I don’t get the love for SA-10. I owned it for about a month. Yeah it’s built extremely well, feels hefty and has a buttery smooth operation. But to me it just doesn’t sound right. Engaging those filters outside of a default setting makes it even worse. On top of it all it has audibly high noise floor. I pretty much hated it. PS Audio DSD MkI DAC that replaced it at half the price of a used SA-10 was a huge improvement.
Unless you find a killer deal used and need to check this off your bucket list, I would just skip it
Marantz SA-10 Vs Esoteric K-05Xs
Hello,Was wondering if anyone has compared the Marantz SA-10 and Esoteric K-05Xs/K07Xs players.My current Oppo UDP-205 is a nice player, but I think upgrading to a dedicated CD/SACD player might result in a better sound.Thanks in advance!
Showing 5 responses by audphile1
@milpai could be. |
@fauguy no you do not “have to” use i2s. My Aurender N200 into PS Audio DSD via USB comfortably beat SA10 playing high res from Qobuz or Tidal and DSD files from my local library on SSD. If you have to spin a physical SACD just get a transport with I2s out or a good SACD player like one of the Luxman units. Marantz in my opinion is just not good. By the way PS Audio DSD MkI is around $1200-$1400 now used without network card. Hard to beat for the money |
@milpai nice and well thought out system you have there. If you want to try the SA-10 like I said if you find a killer deal on it you can flip it if you don’t like it. Use your oppo until you can try luxman or esoteric is what I’d recommend. I didn’t mean to rain on anyone’s parade here but I did want to offer my thoughts on the SA-10 based on the experience I had with it. |
@milpai yes synergy is key! One other important factor to consider is one’s reference point. |