KenW
Headphoneus Supremus
- Joined
- Jan 17, 2004
- Posts
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I'm torn. Had the opportunity to hear both(friend owns an unmodded 555ES) and I came away no closer to making a choice. My take and just my opinion...uneducated as it is:
Aesthetic appeal: draw...I liked 'em both equally.
Build quality: Sony had the edge. SOLID unit!
Red Book: Marantz by a hair....sounded a tad more musical to my ear.
SACD: draw. I really couldn't hear a pronounced difference. Overall, I was happy with both units as they performed sonically. Would be thrilled to own either one! BTW, my two "test" cd's were Massive Attack(Red Book) and Pink Floyd(SACD).
As for the CD changer on the Sony, while it would be nice, it's really not a big deal to me.
So it's down to cost and mods. The Marantz will be a N.I.B unit while the Sony is rated at 9/10. Warranty will be in effect for the Marantz. The Marantz will be almost $200 more though. Mods available for both units and their respective costs are very close although I won't be modding for awhile. I could go with the less expensive Sony and have some change for cable upgrades or perhaps another set of cans and this does indeed have me leaning to the Sony but that's about all I can come up with.
Is there anything else to separate these units? It's like choosing between two beautiful women. You pick one and you're sure to miss the other! Opinions??
Aesthetic appeal: draw...I liked 'em both equally.
Build quality: Sony had the edge. SOLID unit!
Red Book: Marantz by a hair....sounded a tad more musical to my ear.
SACD: draw. I really couldn't hear a pronounced difference. Overall, I was happy with both units as they performed sonically. Would be thrilled to own either one! BTW, my two "test" cd's were Massive Attack(Red Book) and Pink Floyd(SACD).
As for the CD changer on the Sony, while it would be nice, it's really not a big deal to me.
So it's down to cost and mods. The Marantz will be a N.I.B unit while the Sony is rated at 9/10. Warranty will be in effect for the Marantz. The Marantz will be almost $200 more though. Mods available for both units and their respective costs are very close although I won't be modding for awhile. I could go with the less expensive Sony and have some change for cable upgrades or perhaps another set of cans and this does indeed have me leaning to the Sony but that's about all I can come up with.
Is there anything else to separate these units? It's like choosing between two beautiful women. You pick one and you're sure to miss the other! Opinions??