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Marantz never again.

68.160.180.37
Posted on November 6, 2009 at 10:48:03
PeterCapo
Audiophile

Posts: 182
Location: New England
Joined: January 5, 2001
Another SA8260 nightmare.

I bought one a while back and it always exhibited intermittent reading problems that has been well known. I tried calling Marantz about it a couple of times, but they denied the existence of the problem. When I asked about a possible service call, the person I spoke with tried to deflect my question. His denial and deflection succeeded in deterring me from sending it in for repair earlier in its life. I never felt comfortable with the player but figured I’d have to live with it the way it was.

Within the past year, the problem worsened to the point that the machine was barely usable. Since it was still under warranty, I sent it to United Radio around April 2009. It came back after a few weeks (I don’t remember exactly how long they had it) and it was somewhat improved. But, it would still hang intermittently when some discs were loading. In addition to this, it came back also with a new problem, an intermittent “tic” that was audible through the speakers. Nothing else in the system changed, and I have another player that did not exhibit either of these problems. The SA8260 was still not functioning properly.

I have enough experience in life to know what I might be able to expect if I sent it back in with these intermittent problems. I considered it for a little while. Since the player was still not working right, I figured there was a chance that Marantz would do the right thing. Besides, the problems, although intermittent, happened with sufficient frequency that they should be observable. I sent the player back to United Radio in August 2009. I remember the day I packed it up, because I tried playing a disc and got the “tic” 30 seconds into the first track of a CD. I disconnected the SA8260 from my system and sent it back in.

United Radio received the unit in August and reported that they could not reproduce the problems. Some time in October, United Radio sent it to D&M Holdings, the parent company of Marantz, who also said they could not reproduce the problems. As of now, November, D&M refuses to either replace the player or buy out the cost, which were possible options United Radio quoted as being within the scope of D&M’s capabilities.

I understand that some might think that because they cannot reproduce the intermittent problems that they have no obligation here. But, I disagree. The player has been away for around four months of this year. I have much better things to do with my time than spend hours shipping my SACD player back and forth with all the accompanying e-mail and phone calls. The problems I observed were REAL. I cannot account for why they say they are unable to reproduce the problems. From all accounts, it is well known that the SA8260 is one of the biggest lemons in audio history and they owe it to me and everyone else who went through this to either buy it out or replace it with a new player.

There should have been a class action law suit over the SA8260. But, I guess big corporation squashes the little guy again. It’s just amazing that there is no recourse in a situation like this. I’ll never by another Marantz product again, and I am sure I might like to avoid any of D&Ms other subsidiaries. Buyer beware.
In fairness..., posted on November 19, 2009 at 13:18:24
PeterCapo
Audiophile

Posts: 182
Location: New England
Joined: January 5, 2001
On November 6 I submitted a post describing my dissatisfaction with D&M Holdings / Marantz relative to my SA8260. The impetus for my original post was found in more than one e-mail I had received from Marantz that really seemed to close the door with the problems left unresolved.

To my surprise, that situation has now changed, and I thought it only fair to post again to report this. Marantz has unexpectedly responded and I have accepted the resolution they offered.

I also want to mention that the folks at United Radio were helpful through the process.
Thanks for posting back, posted on November 19, 2009 at 21:40:56
Metralla
Audiophile

Posts: 6413
Location: San Jose, California
Joined: January 30, 2001
 Thank you.

Regards,
Geoff
Usable Info for those willing to take action..., posted on November 9, 2009 at 13:21:37
PeterCapo
Audiophile

Posts: 182
Location: New England
Joined: January 5, 2001
 If you have had or are still having problems with a D&M Holdings / Marantz product (or any other make, for that matter), I'd like to suggest some resources. Probably every state has a consumer protection division. Just Google "consumer protection 'state'" or "attorney general 'state'" for whichever state the company is located in.

