[estreeter]

For those of you with 100lb monos, 32lb might not seem like much, but combine it with the larger-than-life dimensions of this monster and I wont be looking to move my new SACD player from it's moorings for a very long time. I can only assume that a lot of that weight is in the chassis - the internal photo I found online doesnt seem to contain any lead weights ...... 
 
Impressions and a comparison with my BDP-105D to follow in the fullness of time. In the meantime, feel free to wonder how the HD800s sound straight from the headphone out  

.
 

 
Looks like something from Dell circa 1995, weighs more like something from John Deere. That case is definitely lead-lined. 
 

 

[icebear]

I am contemplating to get a SA11s3. If in the event of my 20 years+ Krell DSP should start any trouble, I don't want to fully switch to a MBP as a source. I am just not a computer guy. I have a couple of hybrid SACD's that I would love to listen to - the DSD layer that is. I do have a BDP103 (no headphone out) and the analog audio output connected to my stereo amp was just not listenable.
 
I definitely want to have XLR outputs, so the SA14 won't do it anyway.
But how about your listening impressions with your new player and the HD800 ? How's the Boss rockin'

?

 

[estreeter]

  I am contemplating to get a SA11s3. If in the event of my 20 years+ Krell DSP should start any trouble, I don't want to fully switch to a MBP as a source. I am just not a computer guy. I have a couple of hybrid SACD's that I would love to listen to - the DSD layer that is. I do have a BDP103 (no headphone out) and the analog audio output connected to my stereo amp was just not listenable.
 
I definitely want to have XLR outputs, so the SA14 won't do it anyway.
But how about your listening impressions with your new player and the HD800 ? How's the Boss rockin'

?

 
No problems, although some on other fora are claiming that the SA11s3 may struggle against their 'all conquering' network streamer, the NA-11S1. I think John Atkinson's review may have taken a few of the diehards by surprise, particularly his conclusion re the DAC capabilities. I guess I liked the fact that JA's measurements lined up with his subjective review - a skeptic might suggest that was inevitable, but it's good to be able to point to something beyond one man's opinion - 
 
http://www.stereophile.com/content/marantz-reference-na-11s1-network-audio-playerdac-measurements
 
I'm afraid my impressions will have to wait until I have the requisite number of hot-and-cold cycles on the Marantz and my brain cells - whether you believe in burn-in or not I know that gear doesnt sound the same 4 weeks in as it did straight out of the box. Even the Hugo - a tiny device by comparison - changed over time making me skeptical of anyone who describes the Hugo's sound as 'thin', but that's a topic for another time. I hope to have my review together by mid to late November and submitted to the folks at AK for proof-reading shortly thereafter and published here by the end of November complete with some decent photos of the silver casework. 

 

[icebear]

A net work streamer is of no interest to me. I have an exasound e20 DAC and would just need a CD transport.
If it does come with SACD playing capability that's a plus, as Sony still isn't going to allow any player to put out the DSD signal which I could directly feed into my DAC. Question is: "Does a disc spinner still make a little sense these days?"

, in asking this I do know pretty much the answer.
 
As for burn it effects ... indeed I had an eye or better ear opening experience when I schlepped my amp and CD player to a friend of mine to do a little digital vs analog session. We connected his turntable(?)/Morch/Benz via a small Lehmann black cube phono amp to my amp through an RCA input that had never been used before. A the beginning it sounded horrible, completely muffled. After the initial set up we had breakfast in the kitchen while the 'table was spinning in the living room. A some point we looked at each other and went back into the living room as the sound changed so much that we noticed it while talking. It was an effect like water flowing freely after a clog in a tube has been flushed out. Of course this was a pretty drastic effect of burn in and I never experienced anything like that again but for sure equipments needs some time to let everything in the set up come to an equilibrium. Until that has happened, you will never hear the best possible performance of any gear.
 
Looking forward to your impressions.

 

[estreeter]

I freely admit that it has been the influence of some on AK that saw me opt for the disc spinner - as I accumulate more downloads I'm left wondering if we threw the baby out with the bathwater with Redbook and SACD. I also want to be able to respond to people who trot out the old 'I still havent heard anything from a computer that even compares to a decent entry-level CDP' but ultimately I want to know if it's worth buying a few more silver discs from Amazon in the twilight of the format. We all know what happened with vinyl and I'd kill to have the collection I owned in the early 80s, particularly the Springsteen albums, but that's life. I'd even like to give HDCD a shot and my Oppo lets me play DVD-A and Blu-Ray audio discs - just as shame that the latter are so hideously expensive. 

