Marantz SA8001 Super Audio CD player

[ozzman]

I asked my dealer that i wanted a highend CD player so i wouldn't use my Blu-ray player .I told him i wanted high end sound out out of my CDs

We were looking at The yamaha CD-700 and he introduced me to the Marantaz player he told me this was a very good highend player.He also pointed out that the power transformer was Toroidal (i guess this is Good)
When i took it home i reallized that Super audio was a feature that i would have to go out and buy these cdS.News to me.Are there a lot of these Cd's out there

Without this feature how do you think you would rate this player for just play back of standard discs.
I really don't know what i have just bought.I wanted a highend CD player.How would you boys rate it spec wise,Do you think i made a good decision?? I have a week if i want to exchange it for the Yamaha

Please help me understand what makes a good player from a bad one

http://us.marantz.com/Products/1644.asp

http://us.marantz.com/Products/1644.asp

http://www.yamaha.com/yec/products/p...ETYP=ATTRIBUTE

[Big Daddy]

Ozzman,

You need to check yourself in the closest emrgency room as your Upgraditis virus is acting up. I am on the next flight to Canada. Get your guest room ready.

The Marantz is an excellent player. If you are not familiar with SACD, buy a few discs. Start with Dark Side of the Moon Hybrid SACD. The hybrids also play in your car CD players. Go to A Guide to SACD thread. There are plenty of links there.

I may have to move your post from Audio Theory section to Blu-ray and High Quality Music section.

[Big Daddy]

I was under the impression that the Marantz 8001 was out of production. The biggest disadvantage with it is that it is two channel. However, the quality is very high. I believe Stereophile magazine had it in their class A recommendations.

[sokrman14]

SACD is darn good sound, although if bluray 3.0 comes through, it may become more obselete than it already is. There are quite a few SACD's available, and bigdaddy recommended a good one to start out with. As far as Toroidal power transformers go they are really recommended in high end audio because they produce less of an EM field, which means less "dirty noise" and distortion injected into your cables, amp and eventually to the speakers. This is a very important aspect that sets high end equipment apart from standard equipment. They are also smaller for the same power output, which means they can put larger toroidal power supplies in and get more power to your unit which makes it more efficient.

[ozzman]

Originally Posted by Big Daddy

I was under the impression that the Marantz 8001 was out of production. The biggest disadvantage with it is that it is two channel. However, the quality is very high. I believe Stereophile magazine had it in their class A recommendations.

This might sound silly but can you burn these Discs and is the Yamaha as good as the Marantz (in your opinion) and is the yamaha player that i gave link to ,2 channel as well

I will tell you playing CDs on it sounds great.Belive it or not i hear things in songs ive never noticed before is that normal or is that just in my head

[sokrman14]

You could always wait a little longer and get a great Denon, Pioneer elite or even Arcam bluray player that will play SACD also. With Denon coming out with a high end player like this, I assume Marantz will also.

[sokrman14]

Originally Posted by ozzman

This might sound silly but can you burn these disk and is the Yamaha as good as the Marantz (in your opinion) and is the yamaha player that i gave link to ,2 channel as well

The Marantz is definitely better than the yamaha. Both will do 2-channel, but the marantz is strictly designed as a two channel player. There is only 2-channel analog outputs on it, in addition to fiberoptic. But if you are using it for SACD, you can only use the 2-channel output anyways.

[ozzman]

Originally Posted by sokrman14

You could always wait a little longer and get a great Denon, Pioneer elite or even Arcam bluray player that will play SACD also. With Denon coming out with a high end player like this, I assume Marantz will also.

I already bought a Yamaha BD- S2900

[ozzman]

Is it true that SACD is on it`s way out.Sound i worry about this.I feel like my CD`s are being upconverted is this a fact

[sokrman14]

It has been around for a while, but it never really gained ground (there was a competing format called DVD-audio, neither made it big). True audiophiles in a digital world need to turn to it, but compared to vinyl (records) it still isn't quite as good. With the emergence of bluray, there is talk of a bluray 3.0 spec for just audio. This would be at least as good as SACD, probably better, I havent actually looked at the specs. But it would be either uncompressed audio or audio be able to utilize DTSHD and DolbyTrueHD. Again I havent checked the specs, because it hasn't been released yet. But that may be the future of high end audio.