In the case of D&M Holdings / Marantz, here is a link to the on-line complaint form for the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs:
http://www.njconsumeraffairs.gov/ocp/ocpform2.htm

Here's the New Jersey Better Business Bureau, as well:
https://odr.bbb.org/odrweb/public/getstarted.aspx

Here's a link to the Federal Trade Commission. They investigate patterns of consumer complaints. The link you want is in the upper right quadrant of the page and is labeled "FTC Complaint Assistant:"
https://www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov/



There's strength in numbers. The more people who complain, the more likely we are to finally get some results.

Good luck!


PS: Here's something else that might be of interest about a class action lawsuit against Samsung for some of their products. Here are a couple of links:
http://www.samsungtvshadowclassaction.com/main/home.sfx

http://www.samsungtvshadowclassaction.com/main/Complaint(Conformed).PDF
I'm with you..., posted on November 8, 2009 at 15:28:39
bhoage
Audiophile

Posts: 410
Location: Ontario
Joined: January 5, 2003
 I had an 8260 that I received new as a Christmas present from my wife several years ago that crapped out after 5 weeks, (no joke, it was off for repairs before the end of Jan). Spent the next several months getting "fixed" after which I had it for about 12 to 18 months before the same problem occurred. It was probably about 18 months because the warranty had just ended.

So, I was in the same boat as you and said, never again to Marantz. I've since purchased a Sony XS5400ES which I've had for a month and I figure even if it craps out now, it'll only be about as bad as the Marantz and anything beyond that is a bonus.

I know lemons, exist, other players had/have problems, etc.... but my only recourse is to not give them more of my money and hope they have their act together.
RE: I'm with you..., posted on November 9, 2009 at 05:14:22
stvnharr
Audiophile

Posts: 413
Joined: November 6, 2003
 Marantz fixed the issue with the SA 8001, and hasn't had any real issues with any of their other players.
Well, if you replaced your 8260 with Sony 5400 a month ago, you must have kept the 8260 a long time.

I did keep the Marantz a long time..., posted on November 10, 2009 at 14:50:27
bhoage
Audiophile

Posts: 410
Location: Ontario
Joined: January 5, 2003
 but really only because I spend the majority of my time listening to vinyl. It didn't work properly for a couple of years or so but eventually I got to the point where I was sick of listening around it, (i.e. not playing certain disks).

The Sony came along, had good feedback and would allow me to listen to my SACD's and wasn't too expensive relatively speaking, so I went for it.

I'm not advocating anyone to love or hate Marantz, just posting my experiences.

Cheers.

Okay, that makes sense, posted on November 10, 2009 at 18:32:38
stvnharr
Audiophile

Posts: 413
Joined: November 6, 2003
 The Sony should please you much better than the 8260 ever did.

RE: Marantz never again., posted on November 7, 2009 at 09:53:28
C.B.
Reviewer

Posts: 1604
Location: Northville, Michigan
Joined: March 19, 2001
 Service Wide Technologies is the place where you SHOULD have sent it--see link -

RE: Marantz never again., posted on November 7, 2009 at 07:20:59
stvnharr
Audiophile

Posts: 413
Joined: November 6, 2003
 Peter,
Sorry if I seemed to make light issue of your difficulties with Marantz.

As I have reread your initial post I gather that Marantz USA has your player now, and can't really decide what to do. This is unfortunate, and I can understand your frustration.
I always felt that Marantz should have done the TOC fix correction for free for all the 8260 players, warranty or not. It was a design fault, or poor chip quality control, that caused the issue to arise in the players. It was never an owner use issue.

Being that the player is long out of production, they probably do not have any spare transpo/servo boards to swap out. But they do have plenty of transports, as the KHM 230AA is used in a large number of players and is readily available to Marantz for a small cost. The issue with your player involves one or both of the above. Neither of which is any real threat to the balance sheet of Marantz USA. Of course trying to get a customer service rep to understand that is another matter.

