[tvrbob86]

The Marantz SA8003 stereo SA-CD / CD player is now on the company website. The owner's manual is available in .pdf format in English, French, and Spanish.

There are large pictures up, including a couple of the internals (top open, components).

As most of you know, it's the replacement for the SA8001. It's supposed to be out in early-October. The U.S. list price is $999.99.

 

[darkninja67]

Thanks for the info. I was looking at getting the SA8001 but this may be my player.

 

[lmf22]

"USB input for Music Playback by USB memory or iPod Digital Connection"?

I wonder if it can take the digital signal from an iPod like he Wadia iTransport, or pass it through to an external DAC. That would be nice.

 

[shellylh]

Quote:

Originally Posted by lmf22 /img/forum/go_quote.gif "USB input for Music Playback by USB memory or iPod Digital Connection"? I wonder if it can take the digital signal from an iPod like he Wadia iTransport, or pass it through to an external DAC. That would be nice.

Yes, it can.

From p. 26 of the manual (see http://us.marantz.com/SA8003_U_EN.pdf)

"About ipod playback
• If a 5th generation or later iPod, iPod nano, iPod
classic or iPod touch is connected, it can be
played with even higher sound quality because
the audio from the iPod is transmitted digitally."

It seems that it may not be able to read apple lossless though (only .m4a that is aac formatted).

It does read .wav files though!

I am interested to hear how this compares to the SA-8001. I was about to buy an SA-8001 but decided to wait on the SA-8003 because of the better DAC and the convenience of the plug and play with the ipod. I am very excited about this player.

 

[Deadneddz]

Man, im debating on a cambridge 840c or the new marantz sa8003

Really dont know what to do, everyone seems to like the cambridge 840c but i dont know if its colder signature will pair well with a pair of Grado RS1s.

The marantz sa8001 seemed to be a warmer more "analog sounding" player.

anyone have any advice as to what to do?

(sorry for being a little off topic)

 

[anadin]

Order both and return the one you least like for a refund.

 

[xenithon]

Quote:

everyone seems to like the cambridge 840c but i dont know if its colder signature ... ...The marantz sa8001 seemed to be a warmer more "analog sounding"...

I concur wholeheartedly. A lot will depend on system ancilaries and component synergy. I for one, could not warm up to the 840C when I heard it. The Marantz has a warmth, yet detailed and composed sound signature which I find more enjoyable in the long run.

 

[silverrain]

My SA80001 sounds really good.

Even if I use the really-good volume-controlled headphone jack, without a dedicated headphone amp for brief listens, sometimes.

 

[Spareribs]

My feeling is that both models sound the same or very small difference but neither is necessarly better but it's just my guess. For me, I would buy the 8001 because it would be cheaper and I don't own an iPod.

 

[Podtweaker]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Deadneddz /img/forum/go_quote.gif Man, im debating on a cambridge 840c or the new marantz sa8003 Really dont know what to do, everyone seems to like the cambridge 840c but i dont know if its colder signature will pair well with a pair of Grado RS1s. The marantz sa8001 seemed to be a warmer more "analog sounding" player. anyone have any advice as to what to do? (sorry for being a little off topic)

I have a SA8001 but I was curious about the 840c given all the sparkling reviews it was recieving so I went out to give it a listen. I was'nt that particularly impressed. I suppose if you plan on getting into SACDs the Marantz player beats the pants off of most universal (DVD/CD/SACD & whatever other formats that are recognizeable by initials. Don't get me started on this, except to say if you are serious about you're music listening most of these players only approach mediocrity at best.) players & does a pretty good job w/ cds. If you are interested in a player w/ a better analog stage I think my Consonance cd 120 linear walks all over my SA8001 for cd playback. The interesting thing about the Consonance is that it is based on a non-oversampling circuit. I guess I should preface what I've mentioned w/ the fact that until about 7 or 8 years ago I was an analog listener exclusively.(Another long story I won't bore everyone w/ at this time)

 

[truelies]

I just got the SA8003, the sound quality is great on SACD and CD. I don't have SA8001 so I can't compare. The connection with Ipod is not so convenient, I can't control on Ipod. Using SA8003 remote to select a CD in ipod is not easy, since I have about 259 CD inside. It can play apple loss less.

 

[shellylh]

Good to know. It is too bad you can't control it from the ipod. I guess that would be difficult to implement. How slow is it selecting songs from an ipod or external harddrive?

Quote:

Originally Posted by truelies /img/forum/go_quote.gif I just got the SA8003, the sound quality is great on SACD and CD. I don't have SA8001 so I can't compare. The connection with Ipod is not so convenient, I can't control on Ipod. Using SA8003 remote to select a CD in ipod is not easy, since I have about 259 CD inside. It can play apple loss less.

 

[Ampersand]

I'm very interested to hear comparison between the 8001 and 8003. All the attention and glowing reviews the 8001 received really turned me on to the player, but i just couldn't stand the appearance of the unit.

OTOH, the 8003's appearance really appeals to me. I'm one of those people that wouldn't mind spending the extra dough on looks (assuming sound quality isn't noticeably depreciated from the 8001 model). As for the ipod connection, its a nice addition but not a deal breaker for me.

I'll be paying close attention to this thread.

 

[Uncle Erik]

Wow, the 8003 is tempting. Thing is, I don't know how much I'd actually use the iPod jack. Most of my listening has turned to SACD and vinyl.

Though this means the 8001 will be on closeout soon and should drop another $200-$300 in price. That will be the biggest bargain on the market.

 

[lmf22]

Quote:

Originally Posted by truelies /img/forum/go_quote.gif I just got the SA8003, the sound quality is great on SACD and CD. I don't have SA8001 so I can't compare. The connection with Ipod is not so convenient, I can't control on Ipod. Using SA8003 remote to select a CD in ipod is not easy, since I have about 259 CD inside. It can play apple loss less.

Nice to know that it plays Apple Lossless. Can it pass the signal out to an external DAC?