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MARANTZ SA-15 REFERENCE SACD/CD PLAYER

post #1 of 8
8/21/08 at 7:22pm
Thread Starter 
Hello,
What do you guys think of the MARANTZ SA-15 REFERENCE SACD - CD PLAYER?
It is on sale at Music Direct.

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post #2 of 8
8/21/08 at 10:05pm

Check The...

Quote:
Originally Posted by CrazyRay View Post
Hello,
What do you guys think of the MARANTZ SA-15 REFERENCE SACD - CD PLAYER?
It is on sale at Music Direct.
Check the other threads on the SA-8001 - you'll find some comments there. Also, if you do a Google Search, you'll find some comparative comments/reviews - though not many.

The "bottom line" is all agree the SA-8001 sounds as good as the 15S-1 for a third to half the price. Though the 15S-1 looks "a whole heck uv a lot better." But... that's a pretty high premium to pay for the look.

You can pick up the SA-8001 for between $600-700. It's the greatest value in a SACDP, and is a great CDP, which several rank with the 840C, and the Saturn. It's a real "no brainer" if you don't mind black.

If you're going to spend $1000+, you'd be much more pleased with the Monarchy NM24, or M24 Tube DAC - its as good as any DAC you can buy. See Audiogon for these. You can also do a Google Search for the best price on the SA-8001.
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post #3 of 8
8/22/08 at 7:20am
If you like it, and it's on sale, then go for it -- I like the sound of my SA8001, so this should sound very good, too, obviously.
It sure is pretty....
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post #4 of 8
8/22/08 at 9:43am
I’ve compared the two directly, and IMHO the 8001 is every bit as good as the SA-15S1, for a fraction of the price. I totally agree with Gradofan on this. The build quality of the 15 is superior, but I’ve been told that the 8001 has a simpler circuit, and that might work to its advantage. Overall, I really like the 8001. It’s a great player and an even better value. I actually prefer it to some significantly more expensive players.
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post #5 of 8
8/22/08 at 10:03am
Isn't it nice to sometimes find something that actually exceeds expectations?
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post #6 of 8
8/22/08 at 12:01pm
I listened to the SA-15 about 2 years ago on a set of Grado RS-2s. It's very neutral and smooth, with a decent soundstage - you won't go wrong with that sound. I would agree with the above posters regarding the SA8001's value, however. Stereophile's review shows some excellent measurements out of the SA8001 - I wouldn't expect the SA-15 to sound or measure much different than the SA8001. I'd like to try the SA-11S2 sometime, just for kicks.

Also, I took a look at the Music Direct page - I suspect that the SA-15 is due to be replaced or upgraded like the original SA-11 was.

Has anybody got any internal pics of the Marantz reference players? For some reason, I tend to group them together with the TEAC Esoterics - Japanese hi-fi. I'm wondering if they use similar output sections.
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post #7 of 8
9/3/08 at 2:08am
I wonder why the difference in weight - approx. 12 lb - maybe better damping?

Has anyone seen the bottom of the SA15? It's more difficult than usual to place footers/vibrational control devices under the SA8001 because the bottom is not really flat.
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post #8 of 8
9/3/08 at 8:06am
Quote:
Originally Posted by tubaman View Post
I wonder why the difference in weight - approx. 12 lb - maybe better damping?

Has anyone seen the bottom of the SA15? It's more difficult than usual to place footers/vibrational control devices under the SA8001 because the bottom is not really flat.
The 8001 has good soft-rubber anti-vibrational feet, and it appears from the pic that the 15 has something similar already, except even thicker than the ones on 8001.

My 8001 seems heavy and rock-solid to me, so I would guess the 15 is even better in that regard.

Marantz makes good stuff -- and it seems they are coming out with some new items, like the CD5003 (I think the name is) that replaces the CD5001 -- and it looks really nice.
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