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!
Marantz SA-10 arriving Monday!
I've been hearing and reading all I can about this player during this last year. I have a 6005 right now and it's a nice player but not as good as my analog rig (10k) so it's not a fair comparison. Elizabeth mentioned that her SA-10 is better than her analog. I will be comparing the 2 SACD players side by side. I have at least 3 CD's in which I have duplicates. I'm fascinated about how the circuitry upsamples to DSD SACD. Well not exactly but somehow an improvement over Redbook CD. I have a 2" thick maple block coming in the same day for it. It's going to be a long weekend. I know it can't work miracles on all CD's. If there is jitter in the recording then supposedly you will never get that out. Speak up if I'm wrong about that.
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@thelefthand yes, Z1ES USB Audio output from Z1ES was improved with the latest firmware, but the bass is a bit loose compared to tighter bass and better slam when playing SA-10 from discs or USB drive. I also have Intel NUC7i5 with China-made (Zerozone) 19V 100W linear power supply; with optimized Windows 10 and HYSOLID and also Linux-based Euphony Audio (trial version) and USB Audio into SA-10, it sounds pretty close to SA-10 playing discs and USB drive. |
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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 |
2nd Note; feel free to list your system gear, like Elizabeth, so that those of us who search for a demo can have a running list of brands that are sonic matches with this very special player. Due to its price, there will be a limited audience and or interest from the majority of the audiophile community. Additionally, there is a small niche' of us who own massive CD, SACD collections that continue to grow every year. This is not a bad thing at all. Happy Listening! |
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. |
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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. |
elizabeth, it is a well know issue for SA-10 when playing from USB thumb drive. please see the 2nd paragraph from the link below: http://help.nativedsd.com/handling-and-playing-dsd-files/file-management/creating-a-gapless-playback... I just hope Marantz will fix this. |
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@elizabeth do you have isolation transformer or other power conditioning device in your system? I use Torus AVR30 wall mount (I live in 240V country). It was only after I have the SA-10 I know the true capability of my system. My SA-10 is in its second week. I don't think the break in has completed but it's sounding better and better. In my experience, playing discs directly using SA-10 transport gives the best results followed by a high-performance USB thumb drive. My hard disk player (Sony HAP-Z1ES) is not up to the standard of SA-10. While the Sony supports gapless playback in all formats, the sound is inferior when using SA-10 USB Audio input. I think to get the best from USB Type B input, need a much better player/streamer costing close to SA-10. I wish SA-10 supports gapless playback when playing from USB drive. Right now it mutes with relay clicks at the beginning of each track which is annoying. I hope Marantz will fix this through firmware upgrade. |
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bluerangerMuch Thanks! for providing your thoughts/impressions on the SA-10.The hope lies in Marantz learning from Sony/Philips on "not" what to do on their Reference spinners. Keep all marketing tactics in place for entry, mid and highest end players. Additionally, reach out and touch this company w/ an email or phone call expressing your pleasure with their Digital products. Inquire about their intentions to stock essential/critical parts as well. Happy Listening! |
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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. |
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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. |
