Marantz SACD 30N

I'm no longer surprised how little regard some alleged "music lovers" have for the creators.

I am resisting any true streaming/streamer. (I guess using an iPad to do Spotify is not really streaming.)  That’s a black/rabbit hole I’d rather not go down.  It seems like an endless trail of more boxes, more cables, and more upgrades—as if audiophilia were not already filled with these. 

Go down that rabbit hole. Get a Qobuz account.  Having whole new worlds of music at your fingertips is a revelation.  Trust me — it’s more than worth the effort. I’ve discovered tons of new music I would’ve never otherwise discovered, and it’s transformed my music life. Or you can just keep listening to the same stuff over and over.  

@soix You make some excellent points about the obverse of a jack of all trades. 

I will check out the Musician Pegasus II R2R DAC and Denafrips Pontus 15th.

I am resisting any true streaming/streamer. (I guess using an iPad to do Spotify is not really streaming.)  That’s a black/rabbit hole I’d rather not go down.  It seems like an endless trail of more boxes, more cables, and more upgrades—as if audiophilia were not already filled with these. 
 

I’m quite happy with LPs, CDs, SACDs, FM radio, and internet radio (BBC3 and BR Klassik). 

@jdub39  Recently, I tried filter 2.  The sound was more forward, a bit thin, blunt, and hard.  Also, the soundstage seemed kind of blurry with odd proportions.  Instruments seemed cool with less body.

Needless to say, I didn’t care for it.  

But the 30 is pretty new, right?

Transport failure I’m guessing. Mine died years ago on an SA-7

I've noticed what seems to be a lot of these for sale. I always wonder why...

30n is an outstanding player! @hoodjem Have you tried using filter 2 , if not give it a shot to see if the sound is to your liking.

@newelldon723 

I also have a Marantz SACD 30n. It's in a second set-up in my office. Mated with a Unison Simply Italy and ProAc Tablette, it sounds terrific. I mostly use it as a streamer and like the HEOS app. I have played SACD disks on it and think it does a super job. My SACD "Katy Lied", by Steely Dan, never sounded better.

FWIW, since I'm using a LAN CAT 6 connection, I got a Stack SmoothLAN Network Filter which improved clarity, focus, and PRaT.

@hoodjem  So as you say the 30n is a Jack of all trades, but the flip side of that is that it’s a master of nothing.  It’s a transport, DAC, streamer, Bluetooth player, and preamplifier for $3k, and how much of that do you think goes into the DAC?  The streamer?  The answer is not a lot so there’s a lot of room for improvement in both, and they’re both critically important for better sound.  I started steaming from my iPad to my DAC and thought it was fine until I got a budget $400 iFi Zen Stream streamer (with their $100 iPowerX power supply) and the sound quality went to a higher level entirely.  Bottom line — using the iPad as a streamer sucks and streamers matter a lot.  If I was you my minimum entry level would be a Bluesound Node streamer with an external linear power supply and something like a Musician Pegasus II R2R DAC ($1100 through Amazon you can return) or better yet a Denafrips Pontus 15th ($2100).  So to answer your question directly, I’d budget $2k -$3k for a streamer and DAC to get a truly significant and noticeable improvement.  Just my $0.02 and experience FWIW and hope it’s somewhat helpful. 

Hello to all,

I have a perhaps strange, perhaps normal question.

I have a Marantz SACD-30n CD/SACD player.   I like its sound pretty much, and I like what it does (i.e. receives internet radio, can use the DAC portion for streaming from my iPad).  It’s a nice Swiss army knife of a player. 

But I keep wondering:  would a separate DAC improve things, to help digital to sound more realistic/natural/musical?  (I do tend to prefer my TT analogue set-up.) 

I’ve been looking at various R2R DACs or tube-based DACs. 

I guess the entry-point question is how much would I have to spend to notice much of a difference that is truly better? 
 

 

 

Thanks for any responses. 

The only real difficulty is streaming DSD. I hate Jriver , but thats a minor issue , I can go usb and it sounds great . I am playing discs and it’s a slight improvement when compared to streaming . I did ask Marantz directly about Qoboz and they responded blountly we don’t support , so i believe they are bought out by the Tidal company . (MQA) . even though they don’t support MQA!!.
Audirvana plays Qoboz anyway . the App HEOS is decent after a couple hours of figuring out what works and what does not .
the overall +’s and -’s are in favor of this well built amazing sounding unit.
I don’t think i really need app support as Audirvana is working great .
I also think for the foreseeable future my digital obsessions are under control .
now i can concentrate on Amps , speakers for any upgrades.
the question is , what compares to this unit ? it plays SACDs , streams HI REZ and is only 3k . hard to find an equivalent . 

Are you just playing discs on it, or also using it as a streamer and/or DAC?
  I had a terrible experience with Marantz first streamer/DAC, which only worked as a DAC and then wouldn’t work at all after a year, had a terrible app, and Marantz stopped supporting it after 2 years.  That was several years ago, and they may have gotten their act together, but I swore I would never buy Marantz again.
  Here is hoping that you are enjoying your unit and that it remains hassle free