[Gradofan2]

So... does anyone else... besides "DaltonLanny" prefer the Marantz SA-8001 to the Saturn and 840C?

 

[xenithon]

Have not heard either of the latter two, but I'm thrilled with the SA7001 (European equivalent of the US's SA8001 IIRC).

 

[Gradofan2]

Well... do ya???

 

[wower]

SA8001 has an improved PS compared to the SA7001 is one confirmed difference. In anycase, I think the Saturn outclasses it by several leagues. No doubt Marantz knows what their doing but I'll probably upgrade to a Saturn from my SA7001 (based on my limited demo room listening of the apollo and great saturn reviews). Thus, I consider it an upgrade. Is it a good value? That is completely subjective and for you to answer. (Note: Don't buy british kit in Japan! $$$) No comments on the CA expect that everyone and there cat has one on head-fi. You can't really get a better recommendation than that IMO.

 

[Gradofan2]

Rigth???

 

[chesebert]

why don't you do an A/B yourself?

does our opinion really matter that much?

 

[wower]

Quote:

Originally Posted by chesebert /img/forum/go_quote.gif why don't you do an A/B yourself? does our opinion really matter that much?

This is just silly. Are you having a go at us? I can immediately think of several reasons why a/b'ing isn't an option for every sitution. The reasons are so obvious that maybe you can answer them yourself? 2) With thinking like that; who needs head-fi? Just shut it down then?

 

[Uncle Erik]

I haven't heard the Saturn or the 840C, but love the SA8001.

The Saturn and the 840C are not SACD players, while the SA8001 is. If you're interested in SACD, I recommend the SA8001 without hesitation. It's a fine player. If you don't have SACDs or are not interested in building a collection, you might not want to pay for a feature you won't use.

 

[chesebert]

Quote:

Originally Posted by wower /img/forum/go_quote.gif This is just silly. Are you having a go at us? I can immediately think of several reasons why a/b'ing isn't an option for every sitution. The reasons are so obvious that maybe you can answer them yourself? 2) With thinking like that; who needs head-fi? Just shut it down then?

1) OP used 'prefer' as in personal preference, which would render any opinion wholly subjective; had the OP asked which one is the better player I might have wrote something else.

2) OP is comparing a SACD player to 2 CD players; even your comment on Saturn out-class SA8001 is not precise since you had failed to take into consideration the difference between SACD and CD (I think your assessment on the CD side is correct, but I reserve judgment on 8001 SACD vs Saturn CD)

3) Had you looked at the total number of responses to this thread, you would have realized that there is almost no one on this forum with experience in all 3 players besides the member aforementioned in OP's post; I think I gave the best advice in light of the actual circumstances.

 

[wower]

Quote:

Originally Posted by chesebert /img/forum/go_quote.gif why don't you do an A/B yourself? does our opinion really matter that much?

Sure, some of this falls on Gradofan. He's been around long enough to know that if he asks a more detailed question or narrow, he'll get better responses. But really: the above is your best advice? We compare apples to oranges all the time on this forum. That's half the fun. And as long as members have half a brain and remember the common sense limits that apply to such opinions, everything runs smoothly. I mean, to blame the OP for using the word "prefer"? That's a bit weak don't you think? Don't feel the need to answer. I guess I didn't find your above reply particularly helpful and decided to call you on it on behalf of the OP whom, despite your best effort, probably found it useless as well. I mean, just help the poor guy! I've heard your piece now and while still less than impressed I can leave it aside and not lose any sleep over it.

 

[Gradofan2]

I must admit... that I did want to elicit some informed opinion of the relative sound qualities of the respective CDPs. And... if a bit of "passionate controversy" resulted... so much the better.

I certainly understand the SA8001 offers SACD playback. That's an obvious advantage. But... I'm more interested in appraisals of relative CD playback sound quality - which was spurred by "DaltonLanny's" comments re: the SA8001 - suggesting the SA8001, at least equals (or nearly so) the overall performance of these other CDPs.

I'm always looking for "bargains / values." It seems like the SA8001 could be one. But... there is almost no review information / commentary on it... anywhere... particularly, compared to other leading CDPs.

 

[mrarroyo]

Gradofan2, you have some very nice DAC's. Instead of buying a mid grade cdp why don't you buy a cheap dvp (say an Oppo 981) and feed the digital out to one of your nice DAC's.

 

[SACD-Man]

Agree...

Quote:

Originally Posted by Uncle Erik /img/forum/go_quote.gif I haven't heard the Saturn or the 840C, but love the SA8001. The Saturn and the 840C are not SACD players, while the SA8001 is. If you're interested in SACD, I recommend the SA8001 without hesitation. It's a fine player. If you don't have SACDs or are not interested in building a collection, you might not want to pay for a feature you won't use.

 

[Gradofan2]

I got off on this tangent... because... I thought one of the better CDPs might match with the X-CAN v8 better, than the 5 sources I tried with it.

As you may have seen in my comments re: that amp... it is great with the D5000s as well as my other phones, but the volume of my unit was low. I thought that might be the result of two low of output from my sources... and... that the output from the SA8001 might be higher. Though... I really doubt that it is any greater than any of my other sources - which are all about 2 to 3 volts.

While I was researching these CDPs... I became interested in some of the comments I'd seen about the SA8001.

So... it's not that I'm not pleased with my DACs... it's that I must find a better amp to drive the D5000s, and a CDP that mates well with it. And... I thought I might experiment with some SACDs.

That is... if... I decide to keep the D5000s.

 

[ctemkin]

It happens that I own both a Rega Saturn and a Marantz SA8001. I got the Rega Saturn first, having read excellent reviews of it in the trade media and on Head-Fi, and it sounded better to me than the unit it replaced, a Cambridge Audio 640 v2, though not a day-and-night difference. I got the SA8001 later, having again read excellent reviews in the trade media and on Head-Fi, and wanting to be able to play SACDs. (In each case, after my purchase there seemed to be a lot of Head-Fi postings suggesting that there were better units out there or, in the case of the SA8001, suggesting that there is no difference between SACDs and CDs; I guess that is the way it always is.)

FWIW, and this is obviously dependent on the other components in my system and on my own middle-aged ears, I hear little difference between the two units when playing CDs. I hate spending time on A/B comparisons, since I would rather just listen to music, but, spurred on by this posting, this afternoon I compared Santana's Black Magic Woman, the first movement of the Tchaikivsky violin concerto (Perlman; the Philadelphia Orchestra), and the first movement of Mozart's piano concerto No. 20 (Curzon; English Chamber Orchestra). The music all sounded the same to me on both units.

I should also point out that I believe that both are excellent. I hear incredible resolution, and the instruments sound to me like live music.

YMMV.