Post by monotone November 14, 2004 (1 of 8)
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Am thinking of getting a stand alone SACD player without any Visual electronics to it... is the Marantz SA17-S1 any good ?
I have the SA12-S1... which had issues with my Chord 64DAC... looking to have a designated SACD player & a DVD player... any suggestions?
Cheers!
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Post by Marc P November 15, 2004 (2 of 8)
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monotone said:
Am thinking of getting a stand alone SACD player without any Visual electronics to it... is the Marantz SA17-S1 any good ?
I have the SA12-S1... which had issues with my Chord 64DAC... looking to have a designated SACD player & a DVD player... any suggestions?
Cheers!
I auditioned the SA17s1 but because I don't want MCH I decided to wait for the SA11s1. After hearing the SA11s1 I decided to buy it, I got mine last friday. Out of the box the SA11s1 doesn't sound any better than a burned in SA17s1 but give it some time and you'll find it's a more refined player.
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Marc P said:
I auditioned the SA17s1 but because I don't want MCH I decided to wait for the SA11s1. After hearing the SA11s1 I decided to buy it, I got mine last friday. Out of the box the SA11s1 doesn't sound any better than a burned in SA17s1 but give it some time and you'll find it's a more refined player.
Maybe, but not at 2 times the price of a SA17S1. I like mine and see no reason to pay twice price for it. The SA17S1 is a refined, warm player (not as bright as the Sony multichannels), but very well made for a multichannel. It is built well and the discrete outputs are nicely arrayed on the back panel (another reason I decided not to buy the Sony). For the price, a great player.
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Post by Marc P November 16, 2004 (4 of 8)
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flyingdutchman said:
Maybe, but not at 2 times the price of a SA17S1. I like mine and see no reason to pay twice price for it. The SA17S1 is a refined, warm player (not as bright as the Sony multichannels), but very well made for a multichannel. It is built well and the discrete outputs are nicely arrayed on the back panel (another reason I decided not to buy the Sony). For the price, a great player.
But it's far from twice the price.
I payed €3000,- for the SA11s1, as far as I know the going rate for the SA17s1 is €2500,-. Though it can be picked up cheaper used. But even then the cheapest I have found it was €1650,-
And sure the SA17s1 is a great player, but I still feel more than happy with the fact I waited and decided to go for the SA11. The extra €500,- is well worth it.
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Post by cafepeng November 17, 2004 (5 of 8)
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I auditioned the SA17-S1 for a few days and was dissappointed with what I heard. This was my introduction to SACD and I was more than prepared to be stunned by the experience, so perhaps my expectations were too high. (We tend to underestimate just how subjective the appraisal of audio equipment is.) Anyway, it did not seem to approach the sonic quality of my CD player signal run through my Tri-Vista DAC. Maybe I have cloth ears, or maybe I did not allow sufficient time to appreciate the subtle differences, or maybe it was an unfair test (Marantz processed DSD versus Musical Fidelity tube DAC-processed PCM). I could not really detect a substantial difference between the CD layer and the SACD layer played through the Marantz either (i.e. using no external DAC. The Marantz sounded bright and fatiguing. These are just my impressions, for what they are worth.
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Post by monotone November 17, 2004 (6 of 8)
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Thanks everyone...
I've got hold of the SA17-S1... I think its definitely an improvement from the SA12-S1 SACD/DVD player... soundstage seems wider and the details r much more prominent. Am very happy with it, as I actually enjoy Multi Channel music.
The SA17-S1 runs with my Chord64 DAC beautifully.
Cafepeng... I first tested SACD and came out disappointed cos, with all the hype... we actually expected to hear a whole lot of differences. But after repeated listenings... u actually appreciate the refinements of the recordings on SACD... of cos there r poor SACD recordings around. SACD gives a more natural finish like vinyl does. As for multichannel... it's a entire different story... it could be more 3 dimensional or simply an entire different way of listening to music.
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Post by cafepeng November 18, 2004 (7 of 8)
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The SA17-S1 runs with my Chord64 DAC beautifully.
How do you get the DSD signal from the player into your Chord64 for processing, or do you just use the Chord64 to process the PCM output from the Marantz.
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Post by monotone November 18, 2004 (8 of 8)
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cafepeng said:
How do you get the DSD signal from the player into your Chord64 for processing, or do you just use the Chord64 to process the PCM output from the Marantz.
DSD/SACD recordings will be played directly with the SA17-S1 6CH output by my amp... the Chord64 is purely used for redbook only (using the toslink/coaxialdigital output).
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