Customer Reviews

Marantz SA8001 Stereo Super Audio CD Player

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4 star:		(1)
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I've wanted a high quality CD player since CD's came out nearly 25 years ago. I've always spent a lot on speakers and amps as well as receivers and preamps but never much on my CD player. Many years ago I wanted to get the Sony ES 1000 CD player which was about $1000 at that time but I never did. I went with several CD changers and then some CD/DVD player/changers, all well under $500. Most were good (except those old cartridge changers) and provided good audio playback. More recently I got a Sony CD/SACD changer and had a Yamaha changer as well and would listen to CD's via digital input to my preamp or receiver. Here in the past year I've been looking at CD players again as I've been buying a lot more CD's - when I find good deals on them.

I think there are several valid reasons to have a dedicated CD player instead of a typical DVD player to listen to CD's. Most people have their DVD players connected to their system digitally via optical or now HDMI, this basically uses the player as a transport only, sending the digital signal to your receiver or preamp to decode and play. This is fine but depending on what your receiver is, you may not be getting the best your CD has to offer as most modern day receivers are made with a large feature set and cost savings in mind, thus their analog output stages are usually fairly basic and inexpensive.

Most of the higher end CD/SACD players I've looked at were all over the $1000 mark (most well over that) and I was able to get this Marantz SA-8001 at a good price so I gave it a shot. Once I received it I was impressed with the heft and quality of this unit. Most mass produced CD & DVD players are built as cheaply as possible. The Marantz SA8001 breaks that mold. Its a very quality unit with a large power supply, nice large CD tray and buttons elegantly laid out and it also plays SACD's. I now have about 30 SACD's to go along with my over 400 CD's. It only plays SACD in Stereo output which works great for me. Most SACD's were made in 2 channel stereo originally and many multi channel SACD's now also include the 2 channel Stereo SACD as well. On my Sony I have separate outputs for SACD play, with most multi channel SACD's I've heard, the surround sound is nothing more than some echoy background noise and doesn't really add to the recording and having music coming out of the center channel can actually reduce your soundstage as it gets pulled into that center channel speaker. Thus 2 channel SACD provides I think, the best sound. Providing of course your speakers are setup correctly and your in the primary listening spot.

The other thing I like about the SA8001 is that besides its digital coax and optical outputs, it only has one 2-channel analog output, thus CD & SACD's use the same output and you don't need to run separate cables for each. This also gives the benefit of being able to connect to the standard analog input of your receiver or preamp and I definitely recommend using the analog output. You could also add eq to your sound if desired.

Some things I don't like about this unit is the remote control doesn't include a power on/off and the ff/rr feature is not very fast and the sound mutes while doing it. The skip frontwards and backwards works fine however. And one other thing I would like that it doesn't do is when I put in a disc, for it to load and start playing it. With the Marantz you have to load it and then hit play.

For sound, the SA8001 provides excellent imaging and soundstage as well as more clarity and detail in music. With SACD's the difference is even more noticeable than with CD's. It really takes SACD to the next level. Celine Dion SACD sounds superb and I gave a listen to Michael Jacksons Thriller SACD which has some of the best stereo imaging I've heard on any recording.

The other great thing about the SA8001 is in listening to some of my older CD's that I don't think were recorded very well. Bob Seger Greatest Hits 1 is a good example of this. The Marantz upfiltering and enhanced D/A conversion makes this CD sound much better than my old player did. Keep in mind that for some CD's, the sound may not be noticeably different, but for all CD's and SACD's, your going to get the best sound you can without probably spending over $2000.

This model has been replaced by the Marantz SA8003 Marantz SA8003 Stereo SACD/CD player.

If you've been wondering whether to move up to SACD, hesitate no longer. Even on my 17-year-old Sony CD player, the Dunedin Consort's award-winning recording of "Messiah" was outstanding, but I couldn't help thinking that it would sound even better in its SACD incarnation. It does, and so do my other discs.

I have a large collection of classical recordings and a good stereo system, but I've never considered myself an audiophile, and spending $900 on a single piece of equipment seemed like a bit of a stretch. But Stereophile's rating of the SA8001 as a recommended "budget component"--a product "under $1,000 or otherwise seen as a great value by the editors"--encouraged me to take the plunge. I wasn't disappointed. Played on the SA8001, my CDs and SACDs have taken on new life. The SA8001 plays two channels, not five, but it nonetheless offers great realism, accuracy, and dynamic range. In this case, at least, the higher priced product does produce a noticeable improvement in the listening experience.

I wanted to buy the new Esoteric S-60 ($4500) to replace my Cary Audio 303/200 as I thought the Cary was sounding a bit agressive, even with the upsampling feature. Since both the Esoteric and Marantz just came out with Stereophile's "class A" rating, I decided to be an austere and mature individual and save $3500.00 on a machine that I won't be listening that much after all. My schedule does not allow it. My ancillary equiment comprises the following: electrocompaniet ECI 3, PS Audio power cords, Stereovox colibri-X, WBT, HGA Diva and Cardas Hexlink cables. Speakers are Focal Electra 1007be.

Firstly, being an "affordable" player, the Marantz has a high WAF factor, for those in the same situation as I am.

I got the unit yesterday and put the XLO CD with the "burn-in" tracks for about an hour and procedeed to do a little listening. Previously, I was using Oppo's 981 as a SACD player with OK results. As a SACD I was relieved to hear a substantial improvement from the Marantz. I am hoping that as the player breaks in there will be a wider margin of improvements.

My real worry is wether the Marantz will one-up the Cary on redbook CD's, the bulk of my collection. It would be nice to know I will be happy with it's redbook performance. I am hoping to simplify my system by only having one player on the audio rack. At this point I am not prepared to make any judgement on the Marantz's redbook capabilities. It's too early and I haven't listened to it that much. But I can say that so far the redbook playing quality is decent and maybe close enough to the Cary Audio. More listening and break in is needed. I listen mostly to classical orchestral music, but I have the obligatory Diana Krall, Patricia Barber, Coltrane and other audiophile Cd's. Hybrid CD/SACD music sounds exellent mostly because you can play the SACD layer. Furthermore, one great feature of the Marantz is the ability to select which layer to play from your remote! Also, I really like the feature for turning off the display.. The Cary's blue LEDs are something that can annoyingly perforate your retina after sitting in front of it for so long.

Part of me still wants the Esoteric S-60, but so far the Marantz is helping me behave like a responsible citizen/husband. Looking forward to more enjoyable listening sessions.