[arnesto]

I finally bought everything I needed for my headphone setup except a good source. I was considering buying a used Meridian 588, Cary 306/200, or a Wadia 302. But all those are in the 2K range plus and I have to get it used.

I was looking at the Stereophile recommendations and they said the Marantz SA 8260 was a no brainer for the price. I prefer to get a good CD player and it is an option to get SACD playability. I prefer to get something without too many bells and whistles. Preferable just a play button and a remote control.

Thanks in advance for any advise.

 

[arnesto]

I guess this is a lonely tread and this questions must have been asked before a hundred times before.

I am ready to take the big leap and throw some money down on a new source.

Can someone recommend a player for me in the 500 to 1500 dollar range. I don't mind buying used, but some of the better CD players are hard to come by used.

I currently have Senn. HD600 headphones and the Headroom Max amp. that I will be pairing up with my new source. I prefer musical over analytical and I am looking for a clear and detailed midrange too.

 

[Beauregard]

Hiya arnesto,

I can't offer the kind of listening comparisons among CD players that you're looking for; I've never been able to reliably hear significant differences. But since no one else has jumped in to offer advice, a few thoughts that might be helpful in making your decision...

I've had the Marantz SA8260 for about 3 weeks and have become a convert to SACD. I decided to audition the Marantz after I discovered that, surprisingly, I could hear a notable improvement over CD from hi-res PCM DVD audio played through my DAC1. And my experience with SACD has confirmed the benefits of hi-res.

I listen to mostly classical music and the most obvious improvement is in the sound of massed strings; violins in particular are more detailed and significantly closer to what I hear at a live concert. Generally, the sound is smoother, more pleasing, more lifelike when comparing DSD SACD to the CD layer of the disk. And these benefits extend to remastered analog - rock and pop as well as classical.

My headphone setup is similar to yours - HeadRoom MOH(R) with Senn HD650s - so I have little doubt that you'd be able to appreciate the benefits of SACD. The question, addressed nicely in the SACD thread that's active right now, is whether there's available source material in your preferred musical genres that makes it worth your while to explore the SACD option. If so, I'd recommend an audition of the SA8260 to see if its redbook performance meets your expectations. I got mine from Audio Advisor specifically because they have a 30-day no-questions return policy.

Good luck!
Beau

 

[arnesto]

Thanks for the info. Sounds like my best option so far. I'm hoping to look at a few others before I decide.

 

[Mikey01]

Personally I would pick the Denon 2910 at around $600 to $700. It was the best new DVD-A/SACD/RedBook player out there for under $1000. Does RedBook really well too. It has reviewed well on the web also. I love it.

 

[mikeg]

I'm listening to my SA8260 right now. It sounds great, and I've been using it with an RS-1 and a K1000 for about two years. It sounds noticeably better than a Marantz CD5000, but not as good as a Denon 2900 that was modded by Examplar Audio. But, this modded Denon cost more than $3.2K. I use the modded Denon with a SinglePower SDS, and an R10, which comprise my main listening system. IMO you'll be real happy with an SA8260.

 

[PATB]

Is it true it doesn't default to stereo mode? I am thinking of getting this player for office use, but am curious if there are ergonomics issues when used as a stand-alone player.

 

[Beauregard]

Quote:

Originally Posted by PATB Is it true it doesn't default to stereo mode? I am thinking of getting this player for office use, but am curious if there are ergonomics issues when used as a stand-alone player.

Yep... default is multichannel. I don't know why the engineers didn't do something as simple as make the default a user adjustment.

So, you need to set "sound mode" to stereo for every disc that has both stereo and multichannel tracks. The manual is a little murky, but you can do this while the disc drawer is open and not have to waste time waiting for the unit to read the multichannel TOC and then abiding another wait for it to switch to the stereo TOC. The instructions suggest you need to press 'play' with the drawer open to achieve this but simply closing the drawer with the stereo sound mode light on works just fine.

The other ergonomic complaint I have is that the 'open/close' button is to the right of the display - physically distant from the drawer. This is the only disc player of any sort I've ever owned with such a configuration and it took me about 2 weeks of use before I stopped instinctively reaching for a control proximal to the drawer.

I don't think these glitches constitute make-or-break issues. Especially because there are precious few well thought of SACD/CD only machines out there for those of us who don't want to fool with video; I'm not sure there are any in the price range of the SA8260.

Best,
Beau