The Marantz SACD 30n is an excellent machine, you can't go wrong with purchasing one and I'm sure it is a much better sounding player than the SA 8005 with SACDs and CDs.
I use Pangea AC-14 power cables for everything because they fit nicely without an wiggle room like most stock cables (which I leave in the box and never use). The Pangea fits snugly in my Rotel RA-1572 and my Rotel CD 11 Tribute.
. Oh Believe Me Henry, I am too. But like I told ssmith, I haven't gotten the Synergy with the A14 amp in the bass end yet, and it's been on 24/7 for about 4 weeks now, with me turning it off only once to let it sleep and cool down to exercise the caps and innards. The Humble 125 w/ch Emotiva amp I've been using, and it's been THE BEST amp with the Mirage's bar none, well that thing came with a massive 12 gauge power cord. The PC again on the Rotel is 16 guage at best and it's just plain cheap crap. The beefier gauge power cord, on the amp will just allow more current to flow easily to the amp. Now whether that changes anything in the sound, I don't know, But I DO know that the cord Rotel supplied is way too small gauge wise. and it doesn't fit tight. So we'll see. I'm very honest about my gear, I have never been able to 'fool' myself into placebo stuff. And the cords were expensive, to me, $40 for the Pangea and $20 for the other one. Overall though, it is our hobby and it can't hurt. And if my theory of current is correct, then the amp SHOULD perform 'easier' than trying to suck current out of the wall with a small gauged cord. And if that doesn't give me the synergy I had with the Sherbourn/Emotiva pair, I'll use the "Pre Out' on the A14 to go where........ Right back to the Emotiva amp!! And then I've got the best of EVERYTHING!!! And all this at a budget price!!! I'm like a kid in a candy store. Happy Friday You All!!!! Beave
Excellent! I'm looking forward to getting them on Saturday. I've known about the Pangea for some time but haven't needed them until now. So hopefully this weekend I'll be having me some stereo fun. Thanks for sharing, I appreciate it. Beave
I get using a better power cord with the amp, that makes sense.. Eh, not so much on the CD. But I always try to keep an open mind. Question....what pre amp were you using with the Emotiva?
I am not a believer in power cords either. Tried one of the Pangea cords on my old CD player and heard no difference. My Belles amp came with a pretty thick cord that is good enough for me. Also I use the ZeroSurge Filter/Surge protector which is non current limiting.
Thanks for the feedback. I am leaning towards the Denon DCD-A110 over the Marantz 30n only because the Marantz is loaded with features I don't want or need such as streaming. I only listen to SACDs and CDs. The Denon is geared only towards disc playback which appeals to me, plus I prefer its looks to the Marantz.
I'd love to try the Denon DCD-A110 but it is a little out of my price range for this round of upgrades. It is nice that the Denon DCD-A110 is not a streamer/dac etc. since that probably will allow it to actually load cds/sacds faster than the 30n, because the 30n load times are glacially slow when compared to any other CD player I own.
Sherbourn PRE-1. Which basically was a company like Emotiva that focused on custom home installation. Incredible pre amp, mated perfectly with the Emotiva UPA 200, which was their bottom of the line amp, but it has just slaughtered the Mirages in a way no other amp could. Really insane how sometimes the cheaper gear hits it on all cylinders. Funny thing I just saw right now, I decided to use, until I get my cables, the Emotiva power cord on the A14 and guess what? Even tough it’s so beefy I thought it was 12 gauge, it’s actually 18 gauge!!! F me! So, I don’t know what to think at this point but I’m gonna have fun futzing around with this. Shows you what I know...... But again, there’s a possibility that the A14’s amp does not synergizes well with the Mirages, in which case I’ll go back to the Emotiva amp using the A14 as a pre amp. All good. Beave
Good point. My Arcam SACD/CD/STREAMING player was a pos in actual use. I emailed Arcam many times and they were VERY British Snotty with me. So I told them that’s the last time I buy their product. Their response, was none. Compare that with Denefrips whose chief engineer and owner re plies almost immediately on this site. Speaks volumes. Beave
Yeah my Arcam CD73 was a good piece of equipment and sold it happily after getting many good years. The CD11 Tribute slaughters it. But at one point Arcam made really good stuff. Not anymore it seems.
