I hate posting about equipment because what sounds good one day - usually changes the next - Of the long list of cd players that i have owned (in this price range - $500 to $2500) - over the last 20 years and even the ones i have had modified - this player sounds more musically involving than most that i have owned.
one of the few players that i have had where all i do is listen to music - rather than how much resolution there is, or soundstaging or how it does voices and cymbals and woodwinds, - how it images, etc - it doesn't matter - this player involves me with the music being played.
the old cliche - "everthing sounds cut from the same cloth" or "sounds like one piece" - applies hear in spades.
This is using the player over 1 month - not hunreds of hours
1) i never said solid state components are crappy. i just indicated my preference for tubes and can provide reasons for my preference. it is obvious that tastes vary.
2) i owned an expensive marantz universal player, one of the "11" series. i lent it to a friend, who uses as a solid state amp. both of us found the player aggressive and fatiguing.
I would appreciate any thoughts about the sound of the 8004 compared to the 6004 taking sacd out of the equation. What differences do you hear listening to red book on both players? Thanks
Good to hear the Marantz vs Sony comments. I have heard a lot of good things about the Sony. I love the Marantz I have which is actually the weakest link in my system currently. I would like to have a SACD player with XLR out. I was not aware that you could control the iPods connected to the Marantz player through the remote. That is a convenience. I am just hoping to pick a nice digital front end in a year or so.
Milpai As I stated I went from the Sony 5400/ Focal 918 Profile speakers...to the Marantz sa-8004 / Merlin TSM-MMM
It had really gotten to a point that I was only listening to a handful of cds. Those few cds sounded great. As for the rest which included most rock, anything LIVE, and basicly any recording that was not mellow in presentation...i had stopped listening to them. The cd playback versus sacd on the Sony was very different. sacd was hyper-detailed...very impressive to show off but not exactly my cup of tea for extended listening. I found myself listening to sounds, not music.:) With the Marantz there is less gap between cd/sacd IMO The Marantz/Merlin combo for me is great. Very smooth and refined to my ears. Vocals are spot on. No brightness at all. This holds true to the recordings I could not tolerate with the Sony/Focal. I have used the ipod playback and it is not bad. A little more digital sounding than cd but not a problem. I use it for extended background music... i love just hitting shuffle and let it roll. You can control ipod with marantz remote if need be. I feel that the Marantz/Merlin combo is surely "MUSICAL" :) Let me clarify that i have nothing against the sony5400 and i still would love to hear one Modded...but with the Focals it did not match well for me.
As a side note I asked Modwright about Modding the Marantz sa-8004 and he said in a round about way that if there were enough people interested in it...it could be a possibility.
Mcpherson, Well, that is his favorite thing. Check out other threads, where people talk about Solid State amps and CDPs and he comes in and says how crappy they are and tubes are the way to go. So people who like to stay with solid state components just ignore him. Can you please tell us more on the sound of the SA8004 compared to the Sony? The Marantz's digital inputs are interesting. I hope when I upgrade a year later, I am able to pick up the SA11-S3.
First i dont understand why mr tennis continues to post on threads that have nothing to do with him or his taste. What is the point of being negative all the time?? I like the Marantz sa8004. I recently went from Focal 918/Sony 5400 combo to Merlin TSM-MMM/Marantz sa8004
It sounds like night and day....better...for my taste. Much better balance. No fatigue. Vocals spot on.
hi smargo: i am tube oriented and have never found a solid state dac or player that, to my ears was not bested by a device containing onr or more tubes.
so let me ask you, does the marantz have any characteristics of a classic tube sound, or is it "listenable solid state".
in my own system, i use a tube cd player connected to the ps audio pwd. it is the interconnect from the dac that enables me to tolerate the dac. i use the fusion audio romance. it has pure gold wire.
If you are looking in this price class it is at the top. It certainly can be used with an iPod and it makes the iPod sound about as good as one can sound. It also can play 24/192 through it's rear digital inputs. Pair it with a Squeezebox Touch and at around $1200 it is one hell of a digital front end that can play just about anything out there.
How about the DAC? Have any of the 8004 owner posting here used it for ipod playback? I will be looking for a cdp soon and the 8004 is on my short list.
I also agree that the marantz SA-8004 is a really musical and warm sounding player. Just got mine a week ago and sold my marantz cd-6004,this was a upgrade to my EAR.
I have to agree, my Marantz is great. I'm looking forward to listening again, Ive been gone for the winter and my house sitter has been really breaking it in. Should be even sweeter ( he loves it).
I love my SA-8001 that I just freshly won on eBay. I think this unit is awesome, and I'd like to learn more about it from formers and current owners, but, by eliminating private messaging function, Agon has made a very lame move. How would the 8004 sing if compared to 8001?
When audiophiles finally grow up, which is rare, they realize that the true measure of a component is whether they want to listen to a whole CD or record, or get up and screw around with the system. When you want to sit and listen, you know you have something good. Forget about all the nonsense of frequency ressponse, bass, resolution, all the crap. You either want to sit and listen or you don't.
Mine is on order; and through the various authorized and non-authorized resellers I have spoken to- they liked the SA8004 for its musicality and warmth.
I owned the SA8001 for over a year. I thought It was very very good with SACD. I found it a tad too warm and it did not have the same pace as the SACD portion. All in all a very musical player with a solid build.
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