You also have the reluctant choice to take the player back and have United Radio replace the transport, unless you know how to do it yourself, and pay the cost yourself just to have a fully operating player. Then you can decide what to do with the player. The average price for 8260's w/o issues is around $400, probably $250 or so for a player with issues.

Sure you're not going to buy Marantz again. There are plenty of other choices depending on your budget. However, in the lower price ranges, the players are all mass market players, and customer service is never the strong point of any of the companies.
Oppo is still small enough to care about their customers, from all reports. I don't own an Oppo product, but that could change at some later date.

Best of luck in your dealings with Marantz.

RE: Marantz never again., posted on November 9, 2009 at 01:04:55
Disbeliever
 Oppo is a Company that released the BDP-83 knowing it was faulty with SACD issues as far as I am aware unresolved. The idiots who claim to have tested this player have failed the Consumer.

Oppo Again, posted on November 9, 2009 at 05:17:30
stvnharr
Audiophile

Posts: 413
Joined: November 6, 2003
 Is your day not complete without a couple "Damn Oppo" posts?

RE: Marantz never again., posted on November 6, 2009 at 18:46:35
stvnharr
Audiophile

Posts: 413
Joined: November 6, 2003
 Oh what a drama king!
The player has been out of production for nearly 5 years, so what warranty do you have? Did you send in discs with the player that the player didn't read? That is a no brainer!
The 8260 is famous for reading issues. There is a standard fix for the problem.
Yes, it's frustrating to buy a lemon! However cars are more famous for this than sacd players, as most everyone has a car and few people have sacd players.
Take a deep breathe and buy an Oppo.

RE: Marantz never again., posted on November 6, 2009 at 19:06:14
PeterCapo
Audiophile

Posts: 182
Location: New England
Joined: January 5, 2001
In response:

“Oh what a drama king!”
I’m Italian and I haven’t got Jed Clampett's or Thurston Howell’s money to throw around. No apologies.

“The player has been out of production for nearly 5 years, so what warranty do you have?”
I bought it new in 2006 after the SA8001 came out. I sent it in this year under warranty. No apologies.

“Did you send in discs with the player that the player didn't read? That is a no brainer!”
Yes, I sent two CDs with a detailed procedure on how to reproduce the problem that worked for me most of the time. Apparently not such a no-brainer for D&M/Marantz. No apologies.

“The 8260 is famous for reading issues.”
Does that excuse D&M/Marantz from their responsibility to honor their warranty? I paid the asking price for the player, right? No apologies – not from me, certainly not from D&M/Marantz!

“There is a standard fix for the problem.”
If you will notice, I explained that I sent it in for the first time around March/April 2009 when they replaced some or all of the laser platform, and, yes, the RESISTOR. It came back to me as described, with the machine STILL intermittently hanging and an audible “tic” embedded into the music. Or, would I really have to just wait until it is out of warranty and then PAY to get it fixed right?

“Yes, it's frustrating to buy a lemon! However cars are more famous for this than sacd players, as most everyone has a car and few people have sacd players.”
What does that have to do with the price of tea in China? What the hell are you talking about?

“Take a deep breathe and buy an Oppo.”
Actually, I have read that the new Oppo blue ray machine also has a ticking sound when playing SACD, it refuses to play certain movies, and it truncates a bit of the music at the beginnings of songs. These problems are documented here in the Asylum and I wrote to Oppo about them who I admire for CONFIRMING THEIR REALITY. Marantz should learn something about honesty from Oppo.
Oppo tics, posted on November 7, 2009 at 10:57:33
Alan A
Audiophile

Posts: 27
Joined: October 27, 2001
 I have had the Oppo for a while now, and the latest firmware update seems to have completely corrected the tic problem, as well as the problem with early music truncation. According to the company the latter problem is a "handshake issue" inhernet in the HDMI connection. In any case, I noticed both of those problems prior to the latest firmware installation, and have not noticed either problem since, although I don't know for sure that the problems have been completely eliminated.