[ozzman]

Originally Posted by sokrman14

It has been around for a while, but it never really gained ground (there was a competing format called DVD-audio, neither made it big). True audiophiles in a digital world need to turn to it, but compared to vinyl (records) it still isn't quite as good. With the emergence of bluray, there is talk of a bluray 3.0 spec for just audio. This would be at least as good as SACD, probably better, I havent actually looked at the specs. But it would be either uncompressed audio or audio be able to utilize DTSHD and DolbyTrueHD. Again I havent checked the specs, because it hasn't been released yet. But that may be the future of high end audio.

To answer my Question does my player up-convert my CDs.I know this might sound silly to you but my CDs sound a lot better,Why do you think this is

[Big Daddy]

There are close to 6,000 titles available in SACD. I don't believe it will go away. Marantz player is better than the Yamaha.

Detailed Review of Marantz 8001:
http://www.stereophile.com/budgetcom...mar/index.html

Check the Marantz-SA8003 player. It is about the same price:
http://store.audioholics.com/product...FQomgwodAE1ZmQ

Other Useful Sites:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/archi.../t-692300.html
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/archi...php/f-153.html
http://www.audioholics.com/buying-gu...s-buying-guide
http://www.mastersonaudio.com/tips/20030401.htm
http://www.amazon.com/review/product...owViewpoints=1

[sokrman14]

It wont upconvert them, but it will get the most out of your CD's as it possibly can. Audio and Video are different things, audio can't really be upconverted. The better equipment just does a better job of getting the most out of them and keeping less distortion/interference from getting into your system. There are tons of titles on SACD, so don't be afraid of getting one, but it just never hit mainstream like they hoped. They though bluray would be similar, just be a niche, but we are proving that wrong.

[ozzman]

Originally Posted by Big Daddy

There are close to 6,000 titles available in SACD. I don't believe it will go away. Marantz player is better than the Yamaha.

Detailed Review of Marantz 8001:
http://www.stereophile.com/budgetcom...mar/index.html

Check the Marantz-SA8003 player. It is about the same price:
http://store.audioholics.com/product...FQomgwodAE1ZmQ

Other Useful Sites:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/archi.../t-692300.html
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/archi...php/f-153.html
http://www.audioholics.com/buying-gu...s-buying-guide
http://www.mastersonaudio.com/tips/20030401.htm
http://www.amazon.com/review/product...owViewpoints=1

Thank you and thank you

Bigdaddy is it in my head that ny Cds sound better with thi Marantz player

[Big Daddy]

Originally Posted by ozzman

This might sound silly but can you burn these Discs?

You can burn the CD track if it is not copy protected. You cannot burn SACD discs. It is illegal and there are no blanks or equipment that you can buy.

[ozzman]

Originally Posted by Big Daddy

You can burn the CD track if it is not copy protected. You cannot burn SACD discs. It is illegal and there are no blanks or equipment that you can buy.

Well i guess i can`t have it all.Bigdaddy do you own a unit

I hope i can buy these Cd disc over ebay.That would be nice

[sokrman14]

Originally Posted by ozzman

Thank you and thank you

Bigdaddy is it in my head that ny Cds sound better with thi Marantz player

I know this was directed to big daddy, but it definitely wasn't in your head that your CD's sounded better with the Marantz player. They really should sound better, or else there would be no purpose of Marantz being able to charge this much for CD players.

[ozzman]

Originally Posted by sokrman14

I know this was directed to big daddy, but it definitely wasn't in your head that your CD's sounded better with the Marantz player. They really should sound better, or else there would be no purpose of Marantz being able to charge this much for CD players.

Thank you i thought i was going crazy for the love of my new player

[Big Daddy]

Originally Posted by ozzman

Well i guess i can`t have it all.Bigdaddy do you own a unit

I own a Carver Hybrid tube CD player, a Rotel CD player, a Nad Cd player, and a Philips dual deck CD recorder. I also own a Denon and an Oppo DVD/CD/SACD players, and at least 6 or 7 DVD/CD players and a couple of CD/DVD recorders. Please don't tell me that I am crazy. I already know that.

[Big Daddy]

Originally Posted by ozzman

Bigdaddy is it in my head that ny Cds sound better with thi Marantz player

As sokrman14 said, it is not all in your head, but remember that we all need justifications to shell out some money and justify it to our wives. This is all part of the WAF factor.