So now a little less than a month with it. Definitely the best disc playback I've had in-house. It gives my much more expensive LP rig a challenge in terms of lifelike timbre, ease of listening, breadth of soundstage, attack and decay, even in untangling musical information. One of the surprising things is the latter: certainly digital is known for its presentation of detail, and with the Ruby instruments, musical threads, and little details are much more evident, but importantly without being hyper detailed, or etched, giving a more emotional connection to the music. I suspect many would say its presentation is a bit "soft," but that's not the way I hear it. I hesitate to use the cliche "the backgrounds are blacker," but that's the effect. It reduces whatever gets in the way of the musician's intent. It also is impressive in the same way as a DAC, whether being fed from a WiiM Pro, or Audirvana via MacBook Air. JohnK
That's excellent! I feel the same having had the SA-KI Ruby for quite awhile now. Lately it's been a steady diet of hi-res titles from Qobuz using a WiiM Pro to stream. Guess I'm getting lazy in my old age . Enjoy!
Because it makes sense and saves money. 90% of my listening on the Ruby is hi-rez streaming. I had to buy a streamer, which effectively added $400 to the price plus $50 for a coax cable. In addition, a one-box solution avoids clocking/reclocking, which is in theory a potential source of jitter.
Another near new one for sale that some here may be interested in: SA-KI Ruby CD/SACD player with DAC *MINT
Another for sale that looks really nice for anyone that might be interested: Marantz SA-KI Ruby For Sale - US Audio Mart
Another really nice looking and lightly used one for sale. Great price too: Marantz SA-KI Super Audio CD Player For Sale | Audiogon
A month later (almost) are you still streaming this much? I ask because I've recently added streaming to my options but I'm finding I still play vinyl and cds more often. What genres of music are you streaming?
Not @bgiliberti but most of my listening lately has been streaming with the SA-KI Ruby. Today was a mix of CDs, SACDs and streaming though. The WiiM Pro is great for streaming Qobuz. Listening right now to Steely Dan's Countdown To Ecstasy in 192/24... sounds excellent. I listen to blues, jazz and rock on Qobuz.
90% streaming on Qobuz. Right now, mostly classical & opera, mostly looking for good performances of symphonies and operas that I don't already own on CD. Good god, there is so much, it's amazing. With rock (mostly the old dudes and dudettes like Dylan, Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, and James Taylor) it's really the same thing, except instead of new performances, I'm looking for hi-rez versions of the CDs I already own. I'm still loving the Ruby
I think it makes a statement about the quality of the Ruby that he is so excited for others to get one.
I imagine classical and opera are not typically brickwalled masterings. It's moving the direction for me that the genre of music dictates whether I play physical media or stream. The hard rock and metal I enjoy regularly is almost all poorly mastered on streaming. And I spent years collecting the best masterings of the music I enjoy. So streaming 90% will likely never be an option for me.
I’ll never trade my 1985-1992 Keith Hardwick transfers of Maria Callas’ studio operas for the cold clinical hi rez Warner transfers of today, but they are among the exceptions. It’s a much better situation with classical than with rock. However, whoever did the James Taylor, Neil Young, and Joni Mitchell hi rez on Qobuz knew what they were doing IMO.
Funs streaming fact: I've never opened the CD drawer on my SA-10. It's connected via USB to a HiFi Rose streamer, which serves as a Roon endpoint for both Qobuz and my own CD/SACD rips.
I barely use it myself, but it's a good idea to open and close it and play it once in a while to avoid getting a set to the rubber belt and drawer gears and to keep the laser arm parts free and functional. Like you should drive a car you don't use much, as things go bad when they just sit there.
Yesterday, I ordered the Mobile Fidelity Sourcepoint 10 speakers from Music Direct. I'll be back with my impressions in about a week. Tom
Finally received my Kef R11 speakers from the recent clearance sale. Love them with my new SA-KI Ruby and matching Ruby amp. I love this SACD player! My music sounds so clear and detailed.
I've now had a little over a month with the new system, and I'm back to report in as I previously threatened. My system is now completely overhauled. It's really just three main components: Marantz PM-KI Ruby, Marantz SA-KI Ruby, and MoFi Electronics SourcePoint 10 speakers. (There are also some fancy cables connecting everything together. I do not have a turntable or tape deck.) My listening is probably 95% CDs and SACDs. The remaining 5% are rips of my favorite discs that are on a flash drive connected to the SA-KI, for when I don't feel like getting up to change the disc. As for what I listen to, it's about 75% Rock music of all kinds, 10% Folk Music, 10% Jazz, and 5% classical. By now you know about the SA-KI Ruby -- it's an amazing player that really brings out the sound in a very wonderful and musical way. Instruments sound way more real. Details that I have always heard as indistinct sound real. Right now I am listening to Moving Pictures and I am really amazed at how well rendered Neil Peart's drums are. The larger tom-toms sound like drums and not just a thud. Part of the credit for the drum sound also belongs to the MoFi speakers. (And yes, I understand how overhyped these speakers are. I have probably watched two dozen different YouTube interviews of Andrew Jones, who designed the SourcePoint 10 speakers for MoFi.) The speakers took a while to break in. In fact, in just the last few days the speakers seemed to have gotten better, especially at louder, more abrasive rock music. The sound has been increasingly natural and smooth, for lack of better terms. As for the amplifier, the Marantz PM-KI Ruby does its job quite nicely and doesn't draw attention to itself. I still have no idea how much power it has -- I guess the answer is "more power than the speakers or I need." All in all, I am extremely happy. This system gives me a sound that is a significant upgrade to my previous system. It engages me, and makes me want to play all of the discs in my collection. I may eventually add a Blu-Ray player for the discs that the SA-KI cannot play, but that's all that I can think of... That's about it, Tom
Thanks for your perspective on your gear! Congrats on your happiness! Ruby is rated at 100 wpc. I’ve read it’s been tested and found closer to 140-150 wpc. It’s a nice amp indeed!
Word! CDPs do sound a lot different and much much better now than back in the 80s. And I was fooled at the advent of the CDP back in the day and I did sell all my records. But nothing will ever make me sell my records again. Ain’t going to happen.
No, you weren't fooled. Many of the early CDs sounded better and more natural to me than carelessly pressed LPs of that era. Otherwise, millions of us wouldn't have sold our LPs. CDs got much worse after about 1995 when digital tools, no noise, compression, and loudness wars took over. Boutique products, whether CD or the vast majority of vinyl pressed today will always sound better than mass market. But look at the prices. Many of those late 80s CDs were cheap and still sound great today because they didn't mess with them like they do today.