RE: Marantz never again., posted on November 6, 2009 at 19:43:52
stvnharr
Audiophile

Posts: 413
Joined: November 6, 2003
 Life's a bitch some times!
Look, I've had my share of Marantz miseries, but.............
Maybe you just need to send the player back with faulty discs so they can replicate the problem and try a fix. But there are no guarantees.

The Oppo blu ray player has some clicks in certain situations, according to some. But the older Oppos seem to be worry free, always a plus in the cheapo players.

The Sony 5400 seems to have good things going for it.

BUT, and it's a big BUT, all the el cheapo players need a lot of reengineering to sound their best, which makes them not quite so El Cheapo.

FWIW, I've had good luck with my reengineered 8260, and seeing as how I can't quite afford Playback Designs MP5, I'm happy.

This is common with SACD players, posted on November 6, 2009 at 17:10:34
Panelhead
Audiophile

Posts: 430
Location: Houston
Joined: September 26, 2000
 I havetwo 2002 vintage SA-8260 players. Both read slow after playing for a few hours. I sent one off for "repair" and it came back slightly better.
But either is much better than the Philips SCD-1000 owned before. It lasted less than 3 months. Other lemons; the Krell, Sony SCD-333, Shanling, and even the well built SCD-777 and SCD-1. The big early Sony's require transport replacement after what I consider too short a life.
One item that has been identified as a cause of early failure is extended "burn in". This is leaving the player cycling on repeat to break it in. This usually leads to a completely broke player.
I had good luck with cheap Sony players SCD-775, and SCD-222ES and Marantz SA-11S2. Many have reported the Yamaha hold up.
My point is that SACD player have not held up like old CD players or even 50.00 DVD players. The players I listed as having high failure rates are all very good sounding. Just unreliable.

George

The only failed SACD player I ever had was a Magnavox., posted on November 8, 2009 at 19:15:10
Kal Rubinson
Reviewer

Posts: 7158
Joined: June 5, 2002
 No surprise that but all the rest, including the infamous Philips SACD-1000, are still working fine.

Kal

RE: The only failed SACD player I ever had was a Magnavox., posted on November 9, 2009 at 05:16:13
stvnharr
Audiophile

Posts: 413
Joined: November 6, 2003
 Kal,
Wow, I thought the SACD 1000 had a near 100% failure rate. Certainly one could have gotten that impression from the posts here.

RE: The only failed SACD player I ever had was a Magnavox., posted on November 9, 2009 at 08:40:09
Disbeliever
 Stvnharr

Wow,Philips SACD -1000 at least we agree on something what a complete piece of absolute rubbish. Same goes for the Marantz 9600 with a hopeless incomplete Menu system. I have also read on a forum of problems with the Marantz SA-7S1 . However my modified 20 year old Marantz CD94 is still superb. It seems they no longer make them as they used to. After I year my Sony XA5400ES is still without fault best bargain player on the market for CD/SACD.

That infamous Philips SACD/DVD transport..., posted on November 9, 2009 at 09:16:18
QuadESL63
Audiophile

Posts: 402
Location: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Joined: December 8, 2005
 Everyone who used that Philips transport is screwed. I guess that's why EMM Labs turned to the Esoteric/TEAC? ;)

The Marantz SA-7S1 you mentioned must be that static-related problem. It only happened once so far on mine after over a year of ownership. I think they have a fix for it but I didn't bother to ship it back, yet, for a retrofit of some sort. Other than that it plays everything (CDs/SACDs) I throw at it. I haven't seen/read about any other issue so far on players with the Marantz's SACDM-1 transport mechanism, that is.
RE: That infamous Philips SACD/DVD transport..., posted on November 9, 2009 at 12:25:47
Disbeliever
 The problem with the SA-7S1 is that it is no where as good as my CD94 for RB CD , plus I did not like the stereo only SACD. what a waste of money, I sold mine off afeter a 750 hour waste of time burn in.

