Marantz SA-1 (Super Audio CD player) ?

I have compared the Sony SCD1 with the Marantz and although I bought the Sony, I thought the Marantz was better in a few areas:

1. Loading time was much faster
2. CD Playback was better (I run through an external DAC so not an issue for me)

I recommend the Sony purely due to the difference in price... street price for the Sony is $2900 vs $5700 for the Marantz. The difference buys you a whole bunch of SACDs.

Simontju: I think the Marantz is slightly warmer than the Sony, I cannot tell you which I preferred because I could not conclude one was better than the other for SACD playback... just a tad different. Sony SCD-1, dCS Delius and dCS Purcell, VK-50SE preamp, BAT VK-150SE monos, Watt Puppy 6 speakers, Transparent Ref XL all around, PS Audio PP300, BDR Cones, pArticular Ypsilon rack, pArticular Duo amp stands and Transparent Reference PIXLs. I just replaced my Audio Research Ref2 and VT200 with the BAT gear but have listened to SACD with the ARCs as well.

A few of my reference SACDs are; Ellington - Blues in Orbit, Rebecca Pidgeon - The Raven, Heau & Zygmanowski - Musique francaise pour clarinette et piano, Peterson/Brown/Jackson - The Very Tall Band, McCoy Tyner Quartet - New York Reunion, Al DiMeola - Friday Night In San Francisco, CharlesMingus - Ah Um, Stevie Ray Vaughan - Couldn't Stand the Weather, Yo Yo Ma - Solo and a few others.

Trlja: I would prefer it took less time to load, but I do not mind as it gives me a bit of time to pour another glass of scotch!

Jfrech: The VK-60 will drive the Watt Puppies but will not really get them singing. I recommend you go with the monos. You will get increased performance that will really make it worthwhile.

Brulee: Yoyoyoyoyo!

Trelja: I hope it does play SACDs. It would be quite a bombshell!!!

BTW, When you are drinking Scotch slower is better :)

Simon: I hate to turn away from the point of this thread, which is SACD not speaker evaluations, however, you could not be more mistaken regarding the Watt Puppies. They are very dynamic (not as dynamic as Avantegardes) and I would venture to guess that you have not heard them with proper amplification. SACD is magnificent with the Wilsons!

Still not getting ugly! :)