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Marantz SA 8001 vs. Cary 308T

I have the 308T and really like the sound of this player with some well chosen (to my ears) Telefunken tubes. Never harsh and excellent solid bass. The Cary sold for $2500 till discontinued a few years back. I decided to get the $900 Marantz 8001 for for SACD only, but will of course use it on Red Book as well and compare the sound to the Cary. A lot of technology in the 8001 including the ref level cirrus logic cs-4397 sacd chip set found in the better Marantz players.

Has anyone made the switch from the 308T to the Marantz, and what was your opinion between the two..especially in Red Book format??
128x128kehut
3 responses Add your response
kehut's avatar
kehut OP
668 posts
 
Thanks..Ill keep you all posted. The 8001 should arrive this week. Ive been emailed off line and told that the TRL Modded 8001 is excellent and will be about the best digital at any price..Interesting statement!. Ill have to do some investigating..I not much on modding, but Im willing to perhaps go this route if the price isnt too much.

I believe the Stereophile review matched the 8001 against Marantz'own SA 15S1 and the Benchmark Dac1 and 8001 (used as a transport) and acquitted itself very well.
jig
160 posts
 
Please let us know what your findings are in the future.
sthomas12321
408 posts
 
I saw a good review in stereophile for the marantz 8001, i think they compared it to a cary if I remember correctly. The 8001 was in class a for sacd, which is crazy for stereophile at only 1k.
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