Marantz CD-94 v.s. Marantz SA-7S1 RBCD, posted on November 9, 2009 at 13:32:27
QuadESL63
Audiophile

Posts: 402
Location: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Joined: December 8, 2005
 I don't have the Marantz CD-94 but I still have a (working) Philips CD-960. I think they are basically the same thing inside, unless you have a 94 Mk II (fully balanced output?).

The Philips doesn't sound as good as the SA-7S1 on my system w/ the single ended outputs esp. in terms of details & smoothness for RBCD (filter 1 on the 7S1 w/ other processing features turned off). But I guess my Philips is stock except for a pair of TDA-1541A S2 chips. There is also things like system synergy, etc. at play. Who knows? To each of his/her own, YMMV ;)

One thing for sure: the CDM-1 mechanism is quite a work horse and keeps running forever! And, it is a treat to listen to the old school '16 bits' sound once in a while.

Yes, no HDMI out on the 7S1 is a bummer... but I got an Oppo '83' for that and the "pops and clicks" seems to have all gone after a recent firmware upgrade. Well, I only have 1 BIS SACD that I have problems anyway. Weird.
RE: Marantz CD-94 v.s. Marantz SA-7S1 RBCD, posted on November 12, 2009 at 07:46:16
Disbeliever
 The Philips CD 960 would have to be modified and then it would sound the same as the CD94. However a lot of modification work is required.

RE: Marantz CD-94 v.s. Marantz SA-7S1 RBCD, posted on November 12, 2009 at 15:49:46
QuadESL63
Audiophile

Posts: 402
Location: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Joined: December 8, 2005
 Marantz CD94 Mk I and Philips CD 960 are exactly the same thing inside, for instance, according to 'lampirzator': http://www.lampizator.eu/LAMPIZATOR/REFERENCES/Marantz%20CD94/MK1/Marantz%20CD-94%20MK1.html

Of course, if you are talking about CD94 Mk II or a highly modified CD94 Mk I that will be a different story.

Not to discount Marantz CD94/Philips CD960: they are both great 16 bits TDA-1541A based players.

Possibly. Probably., posted on November 9, 2009 at 08:31:56
Kal Rubinson
Reviewer

Posts: 7158
Joined: June 5, 2002
 It may be an issue of hours logged. I used mine for a year or so and then stowed it away. Years later, I got the bug to get the APL upgrade for it and, when I unearthed it, it worked fine. It went to APL and back but it only got the analog mods since the supply of the essential "magic chip" was exhausted. Upon return, it is very nice.

Of course, I only use it sporadically as I have many other players.

Kal
RE: The only failed SACD player I ever had was a Magnavox., posted on November 9, 2009 at 01:11:44
Disbeliever
 I found both the Philips SACD -1000 and the Marantz 9600 to be useless and had to return both for refunds. I am glad that I have not bought the Oppo BDP--83 with its SACD isssues still unresoved as at 26 October's email from Oppo Digital.

Must be due to your negative vibes. (NT), posted on November 9, 2009 at 08:32:37
Kal Rubinson
Reviewer

Posts: 7158
Joined: June 5, 2002

RE: This is common with SACD players, posted on November 7, 2009 at 09:13:22
Tony Lauck
Audiophile

Posts: 3048
Location: Vermont
Joined: November 12, 2007
Contributor
  Since: February 24, 2009
 The root cause of this problem is SACD itself, and as far as organizations are concerned, Sony, Philips and the RIAA are responsible. Without proprietary storage technology used for technology lock-in and DRM, there would be alternate approaches.

Other digital formats can be stored on a wide variety of inexpensive commodity computer components. Last summer a CD/DvD drive that I used for ripping CDs and burning CD-R's failed. I got a new one for under $30, and it was a 15 minute replacement, no tools required for the swap to replace the drive in one of my computers. (I was in no immediate rush to replace the drive, because I had two other computers with working drives and a network that ships music files between computers in seconds.) This flexibility, coupled with the inflexibility of SACD, is one of the reasons why I choose to avoid the SACD format. (I was badly burned in the late 80's when I bought a Nakamichi CD player that had a failing laser that was unconomic to repair, and I am not about to be taken again.)

