Good SACD Players under 3K

Discussion in 'Audio Hardware' started by russk, Feb 13, 2020.

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  1. screener

    screener Forum Resident

    Location:
    York, Maine USA
    russk, Bill Mac and F1nut like this.
  2. F1nut

    F1nut Forum Resident

    Location:
    The Mars Hotel
    Hmmm...I looked and looked, but couldn't find anything conclusive. Anyway, 12 feet is nothing.
     
    russk likes this.
  3. ls35a

    ls35a Forum Resident

    Location:
    Eagle, Idaho
    So get a three hundred dollar Denon or Marantz cd player and feed it into a Chord.
     
  4. Bill Mac

    Bill Mac Forum Resident

    Location:
    USA
    What about SACD playback that the OP desires?
     
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  5. Olias of Sunhill

    Olias of Sunhill Forum Resident

    Location:
    Jim Creek, CO, USA
    I second this.

    A few weeks ago, I was close to picking up a Marantz SA-KI Ruby SACD player. On a lark, I instead bought an old Sony BDP-BX510 blu-ray player on eBay for $30. After 10 minutes of fiddling around, I was burning my SACD collection to DSD and streaming it to my Moon integrated amp via Roon.

    I completely understand the OP's attachment to physical media, which might make this a non-starter. But the OP already has a Roon-ready endpoint in the Node 2i, so it would be a painless and essentially free experiment.
     
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  6. ls35a

    ls35a Forum Resident

    Location:
    Eagle, Idaho
    I have lots of SACD's, was an SACD guy for a long time. The problem is that tech has not improved and DAC's have gotten a lot better. Play an SACD in a player or rip the song and listen to it through a modern DAC? I'll take option 2 every time.
     
    Khorn likes this.
  7. F1nut

    F1nut Forum Resident

    Location:
    The Mars Hotel
    Well......for example, the Marantz reference players would say otherwise.
     
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  8. Can SACD's be ripped with the Sony BDP-BX510 player? I didn't know that. Is it very difficult to rip SACD's with this player using a Windows 10 laptop?
     
  9. Olias of Sunhill

    Olias of Sunhill Forum Resident

    Location:
    Jim Creek, CO, USA
    Yes, they can, and it's very easy. You need to hook the player up to a display to change some initial settings, but after that it's the player, your laptop and a couple buttons to push. I've spent this week ripping my 50 or so Living Stereo SACDs to my NAS.

    That's enough threadjacking by me. Drop me a PM if you want and I'll send more info.
     
    Kiko1974 likes this.
  10. Litejazz53

    Litejazz53 Perfect Sound Through Crystal Clear Digital

    You should not wait another 2 seconds, as Bill Mac has a Marantz SA-10 for sale, a unit he just bought, perfect condition, and it's one of the best SACD players you could buy, for just over $3,000.00, can't beat it, buy it NOW, don't wait.

    Make Bill an offer, get it for the right price! Here is your link! This is not just any SACD player, it's top shelf, above most, just a fantastic product, don't wait!!!

    https://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threads/marantz-sa-10-cd-sacd-player.929244/
     
    russk likes this.
  11. Thank you for your reply.
    I'll look for some second hand player on eBay and I'll send you a PM.
     
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  12. russk

    russk Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Syracuse NY
    So the Marantz SA-10 slightly used or open box, Yamaha CD-S2100, or CD-S3000 slightly used or open box, Modwright upgrade to my Pioneer LX500, and the Technics SL-G700 are the top of my list.

    Any other SACD players out there that can be had for around 3K maybe 3.5K?
     
  13. TubeMon

    TubeMon Well-Known Member

    Location:
    Monterey, CA
    NONE of the stock players you are considering have the capabilities in their input and output sections that Dan Wright's mod provides. Plus you can tube roll...

    I'm 100% sure you will be more than satisfied!
     
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  14. Litejazz53

    Litejazz53 Perfect Sound Through Crystal Clear Digital

    I need to say this once more, once you purchase Bill Mac's Marantz SA-10, there will be NO LOOKING BACK. I have owned lots of CD and SACD players, many of the Sony ES pieces, BEFORE they got cheap and built there last player, the 5400. The SA-10 is strictly top shelf. Unless you just have to do multi-channel, you cannot go wrong with the Marantz player, go ahead and make your deal today, forget all the tube rolling stuff and get the balanced in and balanced out SA-10, and live life to it's fullest.
    :whistle:
     
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  15. russk

    russk Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Syracuse NY
    So after listening to Technics, the Yamaha cd-s3000, and the Marantz SA-10. Have to say that the Marantz made the best first impression, followed closely by the Technics, and the Yamaha. I’m surprised how well the Technics performed considering it’s a streamer as well.