 

[estreeter]

More on this discovery in the fullness of time 

 

 

[icebear]

I got an SA11S3 (black) and initial impressions are not earth shattering compared to my very well broken in

Krell.
 
The sound of the headphone output is definitely not on par with the output from the exasound e20DAC. That you can not directly switch from CD to SACD layer of a hybrid disc is a bit annoying. The player stops playing, reads the disc again and you have to hit play to start all over. Pretty strange also that Marantz only use a 2 prong (no ground) IEC power connector. The analog outputs (RCA &XLR) are fixed, only the headphone jack is adjustable via the tiny knob and you can not adjust the volume via remote

.
 
Still 28 days to decide if it's a keeper or not. So far I tend to the latter...
 
What are your further impressions on your SA14S1 after a little longer period ?

 

[SONYES]

hi
i have  sa-11 s1    and  new  oppo105d 
the sa11s1 + hi fitune fuzz are 
much more wide open and fin timber then 105d in cd /sacd but very fin in its on 
the sound thats is maratz sound i love it so fin fabelus. sa11s1 wow
 
and new hd800 sn 291xx  one of 3 pers
and luxman p-1u .in xlr
 
in xlr 105 sound very opne wide but not as . marantz  sa-11 s1 or even my old  cda-94 from 1986 marantz dac+dcd1650ar
sory but 105d is very fin  but i love sony /marantz sound . the oppo 105d as dac is  very very good +xa50es
as transport   wow!!!!!
way???
 
105d is superm in vido and for 400$ for  audio part is v/m the best i ever herd  teru xlr out is very fin sound 
very opne and well soundsteg vey close to my sony cdp-xa50es .only .the xa50es  so well in iner detal

 
how is much beter then  sony scd-1 {.i sell two yaer ago.} sound that i  find in the scd-1 is vell/foge
 but wide high deep  was what i have naw  i have from  marantz sa-11s1 .but  sa11 s1 is more  opne comper to scd-1. i have recordings  from  scd-1 to mds-ja555es . i made athe same rec  what a difrens the sa11 is the best +xa50es on the very same cd .
 
.xa50es is opne caler wide high i made side by side  listing  the xa50es was is  ,much much bater !!!! then scd-1 .my cup of tea is xa50es.
 
 
sa11 s1 vs 105d  for the $$$ the  oppo105d is a wenr
 
but for  sound my sa11 s1 is very musical !!! 
 
ther was not so much pogerse in sound from 1986 dac to  oppo105d  2014
 
so all in all  good cd player can be as old as my cdp337esd and soud tarfic 1987
 
best regrds

 

[El_Doug]

I just sold my SA-11s1 a few months ago - you're in for a huge treat  

 

[AppleheadMay]

  More on this discovery in the fullness of time 

 

 
Weird, the US site says it uses the CS4398 dac, the Uk site DSD1792A.
 
I just bought the NA-11S1 but have been a Marantz user for a long time.
The NA-11 can put out DSD 64 and 128 over the USB output, something the SA-11 CD (and probably 14 as well) player can't do.
I've been experimenting with DSD Hybrid files created with DSD Master and played via Bitperfect from iTunes. It recognises the DSD files fine.
It also puts out 192/24 but is recognised by the players I tested as a 384kHz dac. It does have a Marantz DSP chip that upsamples to 384. Weird.
 
Headamp wise it does have a dedicated headphone amp with current feedback. The amp modules are HDAM SA-2 as far as I understood, derived from their speaker amps. I just checked inside and the volume control is an Alps pot. Background is pitch black.
I have been listening to this headphone output with the TH-900 and HD650 for 2 days now and I must say I'm very impressed by what should be a simple phones output that comes as a bonus.

 

[estreeter]

The headphone out on the 14S1 is much better than that on my PM6004 - as it should be given the price differential - but neither is a patch on my Taurus. Folk just need to be realistic - they see 'dedicated headphone amp' in the marketing and think it will be as good as a standalone amp like the Taurus - IME, that simply isnt the case. 
 