It’s just that they didn’t listen to me, and in this day and age that’s business suicide. If they would have just listened to my issues, and addressed them they would have a 5 star product. But that deck was FULL OF quirks. Full of them. So I moved on. The Tribute11 on the other hand, you can tell it’s extremely well thought out and engineered. Big difference. Beave
Well guys, it’s very interesting where life takes us isn’t it? Last night I pushed the A14 amp hard, trying to get some synergy, but it shut down instead cranking JohnnyA’s Get Inside in the Tribute11. Damn........... I really wanted this integrated to work because it’s so well thought out. So, after my initial “pack it up and sell it” thought, I had a shot of Jimidor , I decided to re configure the 14 to act as a pure ore amp, no speakers attached, speakers a and b turned off and put the Emotiva 200 back in line. As Jagger says in Far Away Eyes....”So I Did”. When the Rotel powered back up its tone default is bass 3 treble 0. And there it was, my “speaker to the room” tuning was back. So today I’m listening to my system and the Tribute11 at mid volume and it sounds nice. So, never know how things work themselves out. And I’ve got to give it to that Emotiva, damn thing just slayed another amp! Unreal! Back to the tunes. Hope everyone is having a great Sunday. Beave
At least you had a quick remedy. I received my CD-11 last week and it is still in the box! My amp is not back from being re-capped, so I just keep looking at the box thinking. I CANT WAIT!
Hello, have you received your Rotel Tribute CD player yet? I am still anxious to hear how it compares to the Marantz 30n for regular CD playback sound quality.
Yes, I received my Rotel CD 11 Tribute player and I've had some time to evaluate its performance. In typical operation as a CD player the Rotel CD 11 Tribute versus the Marantz SACD 30n there is a vast difference in loading and tray open/close times. The Rotel CD 11 Tribute is so much faster! However, it is noisy when spinning a CD while the Marantz SACD 30n is very quiet. I can hear the Rotel CD 11 Tribute from 7 feet away during very quiet passages unlike the Marantz SACD 30n. Lastly my Marantz ND 8006 is also quieter than the Rotel CD 11 Tribute when a CD is spinning. When it comes to CD playback the Rotel CD 11 Tribute offers a very dynamic and less laid-back quality that is apparent across every type of music I played. It is very smooth and quite enjoyable and I would say that it is indeed a great CD player that easily exceeds my Marantz CD 6004 easily and is more comparable to my Marantz ND 8006. Although it does not quite match the Marantz ND 8006 in transparency, sound stage depth or overall resolution it does allow me to enjoy every recording without putting too much focus on the actual recordings quality (or lack thereof). Yes, the Rotel CD 11 Tribute does scale with well recorded source material, but it does not reveal the fine micro details that the Marantz ND 8006 does when it is used to play back the same material. It was easy to come to the conclusion that the Rotel CD 11 Tribute to the Marantz SACD 30n is not a fair comparison. With CD playback the Marantz SACD 30n offers excellent detail, depth control and dynamic scale. Music is effortless and extremely enjoyable with the Marantz SACD 30n and is presented with a naturally palpable realism that the Rotel CD 11 Tribute cannot match. The Rotel CD 11 Tribute while dynamic does not have the transient attack in its bass nor is its bass as accurate as the Marantz SACD 30n. The Rotel CD 11 Tribute also does not have the level of refinement in the upper midrange or treble regions that the Marantz SACD 30n does and this is easily heard with cymbals which can be grainy and sound unrefined at times rather than having a natural metallic shimmer. I didn't have any listener fatigue with the Rotel CD 11 Tribute in my system and I do value that fact (as I'm sure many others will appreciate). I will certainly be keeping the Marantz SACD 30n in my system because it simply allows me to enjoy a very refined presentation with my room, music and equipment. Initially I thought that the Rotel CD 11 Tribute would be a better match for the Marantz SACD 30n and while it is enjoyable and an excellent value for an entry level CD player, should one really expect it to compare to a player like the Marantz SACD 30n? I do enjoy the Rotel CD 11 Tribute's presentation that puts musical enjoyment first and that maybe what a potential purchaser may really desire since it does hide some details while still creating a very enjoyable experience that can last for hours and hours without any fatigue. The only real problem for me is that my Rotel CD 11 Tribute started to malfunction and had to be returned and I've decided to move on to something else or just living with the slow loading (but vastly superior audio quality) Marantz SACD 30n.
