Thanks for your encouragement. I just wonder if this will be Marantz's last audiophile player like the path Sony took. I have close to 600 CDs and I'm not just going to let that investment gather dust. I thought about using the money and get a Bryston DAC and streamer but I felt the MQA issue hasn't been settled fully and when we get the 5G networks going and optical fiber to the home then the hi rez files won't have to be compressed. |
The 8005 sounded bad when I first played it but smoother out playing 24/7. The SA-10 is a refurbished unit so expect it a little broke in. It was a well known eBay seller with good feedback and I felt comfortable doing the purchase. |
I think there is a breaking in to some degree. I believe that. I also believe if your system hasn't been played for a couple of weeks then your new equipment arrives and you turn on everything and it might not be as stabilized electrically. Then the break in effect will be exaggerated. I leave my equipment on 24/7. It makes a difference in the Bryston 14bsst. It idles at 150 watts but in the winter thats not a bad thing. I thought I'd made a mistake when I purchased the 8005. Very closed in soundstage. I dont know how much the refurbished SA-10 has been operated so I might not see ass much. Hey hifiman5. The 18x24x4 air dried maple is breaking in good under my 80 lb TT. I think the atoms are slowly being compressed. |
Hey you can get the champagne color. There is some on eBay from Japan. However after I looked into it decided it wasn't a good idea. The Japanese electric paradigm is 110 and the electronics there are made for that. We are on 120. The electronics would not be stable in our system or they could be damaged. I read its a small chance but a chance I don't want to take. |
So if there is any jitter in any transport the DAC will remove it? I didn't know that. |
It just came in today at 1. I got to sit down and listen while I had some time. I was floored when it played. It actually played analog like smoothness. Every note struck was the most profound note struck until the next one and then the next one with anticipation. It was an ear opening moment. It was like that classic SCI FI movie "The Man with X-ray eyes. When he could see things that he had never seen before and didn't even know was there. It was like digital on acid. Digital on steroids. Digital done right. All my bad memories of the mediocre meduim had been erasedI. I put in U2 Boy. It was a CD I had listened to last night on my SA 8005.(no slouch) and there is much more detail air and bass articulation and deepness. I put in tbe best of the THs and yes!! Everything was super smooth with detail. Its going to surpass my 10k vinyl rig. I remember Elizabeth said she rarely plays her vinyl rig. I also have a PS 1000 power regenerator tuned to 110 hz. My 18x15x2 maple block with heavy point brass feet came in today and along with a TOTL Pangea power cord. I wonder how much did these tweeks added to the total experience. Lets see I'm recovering from foot surgery and just had my oain meds refilled. That might have helped. Uuumm lets see, CDs are dirt cheap now at pawn shops and flea markets. And the best is yet to come after it has been broken in and I havent played an SACD yet. Anyway 6 stars for thus Marantz.
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Very pleased. Gobs of detail and smoothness. The headphone section is stellar. This is a keeper. |
In some recordings its better than my vinyl rig. But it closes the gap pretty close and exceeds vinyl some if the time. It does have a cool blue light |
Ibe been burning it in good, I have let my equipment idle and,cool down for a couple if hours to condition the solder joints at least once a day. The head phone section is amazing. I just wonder if my new amp and cables just haven't caught up yet. Especially the 8 ga kimber. On a side note, I wonder if anyone has bought something new and turned it on but couldn't listen during tbe break in and had to go on vacation or business for a week or two. Then they would notice a big change. |
I have been using a variety of rock music and dance (Madonna) to break it in. It still doesn't make a poorly mastered CD sound good. I just bought LZ HOTH double CD with bonus tracks andis very bright and very shrill. I used Shine ola and did a Bedini clarifier spin with a super black hole damper disc. Has anyone else noticed that a bad CD won't change much even on a good player. Now the Marantz does make a large proportion of my collection much more musical. I have found that many more records were mastered well than an equal amount of CDs |
No I'm not insulted at all Elizibeth. I'm a perfectionist and but so impatient. With my old system if I listened at over 90 dbs for any length of time my ears would get fatigued especially with digital. In the last 3 weeks I bought a new amp, preamp, SACD player, new dedicated line, speaker cables and a new power cable to the player. Maybe I'm jumping the gun and not waiting long enough to break everything in. Now I can listen to a good recording for hours at near a 100 dbs with no ear fatigue. Another thing is a room problem right behind my chair. There are some great big windows.
