Thank you very much for the reply. I decided to keep the integrated we have, sold the Marantz SA 14 S1 SACD/CD player and bought the Denon DCD-A110 110-Year Anniversary Edition SACD Player. It made a huge difference. The presentation was a great deal more lively proving the point about the source comes first.
Owners of Technics SU-R1000
Hello Owners of Technics SU-R1000,
I would like to learn what the rest of your systems consist of? I am seriously considering buying this integrated amplifier with phono stage; I have gotten very good prices on the Accuphase E-4000 with phono card and a Mark Levinson 585.5 with phono card; none of these pieces are availabe for audition where I live in Madison, WI Buying an audio component without an audition is nuts.
I own the Martin Logan Expression 13A with a Pro-ject RPM 10 Carbon turntable and Sumiko Blackbird HO cartridge; we have 1,500 LP A Marantz Reference Integrated PM 11S3 and the phono stage in terms of S/N for both MM and MC is exceedingly good
Soundstage did measurements for the Michi W-5 integrated and in every parameter exceeded the manufacturer's claims in the best possible way but was let down by the phono stage.
I even entertained Musical Fidelity's top integrated and thought I would add their phono stage and it turned out that according to Soundstage measurements it did NOT meet the manufacturer's claims and to tell you that I find that off putting is an understatement.
I did a very deep dive into all integrated amplifiers at around the $10,000 price point that have a built in phono stage and one that did not from all the recommended ones by German Stereoplay magazine and to my amazement all had specs, specifically S/N ratio for MM and MC stages WORSE than what we have now! Several were equal for the MM stage but far worse for the MC stage.
German Stereoplay's list is called Rang und Namen and ranks a piece by sound quality first and then for value meaning sound against the asking price; below the first number is sound the second for sound of the DAC and the last the value
■ Technics SU-R1000 62|—|61 90
■ Rotel MICHI X5 60|—|61 88
■ MusicalFidelityM8Xi 59|—|60 88
■ Luxman L-507Z 62 89 (no DAC)
I also looked at this Esoteric F-05; no improvement
I would like to know what other integrated amplifiers did you audition before choosing the Technics SU-R1000?
Did the dealer give you a 20% discount (because that is what my local dealer is offering me but ONLY if he drop ships it to me meaning a blind buy). It now retails for 10K so my price $8,000 USD
We also own the Marantz SA 14S1 SACD/CD player and I would like to replace it with the Technics SL-G700M2. I am thinking they woud pair well together.
Although we are content with both Marantz pieces we are seeking more oooomph in the presentation.
Someone wrote on Whatsbestform that the Technics SU-R1000 shut down when listening at louder levels on his ML 11 which are smaller than mine. Our Marantz at half the power never shut down.
Thank you in advance for any and all replies