CDP upgrade: Marantz SA8005 or Arcam CDS27?

If multiple disc formats are important to you, including DVD-A, and HDCD then your looking at one I'm afraid. If you just want SACD then that's different. If you want DSD without a PCM conversion, then you've no choice but a universal player.

Sure, you can use a DAC to handle streaming and DSD files but the options for disc based are more limited depending on what you're looking for.

 

Are all Arcam equipments made in the UK?

 

AFAIK yes, they're still made here. One of the bonuses for me having both an Arcam amp and CD player is that all Arcam equipment has detatchable mains leads; I bought a new mains lead for each and they really made a difference. The amp has been switched on for eighteen years now, so they're certainly made to last.

 

Thanks. I do not care for bargain basement deals. One always gets what he paid for. I am willing to pay more upfront since I get no pleasure to shop for new equipments every two or three years ...

 

i have the sa8005 and it sounds clear, smooth and extremely lively / dynamic. but i wish it remembered where it was playing if i shut down before the cd is finished.
i would probably get the oppo 105 if i were buying today, it remembers where it left off and is used at all the audio shows as a cd source so sq must be right up there with the best

 

Isn't Oppo pretty much a universal player?

 

When I was at the recent audio show here in town I snuck a peak at the back of most of the Arcam gear.
A lot of it is now made offshore, China and/or Taiwan.
Interestingly some of the newer models, higher end amps, are built in Rochester NY

 

No, not these days. I've seen the tell tale words 'Made in PRC' on the back of one or two bits of equipment (CD17 etc, etc) but this shouldn't necessarily render it unworthy of consideration.

 

Yes.....but!

It might be more relevant to compare the Oppo with another Sabre DAC source? My Cambridge has the same DAC as my AVI player. Differences are very very minimal. Multi format isn't an issue.

 

Thanks for all the replies, although I'm still no clearer what to go for. I don't think I can bring myself to spend an extra £200 or so for an Oppo for features I won't use, so I'm leaning towards the Marantz for the DSD/SACD. For now I can play my 24/192 files from my Fiio X3, so will probably look for a streaming option in the near future when my collection gets too big for that.

 

I trust the build quality of equipments made in Taiwan. Parasound pretty much makes all its equipments there and their amps also have a ten-year warranty. I doubt any manufacturers will offer a ten-year warranty for amplifiers made in China.

 

I read somewhere some of the earlier Oppo players have pretty noisy mechanism ...

 

I recently purchased a Marantz 8005 SACD pl;ayer and had to return it because it wasn`t reading discs and when it did there were stoppages in playback at times. The store exchanged the player immediately (I purchased on-line) for another Marantz 8005 which was OK until I put a George Harrison CD (Cloud 9 from the Dark Horse Years Box) on to play. The Marantz would not read the disc, I tried the same disc in the other CD players around the house, it played OK. The dealer collected the Marantz the next day along with the CD. I contacted the Dealer today, the CD would not play in any of the Marntz 8005 players in the store but played in the other CD players they had. I spoke with the dealer and informed him I had no faith in the Marantz 8005, prior to this I had researched SACD players and as a few have already mentioned the Arcam CDS27 was my next choice but the price was a little more (£200) than I was prepared to pay. I managed to get £80 knocked off and await delivery of the Arcam. I previously had an Arcam 7SE for 25 years which was a great player for all those years. The dealer is Peter Tyson from Carlisle in the UK - highly recommended.

 

The Marantz 8005 is supposed to be made in Japan and has been on my shopping list. Is Arcam still British-made and what is its long-term ownership record? I expect to be getting an SACD player as well at some point, though I am using a Yamaha universal player at this point. I bought my Rega Planet 2000 about ten years ago and have been very happy with it. I will go for a Rega SACD player in a heartbeat. Unfortunately, Rega has some philosophical disdain for the SACD format ...

 

Marantz please...

 

Says Made in PRC on the back of the Arcam.
richierichie did well getting the Arcam for only £120 more.
Here in Canada the Arcam costs considerably more than the Marantz, making the former a hard sell in my mind

 

If it is made in PRC, it should sell for considerably less since Marantz 8005 is made in Japan ...

Thanks for providing that info.

 

It could be some defect on the CD itself. I listen almost exclusively to classical music, which usually has much better QC than music of other genre ...

 

strange. did you try to polish it with (I use) car scratch remover, strokes from the center outward.
my '05 has played everything, even my first cds from over 30 years ago.

 

I have a SA8003 and love it.

 

If the SA8005 has the same tray loading and UI as the UD7007, then I'd bypass it. I found it beyond frustrating in the end and 7007 went after a year. The 752BD I replaced it with leaves it standing. If this is the case with the SA8005, Marantz has fumbled the ball.

 

There is a thread dedicated to the SA8005 and when I first got mine earlier this year I posted about being dissatisfied with the quality of the tray and transport! I seemed to be the only person that felt this way. To me the tray feels a little flimsy and it takes a longer time to read discs than any other player I've owned. In fact just last week I went to play the remastered Grateful Dead American Beauty Rhino cd and the Marantz refused to read the disc! I put it in my TEAC player and it read instantly as always. I noticed that this disc had a really long playing time of I think just a couple of seconds under 80 minutes, and I assumed this had something to do with the Marantz being unable to read it. It annoyed me to say the least.

 

I had similar issues with the 7007. At the cost of both of these machines that should not be happening.

 

I bought the SA8005 two weeks ago and am loving it so far. The SQ jump on cds from my previous player is astonishing. I've had one cd it didnt like playing (& jumped a lot) which was Patsy Cline 'Golden Greats'. It did have some marks on it, and I've since gotten another copy from Amazon which plays fine.

 

I am skeptical the Arcam can outperform the Marantz SA 8005 and the latter also has a 3-year warranty and made in Japan. I have never owned any Japanese-made audio equipments that do not last for years ...