Crutchfield has a black Tribute11 in its scratch and dent with full warranty for $530. Good deal? Here: Rotel CD11 Tribute (Black) Single-disc CD player at Crutchfield Beave
Thank you for the detailed review PT! Very honest and in your system the Marantz fits better, and to be expected seeing that it more than 4X’s the price of the Tribute11. But I also think you got a semi defective unit as my 2 Tribute11’s are TOTALLY silent during playback of any disc. If there was a trait there I would have heard it with both my units, but again, you got to do a shootout on your gear and came out with a clear choice. So love that Marantz! Beave
And to expound further on Paper Tigers review I would like to address a couple of things, namely Synergy and Expectations. PT obviously is into what I call Ultra Detail. And a lot of people are looking for that quality, I’ve been down that road many times and found that for ME, I’m not a fan of that kind of sound. To me, it’s just too much, but that’s just my preference. That’s why I went back to the Philips ladder dac’s of old and that led me to the Tribute11 because it shares a lot of the qualities that the Philips TDA1541 S1 Crown has. To my ears it’s musical AND detailed, but to my ears. Others might think it’s not detailed enough, but again we’re all looking for what our ears like to hear. And PT is right. His Marantz costs over 4X what the Tribute11 sells for. So I would Expect them to sound different, not better, but Different. If they didn’t then the Marantz would be overpriced. But again, my experience with the Tribute11 is very different than PT’s. In my system I have detail up the butt, clarity and analog like musicality. But I enjoy reading other’s experiences, it helps others in deciding what to try out. Now maybe if PT can go get a Starbucks Quad and put it on top of his player, it would load faster!! Beave
I’ve never enjoyed the Marantz sound with CD or SACD, but I can see why many do. They are very good players that just don’t suit me. I had a Rotel RCD 971 back in the day...actually it replaced a less expensive Marantz. A friend of mine who owned a local HiFi store did a nice mod on the Rotel. I had that player for better than a decade. My last Marantz player I gave to my ex wife with a Rega Brio-R and B&W 685 speakers.
Thank you for the detailed report! In comparing the two Marantz players, would you say the 30n is a definite upgrade over the 8006 for CD playback?
I feel like I got very lucky with the Marantz SACD 30n, its just a perfect synergistic fit with my system/room/taste. I really liked the Rotel CD 11 Tribute and I would have kept it if it wasn't for the mechanical failure, I'm not sure if that issue had any bearing on its sound quality but I will admit that I did enjoy it very much and if I couldn't have the Marantz SACD 30n in my system I would be satisfied with the Rotel CD 11 Tribute.
I absolutely hated my Marantz CD 6004, but at the time I couldn't upgrade to anything else due to budgetary constraints. I don't find the ND 8006 to be to my taste even though it sounds much better than anything I got from the CD 6004 and I'd take the Rotel CD 11 Tribute over both of them simply because it sounds so much more enjoyable. However the Marantz SACD 30n doesn't sound like any of the other Marantz players in my system and I'm really enjoying it. I will more than likely try another Rotel at some point although I'm not sure which one.
The SACD 30n is much more engaging and enjoyable than the 8006, it allows an emotional connection to the music that the 8006 lacks in my system. The 8006 also isn't as dynamic and the midrange is not full and rich nor as detailed as the SACD 30n with CD playback.
