How good is the Marantz SA-7S1?

My friend has one, and he loaned it to me for a while. I’ve owned Meitner, Esoteric, Accuphase, Metronome, Goldmund, and a few other heavy hitters, and the SA-7S1 is the most complete and enjoyable player I’ve heard in my system. It may not be the absolute best at everything, but it has no serious flaws, IMO, and has an uncanny way of bringing out the best in every recording, but without sugarcoating or restricting anything. It’s quite a tricky balancing act that few players in my experience can pull off. It’s certainly not cheap, objectively speaking, but by high-end standards it’s an absolute steal. Economy of scale is a wonderful thing! :) BTW, Dr. Sardonicus got it dead-on in PFO. He nailed the essence of the player.

Hooper, do you prefer the SA-7S1 to the RAM modified X-01 you reviewed
some time ago?

Lula:

I still have my modded X-01, and love it. The SA-7S1 is a completely different machine—not quite as transparent, but as involving a player as I’ve heard. Music just seems to flow very organically and continuously, and it simply sounds “right,” in a way that a live performance does. My Esoteric does the same thing, and perhaps a bit more, but it’s also considerably more expensive.

Hooper,
Can you describe a little further the differences between your modded
X-01 and the SA-7S1? You say the latter "is a completely different machine".
Can you elaborate? Would you still have purchased the modded X-01 after
hearing the Marantz?

Lula:

When I said that the Marantz was “a completely different machine,” perhaps I misspoke. It’s a far cry presentation-wise from stock Esoterics I’ve owned or heard, but it’s rather similar to my modded X-01. Both are VERY fluid and organic, with the X-01 perhaps getting the nod in the transparency/resolution department. But the Marantz, for some strange reason, encouraged longer listening sessions. Perhaps it’s low distortion, perhaps something else, but the SA-7S1 is one of the best “music-makers” I’ve heard. You just get swallowed by the music and completely forget all the audiophile BS that most of us get so wrapped up in. In that sense, and not in an audiophile way, it’s stunningly transparent: all the typical audiophile descriptors melt away, leaving just the music.

I have absolutely no regrets buying my X-01. That said, had the Marantz been available back then, would I have gotten it instead? Hard to say for sure, but one you’ve heard it, and if you’ve listened to enough live music to know what it’s doing right, it’s awfully tough to resist. YMMV, of course.