As for the comparision with the 105D, I just cant fault Oppo for jamming so much functionality into a single player even if I do give the nod to the B-B implementation in the 14S1 over the SABRE in the 105D. In a showroom situation, I would far prefer to be selling the Oppo, but that upfront presentation doesnt seem so impressive after an hour or two. Also not sure what some mean by the Marantz house sound when it comes to the Reference series - the 14S1 is a lot closer to neutral than any Marantz i've ever owned and going from that level of detail retrieval and air back to the cs4398 in the PM6004 isnt much fun. By itself, I dont have a problem with the budget amp, but it soon becomes apparent that they've put a lot more work into the 14S1 - again, as they should have. 
 
FWIW, some claim they prefer the 8005 series to the Reference players - horses for courses, and I guess some see warmth and euphony as a fair trade for the extra detail on offer in the more expensive gear. 

 

[AppleheadMay]

I know about the marketing chatter but in the case of the NA11 the headphone amp is damn good and beats some of the earlier dedicted headphone amps or amp/dac combos I owned. IMO the NA11 may be called a dac/headphone amp combo without blushing. They have my permission to make some more publicity with the headphone part of the device but they should have given it a larger volume knob, that thing is painfully small. I wouldn't dare compare it to a Taurus, Bakoon or GS-X though.
 
By Marantz house sound I do mean the Marantz "Premium" series, not their "Range" series as both series used to be called, they changed the names a year ago I believe. By Marantz house sound I do not only talk about their sources but their amps as well.
 
Indeed, like you say, the "Range" hassn't got the detail and soundstage of the "Premium" series and adds more warmth to camouflage that. Euphonic would be a good description. I can see how people not used to better gear do find that sound great though. Hell, I know a lot of people that buy a Marantz home theater receiver, configure it for cinema sound and then play music through the front channels with a sub that is configured for cinema sound and think they have great sound. But one could say the stereo gear in the  "Range" has their own Marantz house sound which tries to replicate their more expensive series house sound.
All the gear in the "Range" series, as well as the KI-Pearl Lite and the "Premium" 15 series are like that.
 
The KI-Pearl (not Lite) was said to be a KI tuned version of the 15 but it's much more than that, it has the sound of the Premium series. The 14 series are built on the Pearl basis. The 11 series are their current top. These have the detailed, open and slightly warm sound with a good soundstage that I have known in the better Marantz series for many years. And their amps don't lack power, a PM-11S3 for example has 100W/8ohm RMS on paper but measures over 150W/8ohm RMS.
Inverse marketing.   But yeah, like any company they use a lot of fance terms in their marketing. HDAM-SA2, KI Signature, etc...
 
I had and heard a lot of Marantz gear over the years and often compared them to Rotel (which has more power) and Classe (which is far more expensive) but each and every time I preferred Marantz.
Same with B&W and often compared them with Dynaudio and twice with Sonus Faber. Prefer B&W.
 
Marantz/B&W combos really are my sound. I know, pretty mainstream but it's just the kind of sound I like.

 

[estreeter]

Awesome feedback, appleheadmay - I share your high opinion of the last KI Pearl series and kick myself for not buying one when they were still available at my local dealer. At the time I considered them expensive but it's interesting how you come re-evaluate those opinions over time - add the collector value and I think it was a good deal. 

 

[estreeter]

   
Weird, the US site says it uses the CS4398 dac, the Uk site DSD1792A.
 

 
Just to clear that up once and for all, the Japanese product page makes it very clear that it's the B-B chip. Any Marantz site that is continuing to list the chip as the CS4398 is staffed by lazy copy-and-paste marketing types who need to ask themselves if high-end audio is really their passion or just a day job. 
 
http://www.marantz.jp/jp/14s1/sa_14s1_01.html
 
The google translation of that page, as per most attempts at automatic translation, leaves a lot to be desired but I dont think there is any ambiguity in this section:
 
Powered by DSD1792A of Burr-Brown in the same manner as the SA-11S3. 
In current output type D / A converter with more than seven times the allowable output current compared to the previous model, there is energy to sound, and allows you to lively music playback.
(※ 2) as compared to the DAC of the SA-7S1 released in 2006 (¥ 700,000 list price), you have seven times the current output capacity.

 

[AppleheadMay]

Is there anyone else here who has a Marantz NA-11S1 by any chance?