just got my first sacd player
- Thread starter FISH_MAN
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MiTT
Super User
Marantz used to be owned by Phillips (not sure if they still are), so they know a LOT about transports and both the RedBook and SACD formats since Phillips was a co-developer of both.
Back in the day, Marantz was one of the first great American Hi-Fi manufacturers. When I was growing up it was kind of the glory days of Fisher, Scott, Marantz and McIntosh - with the latter two at the top of the heap it seemed to me. Marantz and McIntosh of course are still around. Vintage Marantz pre-amps, amps and tuners still fetch very good prices and have achieved cult status as I understand it in Japan. I've got a vintage Marantz Model 125 tuner that sounds amazing. Mine is solid state, but I've heard some of the tubed tuners and they are something special indeed.
A few years ago they seemed destined for obscurity as a lot of the products were really percieved more as "mid-fi", but of late they have been focusing much more on higher end aspirations, trying to reclaim some of their past glory (that's why I'm not sure if they're still owned by Phillips - it seems like there is a definite shift in the business plan).
Back in the day, Marantz was one of the first great American Hi-Fi manufacturers. When I was growing up it was kind of the glory days of Fisher, Scott, Marantz and McIntosh - with the latter two at the top of the heap it seemed to me. Marantz and McIntosh of course are still around. Vintage Marantz pre-amps, amps and tuners still fetch very good prices and have achieved cult status as I understand it in Japan. I've got a vintage Marantz Model 125 tuner that sounds amazing. Mine is solid state, but I've heard some of the tubed tuners and they are something special indeed.
A few years ago they seemed destined for obscurity as a lot of the products were really percieved more as "mid-fi", but of late they have been focusing much more on higher end aspirations, trying to reclaim some of their past glory (that's why I'm not sure if they're still owned by Phillips - it seems like there is a definite shift in the business plan).
RichTeer
Well-known member
Marantz is currently owned by D&M Holdings, the same guys who own Denon, McIntosh, and various other marquees.
tonepub
Senior Member
I know mitt was quoting someone else, but SACD competing with vinyl? Another instance of a mouth over a brain at the finish line?
Vinyl will be played, and new vinyl pressed long after SACD and all the other optical formats have been retired, and here's why: can you say 'broadband'?. (You have to smile just to say it) If you've been reading business reports, sales of all optical formats, including video, are sliding. And in some countries (not ours) where 20 Mg broadband is common, it's really down!
And for devoted digiphiles, not to worry. Your needs have already been addressed: http://www.hdtracks.com/index.php
No it's not an instance of a mouth over a brain, it's doing research and asking the people in the record industry that actually produce the software.
Boy your know-it-all attitude really gets tiring.
I have had numerous conversations with about ten different audiophile labels and they all have a renewed interest in SACD production. Last year, according to the RIAA, SACD sold about 600 thousand units to about 1.3 million for LP. This year, LP is predicted to sell 2 million units, but SACD is also expected to grow to about 1 million. We won't know until the numbers come in, but the excitement is there. Three or four record execs said that they felt 1 million units was the critical number to press on further.
Vinyl also had a lot more excitement in the industry when it went from about 800 thousand units to 1.3 million in a year, so we'll see what happens.
A lot will depend on how well the Blue Note series sells in SACD. If it does well, there is a chance that they will go back and revisit earlier releases. The Dead Can Dance box sets are already out of print, the initial 1500 copies have all been spoken for by distributors and only a few left for sale.
There is an SACD plant somewhere in Germany that is in the process of being taken out of mothballs because of the demand in Europe, which would bring the total amount of pressing plants up to four.
So it's not for certain yet, but every audiophile label exec I talked to has high hopes for SACD and they are putting money behind it. I also find it interesting that SONY has released a new player as well.
No real high res needs have been met with HD Tracks. The catalog is pretty obscure. They will never have any kind of sales to mention unless they get some real titles to release. Ask anyone in the record business about that.
Last but not least, the vinyl industry could come to a screeching halt sooner than you realize. There is only one guy left on Earth that rebuilds and repairs the Ortofon cutting heads that MoFi uses. There's only two guys left that rebuild the Neumanns. They are getting up in the years and aren't training replacements yet. There are only two places left on Earth that produce the lacquers that the first round of test LP's are made from, there used to be 18 or 20.
All of the guys that press vinyl are nervous about this, so let's keep our fingers crossed that the supplies don't dry up.
Again, do your homework before you make your snarkey comments.
amey01
Well-known member
I own their 8300 SACD player. It is a *VERY* well built machine. From the look of yours you can tell likewise.
Reliable too. Yes, they were owned by Philips at one stage - Phillips bought them in the early '80s so that they could have a high-end brand with which to push their new CD format. They basically rode off the name, producing garbage. I believe Phillips either sold out or realised they needed to rejuvinate the brand back in the mid '90s when some classic kit was produced such as the Project T1 amp (attached). Now I wouldn't mind one of those!
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tonepub
Senior Member
Nice amp! Is that yours? Like the retro meter, very cool....
Marantz is back with some nice gear.
Marantz is back with some nice gear.
amey01
Well-known member
Yep it's mine, it's just that I prefer the sound of the Classé........
Sorry - just wanted to see how that felt to say that.
Unfortunately, it's not mine. Really nice amp though. And I have heard it - sounds even better! It's old - was a mid-1990s design if I remember correctly.
User211
Well-known member
Yup - I remember Hi-Fi News reviewing the T1. I believe Ken Kessler waxed lyrical over it. Extremely tasty tube complement. I'll take one! Here's a quote I just found on another newsgroup:
"Yes the Marantz T1`s were transformer coupled from Input to output, Input, Inter-stage, driver and output transformers all used.
