avanti1960
Well-Known Member
I've always admired Marantz. Can you kindly list what interconnects, amp ,speakers as well as speaker wire you're using?
Thanks.
Sure. JL Audio interconnects (shielded), NAD C356bee, PSB T6 towers and 11 ga. wire.
I've always admired Marantz. Can you kindly list what interconnects, amp ,speakers as well as speaker wire you're using?
Thanks.
This was definitely the opinion of my highly trusted dealer who sells the Oppo digital players as well as Marantz, Luxman, Rega, Yamaha and others. A very bright and clinical sound.
Pioneer makes some decent SACD audio only players in Europe (e.g. PD-70, PD-50) and they use the same DAC as the Oppo (ESS Sabre). Reviews of those products have mentioned a harsh, overly bright and fatiguing sound FWIW.
I have relatives in silicon valley (Mountan View, CA, home of Oppo is in the heart of silicon valley). My cousin is employed at an internet marketing firm there and there is opinion that Oppo, although a very good product, has upscaled its audiophile profile via rigorous, almost relentless audio/video forum presence. Similar to Emotiva yet with the product to (almost) back up the hype.
If I had the bling I might buy that thing. $3,999 MSRP.
http://us.marantz.com/us/Products/Pages/ProductDetails.aspx?CatId=ReferenceSeries&ProductId=PM11S2
Lots of competition in this segment. $4K retail can buy you a lot of gear.
I have little doubt that Oppo has used any and all means at it's disposal to raise its profile but the 105 is one hell of a Swiss army knife. I'm less concerned about advertorials and the like than the fact that it will play virtually any format I know of and I absolutely adore what it does with Blu-Ray movies. I briefly considered just getting a PS3 or even PS4 for movies and games, but I'm happy I went the extra mile. If I had a large SACD collection I suspect that I might have opted for a dedicated player, but for my needs the universal disc spinner is just what the doctor ordered.
As for the Marantz 'house sound', I would characterise my PM6005 as slightly warmer than my old CA amp, but that's fine with me - its my understanding that the higher end amps are much closer to neutral. In any case, short of a Lotto win this will be my one and only speaker amp for the forseeable future. :thmbsp:
This is what my dealers mentioned, the unit is a great problem solver. Have you found it sounding better as it burns in? Some report up to 200 hours needed to sound decent.
Per a recent post over at CA, those of you who want a DSD128-capable source with a dedicated headphone amp can have one to match all that other high-end Marantz gear in your rack
http://www.marantz.co.uk/uk/product...ifi&subcatid=usbdaconverters&productid=hddac1
If you want network streaming, the NA-11S1 is the player that converted John Atkinson to the merits of DSD as a viable format - 'While I've been skeptical about the 1-bit sigma-delta encoding format used by DSD, the sound of these files streamed to the Marantz was among the best I have experienced in my system'
http://www.marantz.co.uk/uk/product...&subcatid=networkaudioplayer&productid=na11s1
And finally, Marantz havent forgotten those on a tighter budget who want to alternate spinning discs with DSD playback from a computer source -
http://www.marantz.co.uk/uk/product...d=hifi&subcatid=sacdcdplayer&productid=sa14s1
Apologies if this post seems like a sales pitch, but after several years where Marantz seemed to be sitting on their hands they've shown that they're willing to throw their hat into the ring - it seems like it's taken them an eternity to release a dedicated DAC and their headphone stages have always been better than average : this seems long overdue IMO.
Looking forward to the reviews. :thmbsp:
Per a recent post over at CA, those of you who want a DSD128-capable source with a dedicated headphone amp can have one to match all that other high-end Marantz gear in your rack
http://www.marantz.co.uk/uk/product...ifi&subcatid=usbdaconverters&productid=hddac1
If you want network streaming, the NA-11S1 is the player that converted John Atkinson to the merits of DSD as a viable format - 'While I've been skeptical about the 1-bit sigma-delta encoding format used by DSD, the sound of these files streamed to the Marantz was among the best I have experienced in my system'
http://www.marantz.co.uk/uk/product...&subcatid=networkaudioplayer&productid=na11s1
And finally, Marantz havent forgotten those on a tighter budget who want to alternate spinning discs with DSD playback from a computer source -
http://www.marantz.co.uk/uk/product...d=hifi&subcatid=sacdcdplayer&productid=sa14s1
Apologies if this post seems like a sales pitch, but after several years where Marantz seemed to be sitting on their hands they've shown that they're willing to throw their hat into the ring - it seems like it's taken them an eternity to release a dedicated DAC and their headphone stages have always been better than average : this seems long overdue IMO.
Looking forward to the reviews. :thmbsp:
The NA-11S1 is on my list. However, it appears that it is only offered in the United States in black. My gear is all the gold/champagne color of the reference series and I prefer the same for anything new.
Also, for those whom do not care for Marantz and think it is not worthy of the asking price, all I can say is try the TOTL. I am totally satisfied with these units and, other than the aforementioned NA-11S1, have not been looking for anything else and most likely will not for a few years.:yes:
Had several dealers tell me that the SA8005 and PM8005 wound better to them than the entry level Marantz reference products which cost twice as much. Marantz has some pretty remarkable products out at present.