-7S1, I think I would've tried to pick up a Pearl.
I am a big fan of the Marantz since I have three models.
They take on a significant improvement when the power fuse is replaced with a Synergistic Research RED fuse. The SR RED fuse comes with a 30 dail trial. This is time well worth spent.
Plus you get to take the top off your player and see the beautiful layout and workmanship of your unit.
No I haven't but isn't there a review that compares the SA15-S2 to the SA11-S2 online? Maybe Stereophile? From what I remember the 15-S2 was cooler and more upfront sounding in comparison. It is a good read so just pointing it our :)
FWIW, the Marantz *Reference-level* players have NOT rolled off the top end in any of my systems over the years. They're quite linear, with just a touch of warmth across the frequency band to bring the sound closer to what I hear live.
I don't mean to butt in, but I think Samzx12 might've been referring to the S2 version of the SA-11. His opinion of its relative SQ is similar to mine.
I can remember when both the SACD and those 1st generation spinners came out via Sony ES and Marantz. I also remember the corresponding prices and you guys are spot-on!
FWIW, whether you like a high end Marantz CD player or not may more depend on the rest of your system than anything else. I have a Wadia 302 and a Raysonic 128 CDP. I tuned my system (using tubes in my integrated amps) to a give me a sound with a bit of warmth in the lower mid-range/upper bass. I then bought a Marantz SA11SA3 for SACD playback.
In my system the Marantz sound was bloated in the bass/lower mid range. This was particularly notable in a lot of new orchestral (classical) recordings including both formats. Interestingly a lot of old, somewhat sterile CD's, such as DG's for example, were much more listenable. I found that solo piano music this player was excellent. This probably has more to do with nature of the piano sound which just presents a warmer lower frequency sound, not a bloated or congested sound as it might when made by a large orchestra in a big hall.
What this suggests to me is that the Marantz probably works best when it is used in a more linear system where it's bass emphasis will be nothing more than that, i.e. a bit of added warmth.
Re, the Redbook vs CD issue. I find that the difference in recording format is far below the importance of the performance - once the CD starts to spin I really don't hear all of the benefits of the SACD format. The only thing I have noticed is that frequently on new SACD's, which seem to have some additional warmth built in, these SACD's actually sound better on my Wadia. Go figure.
The lower the first number, the higher up it is on the Marantz food chain. The SA (Super Audio) 1 was their top model about 15 years ago. It listed for $7500. Then the SA-7S1, which came out about 8 years ago, and list for $6500. Then the SA-11S1, which came out about 10 years ago and listed for $3500. It was followed up by the S2 version, and currently is in the SA-11 S3 version listing for $4000.
Look through the Audiogon Bluebook, you don't have to have a subscription. It will tell you model numbers, their release date, and original list price.
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