X 3 on the Marantz SA8001. I had to sell mine a couple of years ago due to financial woes, and I regret every minute of it!
At the time I owned it, I also bought a Cambridge Azur 840c and Rega Saturn dedicated cd players just to compare them. I liked the sound of the 8001 better than either of them and wound up selling them! The Marantz was also considerably less expensive than either of them.
To my ears, the 8001 simply had a slightly more organic, natural, open, and spacious sound than either the Cambridge or the Rega. Not a big difference to be sure...but there, nevertheless.
Plus, neither of them had a dedicated headphone jack.
The headphone jack on the 8001 was superior to headphone jacks on other cd players that I had tried, and I loved it.
It drove my Sennheiser HD600/HD650's with more than enough volume, and sounded absolutely wonderful.
I also, at that time, had a HeadAmp GS-1 headphone amp which sounded great as well.
But on an absolute basis, and very surprisingly, the GS-1 was NOT a big step-up from the 8001's headphone jack!
And this was using VERY EXPENSIVE Harmonic Technology Pro-Silway Mk.3 interconnects between the 8001 and the GS-1.
Sure, you could get more volume, slightly more punch, and slightly more powerful bass with the GS-1, but the sound signature of both was VERY similar! I wound up selling the GS-1, and was happy just listening to my Sennheisers with the jack on the Marantz.
If a person could tweak the headphone circuitry on the 8001...Wow!
I now own the less expensive CD5001 and CD5003 cd players, and they are not in the same league as the 8001, IMHO.
The 5001 has a great headphone jack, but not as good as the 8001. The 5001 has a slightly thin, sort of bass shy, and slightly veiled sound compared to the 8001. The 8001 has better dynamics, bass, body, spaciousness, and overall clarity compared to the 5001. This is through the headphone jack and the RCA outs.
The 5003 is sort of the opposite of the 5001. It is a tad darker, and slightly more closed in compared to the 5001, but the 5003 does have alittle better dynamics, body, and punch than the 5001. Overall, the 5003 is slightly superior to the 5001, IMHO.
One thing I don't like about the 5003 compared to the 5001, is there is a slight forwardness to a certain part of the mids that can become fatiguing sometimes, especially on female vocals, and the headphone jack is not quite as good as the 5001.
If I ever come across another 8001, I am buying it in a heartbeat!