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Breakin of Marantz SA8260 SACD player

I just took delivery this past Wednesday of the Marantz 8260 player for use in my dedicated 2-channel music system which consists of Maggie 3.5s, ARC LS-3B preamp, Bryston 4B-SST power amp,Grado PH-1 phono preamp and Linn Axis table. How long does it take to break in this player and is there any advantage to leaving it on all the time, so that the DACs stay warmed-up? This player sounds a little louder than the DEnon 2910 I was using. I checked the output specs and found that the Marantz is 2.2v while the Denon is 2v. Should this produce an audible difference in loudness, assuming the preamp is set at the same level?
What's everyone's opinion of this unit? Stereophile rates it Class A, but the review that rating stems from isn't what I'd call a full-fledged review. Thanks.
william_moore
audphile1's avatar
audphile1
4,348 posts
 
If you read Stereophile recommended components, they mention in the beginning of the CD player section that all SACD and DVD-A players are recommended based on their ability to play their respected media, not the redbook cd. So, as far as redbook performance of SA8260...yes it's pretty good, but personally, I wouldn't give it a class A for it. Just my opinion.
jimmy2615
414 posts
 
Agree with Audphile1 generally about the class 'A' designation (I had the 8260 for about a year now and have and have had much more expensive CD/SACD players as well). But additionally I think it is important to note that it is a great player, and to get better sound you really have to go well up the spectrum in price.
mikesinger
572 posts
 
imo, the marantz is "class a" @ $1000..there are also class a at $2k,$3k, $4k,$5k,$6k..

the unit does really good when isloated and a upgraded power cord (audience makes a really good power cord)..
audphile1's avatar
audphile1
4,348 posts
 
Mike, what do you mean it's class "a" @ $1000?
milpai's avatar
milpai
2,323 posts
 
I believe Mike was trying to stress that at that price point it is the king - no other CD/SACD player comes close to it's sound quality in it's class. I have personally compared to CD only players costing upto $2500 and it would be very very difficult to justify the $1500 price difference.

I personally don't look at Stereophile's rating to make my buying decision. But this player is damn so good that despite some of it's known flaws, I luv it. I will have to spend a lot more to get an SACD player 1 notch up.
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