I know I broke a cardinal rule in room acoustic management but to mitigate that, I threw up some heavy damping curtains. Would that have totally blocked out the reflective affect of the glass? I do have 3 of the 4 corners of the room rigged with bass traps with 4 18x36 panels suspended off the walls and ceiling. (2 each). I do appreciate everyones input because I live way out in the country far from any large metro area and don't get to hear other people's systems to compare too. Audiogon is my main source of info and really value opinions here. So anyone in central NC come on down and I could drive to their place too. I will have to look at getting into a club. Oh it would be a major effort to switch walls with equipment but hey I could run some long speaker cables across the room. My stuff is on the long side of the 20X12X8 room. Thanks ,Mike |
I have a PS Audio p1000. I use it for everything except my amp. |
I have a PS Audio P1000 power regenerater that is hooked up to everything except my amp which is plugged in the wall. I have always loved my music loud. I do wear earmuffs while I mow the yard. Lol. About the db levels. I switched 4 months ago from an iphone 6 to an LG V30 and sticking with the same app Decible X the levels seem to be 6-9 dbs louder on the V30. |
I have read the Maggie's sound good at low volume. Good choice for apartments. The OHM 5000's do need some volume to sound their best. I also wonder if all frequencies of sound are equally damaging to hearing. Because now everything is cleaner and clear so not much ear fatigue. |
I wish I hadnt sold my old rat shack meter on eBay back in 06. Im gifting my son my old Bryston amp ,preamp 8005 player. He only has to buy speakers and Maggie's is one I suggested to him since he is in an apartment. |
And that they are excellent speakers from what I have heard, Ive read people that sell theirs sometimes end up buying another pair. |
Yes I have a P1000. About my system sounding shrill 10 days ago. What ever cold it had it cured itself or I helped it. I waited 6 days to post here to make sure it was still sou,ding excellent. When I first got the SA-10 I PUT ONE OF MY 2 VPI bricks (it's a black hole for stray electronic fields) on top near its transformer. I immediately wrote a post about it being the best digital I had ever heard. Then a week after that it had what I call digititus, sounding thin and shrill. I was dumbfounded. I then realized I had moved my VPI brick to the preamp!! I out it back on the player and it sounded much much better!!! I cannot fathom a well designed player like mine being vulnerable to electrical field anomalies. So my hypothesis is that it's heavy weight damped the chassis. Or my system was still in the break in stage and regressed. Or I had unplugged my power cords and that dissipated any static. I just know now my player sounds fantastic. Elizabeth, do you have any tweaks done on your player? |
Oh one more thing. I blew a fuse on the preamp and replaced it with the same make. Has anyone noticed after a fuse change that their stereo sounds different? |
I also unplugged it from one if the active regenerator receptacles to one of 2 passive filter ones on the P1000. |
I placed it a little to the left over the transformer at first then I put it front and centered over the transport. I haven't took it off. I'm in the camp if it isn't broke don't fix it. I think it might help more with damping. I know it just sounds wonderful now. One reason I bought it among many others is your praise of it here |
I'm away today but plan on giving it a good listen tomorrow. I left town and unplugged everything becauuse of storms. I will get back tonight and maybe listen a little more. All the new stuff has made my stereo sound much better. I played it safe by making a vertical move sticking to the same brands.i have taken some of the more shrill sounding CDs from tbe 80s for a spin and they do sound a lot better. |
I haven't noticed any shrill except for a couple of days the AC was out. I had a Sony XA5400ES 5 years ago and this flat out beats it. Give it another 100 hours and use a good power cord. Try the filters too. Good luck
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When I ran a new dedicated line my system was not sounding the best for a while. My players chassis is damped and isolated with brass cones, maple block and rubber cork blocks on the bottom. Maoleshade system. I think that helps |
Sorry for the typos. I just woke up. |
It will be the last SACD player I buy. |
I have had mine a month and yours will continue to resolve more details and place more air around the instruments. Enjoy |
When I first got mine it was a wake up moment. I was very impressed with the player however after extended listenings its not going to replace my vinyl rig. Its really good digital. A big leap. However it does not always have the detail archival as my TT.
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Hry shadow cat. Room adjustments are many times can be a bigger jump in equipment. I almost got the 14s1 last year but settled for the 8005 until finances would allow. I had a chance to buy an Sa10 for $4400 Last year and just couldn't do it at the time. The seller offered it to me at the low price because of an inferior product he sold me 15 years ago I think. I won't say who he is but he is one of the good ones left
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Decoding perfectly is one thing. Carrying an undistorted signal through the analog chain is another. Digital noise is rather nasty and filters don't seem to get alk of it out. My Marantz manual suggests turning off the display, digital outs and the headphone amp! |
Worse case scenario lets say 10
years from now my transport dies. I hope streaming units will have become user friendly and the sound quality will far surpass what we have now on Redbook CD. By that time I will be able to copy all my CDs with a super sophisticated quantum DAC that can decompress the horrid recordings of this decade. And maybe give it something a little extra in the resolution department. Im a little uncomfortable using ny transport all the time like Elizabeth warns, just how long does a top quality transport last anyway????? My Shanling T200 from 03 started giving me trouble reading discs about 8 years ago and got to the point 2 years ago where 90 percent would not decode. Shanling stopped supporting this unit years ago. I just hope Marantz is a more customer friendly company. I still wish it would work because after the Parts Connexion mod it was very musical. In some ways more than the Marantz. Fast bass attack. The midrange was more forward and that's not a bad thing for rock music. It now sits over on a shelf on top of my records.. I don't want to take it to the dump. Amazingly it will still play a Mamas and Papas remasted by Steve Hoffman. That is the only CD that it has consistently been playable without having to load it a dozen times. I will drag it out one day again. I will see. I'm happy with tbe SA-10. Its a keeper and have it well insured and an updated security system with cameras. They will have to take it out of my cold dead hands. Lol |
Good point well taken. I dry brush every record before I drop the needle. All records vacuum cleaner, stored in plastic sleeves with album jackets. I clean all CDs too but not before playing. My Marantz has been skipping about every 30 hozrs of playing. The CD only loses a sec or two. The 8005 I had for 15 months never skipped. Will this get worse????? Like my Shanling not being able to read discs less and less. I remember In 05 it started having trouble reading SACDs I might have to give it 3-6 reloads but it would go. It would never play Tommy. When I had to have it serviced up North around 05. The Yankee said if it doesn't play or has trouble playing a disc now and then don't worry. It was only SACDs at that time. If I had made him fix it while they still had replacement parts it would be working today!!!! Thanks for your professional opinion whoever you were. I hope you read thus post. Hey doctor it hurts when I move my arm a special kind of way. WELL DONT MOVE IT THAT KIND OF SPECIAL WAY!!! NEXT. |
I think the headphone jack on the SA-10 us dandy. Detailed and what Rain man might say, "sparkly". I still like the filter one setting and factory default on the other settings.