    That Marantz though. So good that I’m going to arrange an in home audition. Never heard a disc player sound that good. I can get the SA-10 open box for a bit under 4K out the door in champagne which is the color I’d want. Before I make a decision I’m also going to try and get the Technics home for an audition.

    So this raises the question. What other CD/SACD players are out there that compete with the Marantz? Any in its list price range that can beat it?
     
    Last edited: Feb 17, 2020
  16. TarnishedEars

    TarnishedEars Forum Resident

    Location:
    The Seattle area
    You are going to have a tough time beating an SA-10 at its price-point today. If you wanted to go above its price point, there are some more complicated options which are arguably better. But you are not going to better an SA-10 for under $5k.
     
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  17. scobb

    scobb Forum Resident

    Location:
    Sydney, Australia
    Last edited: Feb 17, 2020
    lonelysea likes this.
  18. lonelysea

    lonelysea Ban Leaf Blowers

    Location:
    The Cascades
    Right, but the SA-10 does have balanced (if that’s important to the OP). I’ve never actually heard any of these aforementioned Marantz players, but I’ve only ever heard good things about them! Regarding the high end Yamaha units: they sound great, especially if running balanced with Yamaha’s corresponding amplifier, but they have a reputation for developing playback issues. I went through two 2100s and would be hard-pressed to try my luck with another one.
     
  19. Black Elk

    Black Elk Music Lover

    Location:
    Bay Area, U.S.A.
    Just take out a second mortgage and get the dCS stack and be done with it, you meanie! :winkgrin:

    The Marantz Reference series has a sound that is just on the warm side of neutral. Resolution is there in spades, but the products are easy to listen to for hours on end (no nasties!). That is a very appealing attribute.

    Better is a personal thing, especially at this level. Some alternatives you could consider, given the $7k list price of the Marantz:

    Esoteric K-05Xs - $8,500
    Esoteric K-07Xs - $7,000

    Luxman D-05u - $5,000
    Luxman D-06u - $8,500

    Mark Levinson No 5101 - $5,500

    I haven't heard the above, so can't offer an opinion, but there are some happy Esoteric owners on the forum.
     
    TarnishedEars, George P and scobb like this.
  20. Litejazz53

    Litejazz53 Perfect Sound Through Crystal Clear Digital

    Let me try and make this one so easy for you! You won't find anything to compare to the Marantz SA-10 at what you will pay, and YES that champagne color was all I wanted as well, here is mine! Get on it my friend and enjoy the music! As for the Technics, come on, go for the best, no shortcuts at this point in time for you!

    [​IMG]


    [​IMG]


    [​IMG]


    [​IMG]

    Oh, wait until you start using the DAC in this player, absolute TOP SHELF, works so beautifully with my LCD Optical as well as my HP USB, and finally my little Sony Blu-Ray player, so smooth! :edthumbs:
     
    Last edited: Feb 18, 2020
    warp2600, bruce2, russk and 1 other person like this.
  21. Morbius

    Morbius Forum Resident

    Location:
    Brookline, MA
    McIntosh has a number of CD/SACD players and transports right around the SA-10's price point which are easily competitive in addition you get McIntosh's quality and reputation. Their transports though, will only decode SACD when used with a McIntosh DAC.
     
  22. TarnishedEars

    TarnishedEars Forum Resident

    Location:
    The Seattle area
    There really are only four things to (potentially) dislike about the Marantz SA10 IMO.
    1) If it has any transport controls on its front panel, they are so-well hidden and unintuitive that operation via remote-control becomes mandatory.
    2) It is not a universal player, so you will need another transport to play your bluray disks with.
    3) I don't believe that its DAC understands the DoP protocol. So when its transport eventually dies, you wont be able to connect another universal player to it to act as a native DSD capable transport.
    4) It doesn't do multichannel at all.

    Other than that, these are wonderful players. Were I not so delighted with my direct stream DAC / Modified Oppo-transport combination, I would probably own one of these units.
     
    PhantomStranger likes this.
  23. Litejazz53

    Litejazz53 Perfect Sound Through Crystal Clear Digital

    Oh my, what's under the hoods??


    [​IMG]
    Transistor Radio??



    [​IMG] NASA !!!



    [​IMG]
     
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  24. Eigenvector

    Eigenvector Forum Resident

    Location:
    Southeast PA
    To be fair, the Marantz list price is more than twice that of the Technics. I should hope it’s a bit better built!
     
    George P likes this.
  25. TarnishedEars

    TarnishedEars Forum Resident

    Location:
    The Seattle area
    While the SA10 is indeed beautiful, both inside and out; I feel that I must point-out that the copper-looking chassis is very likely only a copper-plated chassis, rather than solid copper.
     
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