limpidglitch
Headphoneus Supremus
Quote:
That is of course very correct. I'm pretty sure the Oppo and the Marantz will perform close to identically when used only as a transport, and that the Oppo would be the wiser choice due to its lower price. But this all relies upon a DAC purchase waiting on the horizon. If you want to keep things a little simpler and go: SACD player -> Amplifier -> Headphones, the Marantz will probably be the better choice, if you want to invest the extra money.
Most of the used SA8001s on the market will be ~1 year old and ~50% of original price. I think that's a fair deal.
But then again, if an external DAC is going to be a part of the final set-up, a cheaper Oppo will be an even better deal.
Originally Posted by wavoman /img/forum/go_quote.gif Tricky to navigate the choices here. An external DAC is ultimately the best way to go, so the idea is start using the Oppo (cheap), and upgrade when you can afford it to the external DAC, ending up with a world-class solution. At the NJ meet two years ago, a bunch of us listented hard to the analog outputs of the Oppo and were surprised how good it was, given its reputation as not being that great. I think this might be a better route than getting a mid-range SACD player now, then orphaning its abilities (which you paid for) when you upgrade. On the other hand, used is always better than new in this game, as long as the caps are not dried out, so a late model used mid-range unit might be a better path, as limpid suggested. |
That is of course very correct. I'm pretty sure the Oppo and the Marantz will perform close to identically when used only as a transport, and that the Oppo would be the wiser choice due to its lower price. But this all relies upon a DAC purchase waiting on the horizon. If you want to keep things a little simpler and go: SACD player -> Amplifier -> Headphones, the Marantz will probably be the better choice, if you want to invest the extra money.
Most of the used SA8001s on the market will be ~1 year old and ~50% of original price. I think that's a fair deal.
But then again, if an external DAC is going to be a part of the final set-up, a cheaper Oppo will be an even better deal.