I just out the new Zaolla silverline balanced interconnects on the 14b3. Music has a little more zip and excitement but leans a little to the edgy side. I know silver can be brutally revealing bring out a components weakness. Music has a little more impact and that is expected since silver is a faster conducter. The KGACs were fast and some songs that start out woukd actually jolt me a little. I finally gave up on them because they were to revealing to the older equipment I had. I wish I had kept them but hey trade in for new toys is the game. I did burn them in for a week in my cable cooker and that helped. I hope the Zaollas break in and mello some.
I stay on the filter 1 setting. I still use the factory default settings on the other sound shaping options. This player is the bomb. It decodes a fantastic digital signal into a lush landscape of sonic pleasures. With that said, however I'm not retiring my TT. |
I'm trying to get more into classical music with the SA-10 in the house. I scored yesterday at a thrift store going out of business. 25 cent CDs!!!! I bought 20 classical titles. Strauss, Horowitz, with Telarc and Grammaphone for the labels. I love the sounds of the orchestra for a change. I don't see how a record could sound any better with some of these. The better the recording. The better your system will sound. Didn't mean to de rail the thread here. |
Thank you Elizabeth. I'm a rocker and never really took the time and patience to enjoy classical. |
Well over a hundred hours. Got it July 30th. It's been running 80 percent of the time. I've been out recovering from surgery since June 29th. Listening maybe 4-6 hours a day. It's sound is captivating. It will draw you in. I found myself listening to the same CD twice in a row many times. The sound just makes listening pleasurable. I tried some badly made discs and even though it didn't transform them it took a large part of the stridency out. An example of some great discs are Victory at Sea by Telarc is awesome. The Theme from Shaft (80s version) is also superb. |
I heard a very expensive system at an audio store Saturday that I'm not naming. One brand system CD player preamp and amp. Around $30k plus and a pair of $20k plus speakers. I was hoping to hear something spectacular but it was a letdown. Anyway the overall presentation was lean and not full bodied. I would have liked to have the SA-10 to compare. To be fair the room was larger than mine with a higher ceiling. I'm content with my system and upgrading isn't in the near future.
The SA-10 is a keeper and until streaming matures it will be spinning discs |
Yes! I've been out over 3 months for surgery. The unit has been playing non-stop 70 percent of the time and idle some. I'm in a unique situation where I could hear it break in from day to day. I've listened to a ton of music. More than I've ever had in any 3 month period. |
I'm still enjoying it. When I play a CD on it that it hasn't played before I always hear something new, |
Probably 4-800hours. Some of which was running off hours. It sounded better than ever yesterday but for some reason my stereo sounds best in the fall anyway. Go figure that! |
Close to 4 hours a day listening. I leave it on 24/7 and turn off system before and electrical storm. It is a big step up from the SA-8005. Some vinyl is better in my system. Maybe 1\2. Analog warmth/smoothness that is inherent to the medium. I got a 4 inch maple butcher block about the same time and it was a sonic enhancer. Not too much. Not too less. I had tried marble, MDF/cork/rubber/steel rubber spike cup combos. The SA-10 when it beats analog however its a clear winner. It depends on the engineering of each recording
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I have it hooked back up to my PS Audio P1000. It might be a little better than my direct line. |
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Thank you jafant. You too. |
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Oh many hours over that. It sounds wonderful and CDs that I haven't played on it before sound different. Cleaner and more open |
Both but don't never thought that single layer and hybrids could sound different? Interesting |
I did put some dedicated damping material on top but it did not make any difference. I knocked on it and it was solid with no ring. Not so with my phono preamp. It rings when I knocked it and then I put tge dedicated damping material and it really did make a difference in my analog set up. The more a component rings, the more the component will sing with damping material. |
I have a lot of favorites. Sacds. The Who "Who's Next" The Best of the Byrds, Best of the Zombies. Regular CDs would be The theme from Shaft. Who's Next. Steve Hoffman remaster. |
Just got Yes "Going for the One " remastered CD and it is awesome on the Marantz. All the high frequencies that were shrill on the record are now tonally very pleasant. |