The head engineer Mr Kosaku Ueno from Marantz was give a open book to build his ultimate amplifier as his reward for his services to Marantz over the years.
65 KG per mono block, not one to lift by yourself more than once!!!
Two 845`s are used as power rectifier on the output stage and two 845 for the output power, a 5U4G rectifing primary and driver stage, 50 watts class A triode maximum 75 watts.
Incredible sound 3D soundstage you could walk into even driving B&W 802 matrix 3 effortlessly.
This amplifier provides power what feels like 150 to 225 watts of a solid state design.
Great to dry out any condensation you might have in your room so you can tell your partner (WAF) you are actually multi tasking not just sitting down listening to music.
But seriously a incredible amplifier and still rated as the best amplifiers ever made by Ken Kessler."
"Yes the Marantz T1`s were transformer coupled from Input to output, Input, Inter-stage, driver and output transformers all used.
The head engineer Mr Kosaku Ueno from Marantz was give a open book to build his ultimate amplifier as his reward for his services to Marantz over the years.
65 KG per mono block, not one to lift by yourself more than once!!!
Two 845`s are used as power rectifier on the output stage and two 845 for the output power, a 5U4G rectifing primary and driver stage, 50 watts class A triode maximum 75 watts.
Incredible sound 3D soundstage you could walk into even driving B&W 802 matrix 3 effortlessly.
This amplifier provides power what feels like 150 to 225 watts of a solid state design.
Great to dry out any condensation you might have in your room so you can tell your partner (WAF) you are actually multi tasking not just sitting down listening to music.
But seriously a incredible amplifier and still rated as the best amplifiers ever made by Ken Kessler."
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amey01
Well-known member
Maybe Jeff can review one!!??!? Hint hint.......
while you guys are tuning in
how much air space do you think this needs? the manual says quite a bit
but it really does not produce any heat I have an air gap at the top and it has tall legs that it stands on top of my mc-8 what do you guys think? I really like the way it looks there but really do not whant to cook anything
how much air space do you think this needs? the manual says quite a bit
but it really does not produce any heat I have an air gap at the top and it has tall legs that it stands on top of my mc-8 what do you guys think? I really like the way it looks there but really do not whant to cook anything
tonepub
Senior Member
the more air space the better with tube gear....
MiTT
Super User
Jeff, I think he's talking about his SACD player, which I don't believe has any tubes. I may be wrong.
Believe it or not, one of the things that limits exponentially higher sampling rates and wordlengths (as proposed by ameyo1 in a different thread) is the amount of heat generated in the circuits used for DtoA conversion. It's not dis-similar to the amount of heat generated in the core processors on all of our computers which if you open these days employ a fair amount of heat sinking and even fans, thermal exchangers or heat pipes in order to manage. I used to ride with an engineer who worked at Cirrus Logic and he told me that thermal management was the biggest barrier to higher speed DAC's.
My Esoteric player also generates a fair amount of heat FISH_MAN. Do what you can to stay within the guidelines that Marantz specifies regarding open areas around your new player.
Believe it or not, one of the things that limits exponentially higher sampling rates and wordlengths (as proposed by ameyo1 in a different thread) is the amount of heat generated in the circuits used for DtoA conversion. It's not dis-similar to the amount of heat generated in the core processors on all of our computers which if you open these days employ a fair amount of heat sinking and even fans, thermal exchangers or heat pipes in order to manage. I used to ride with an engineer who worked at Cirrus Logic and he told me that thermal management was the biggest barrier to higher speed DAC's.
My Esoteric player also generates a fair amount of heat FISH_MAN. Do what you can to stay within the guidelines that Marantz specifies regarding open areas around your new player.
Cursed1
Active member
Not to change the subject, but I would like to know if there are any ML owners that are using any of the Marantz Reference amps/preamps in their own setups? I would love to get some real world feedback.
Duane Rogers
Well-known member
FISHMAN Any review on the SACD player yet? D.R.
my sacd review
first of I will say I have only ever owned two high end cd players the first a rotel 1072 and now the MARANTZ reference sacd . I will say that there is definitely a sound difference between the two
1:the MARANTZ has a very clean sound it really seems to produce the small details in a very non in your face way.the rotel had a bit of digital grit I might say.
2:tracks selection is very fast and easy
3:at night it has an amazing ambiance about it the side button marquees glow blue in the darkness a very nice touch.
I can listen to this cd player for hours on end without fatigue.
I have moved all my gear around to incorporate this piece. I hopefully will have pics of my system soon I tried to get some on Monday but I really need some lights a friend of mine is a photographer and he may come over to grab some pics Its not like I have the greatest system in the world but I just want some good pics so you can get the feeling I do when I am in there.
first of I will say I have only ever owned two high end cd players the first a rotel 1072 and now the MARANTZ reference sacd . I will say that there is definitely a sound difference between the two
1:the MARANTZ has a very clean sound it really seems to produce the small details in a very non in your face way.the rotel had a bit of digital grit I might say.
2:tracks selection is very fast and easy
3:at night it has an amazing ambiance about it the side button marquees glow blue in the darkness a very nice touch.
I can listen to this cd player for hours on end without fatigue.
I have moved all my gear around to incorporate this piece. I hopefully will have pics of my system soon I tried to get some on Monday but I really need some lights a friend of mine is a photographer and he may come over to grab some pics Its not like I have the greatest system in the world but I just want some good pics so you can get the feeling I do when I am in there.
User211
Well-known member
Yup, Ken Ishiwata and Marantz make some nice gear - is yours one of Ken's designs, do you know?