Tony Lauck

"Diversity is the law of nature; no two entities in this universe are uniform." - P.R. Sarkar

RE: This is common with SACD players, posted on November 9, 2009 at 01:19:05
Hiro
Audiophile

Posts: 305
Joined: November 16, 2008
 "This flexibility, coupled with the inflexibility of SACD, is one of the reasons why I choose to avoid the SACD format."

You're missing great music in highest quality then.

PS Why do you post on the SACD sub-forum, if you choose to avoid the SACD format?

RE: This is common with SACD players, posted on November 9, 2009 at 08:45:50
Tony Lauck
Audiophile

Posts: 3048
Location: Vermont
Joined: November 12, 2007
Contributor
  Since: February 24, 2009
 There probably is a slight reduction in quality when a pure DSD recording is converted to 88.2/24 PCM. There may possibly be a minute reduction in quality when a pure DSD recording is converted to 176.4/24 PCM. (I will buy these when they become available.) On the other hand, pure PCM recordings are best released in the format at which they were originally recorded without unnecessary conversion to DSD (or even upsampling to higher resolution PCM). At best any upsampling operation can only retain information in the original, and can not gain any information. (This doesn't apply to a true remastering, where there might be a gain due to the engineer's artistry.)

These minute differences are of no cosmic significance. I am interested in music and have purchased several dozen 88/24 downloads that were made by ripping SACDs. I am not interested in minute improvements in sound quality at the cost of enriching cartels (RIAA) or monopolists (Sony/Philips). I prefer the bulk of my music dollars go to musicians. I frequent the Hi-res forum because there are interesting discussions, many about music, musicians and recordings. And because of some discussions that contain bogus technical information extolling second generation SP marketing BS, the follow-on to "Perfect Sound Forever".

I fully expect to be flamed by the SP shills and sycophants. To the extent that these flames contain only heat and no light, I will ignore them.


Tony Lauck

"Diversity is the law of nature; no two entities in this universe are uniform." - P.R. Sarkar

RE: This is common with SACD players, posted on November 9, 2009 at 08:57:30
Hiro
Audiophile

Posts: 305
Joined: November 16, 2008
 "I am interested in music and have purchased several dozen 88/24 downloads that were made by ripping SACDs"

How many SACDs are available as PCM downloads? 5%, 1%?

RE: This is common with SACD players, posted on November 9, 2009 at 09:29:01
Tony Lauck
Audiophile

Posts: 3048
Location: Vermont
Joined: November 12, 2007
Contributor
  Since: February 24, 2009
 "How many SACDs are available as PCM downloads? 5%, 1%?"

HDtracks had 383 hi-res downloads on their web site this morning. I believe the majority of them are sourced from SACDs, but I don't know the exact numbers. Linn Records also has SACD sourced PCM downloads, and there are probably other sites as well. The catalog of hires downloads is growing weekly.

Tony Lauck

"Diversity is the law of nature; no two entities in this universe are uniform." - P.R. Sarkar

RE: This is common with SACD players, posted on November 9, 2009 at 09:54:59
Hiro
Audiophile

Posts: 305
Joined: November 16, 2008
 So let's say there are 200 PCM downloads converted from SACD/DSD - that accounts for 3% of all SACDs :(

What do you use for SACD playback? (nt), posted on November 7, 2009 at 13:48:30
rich121
Audiophile

Posts: 4037
Location: WA State, USA
Joined: March 8, 2003
Contributor
  Since: May 28, 2003


Rick
It's all about the music!
RE: What do you use for SACD playback? (nt), posted on November 7, 2009 at 14:01:33
Tony Lauck
Audiophile

Posts: 3048
Location: Vermont
Joined: November 12, 2007
Contributor
  Since: February 24, 2009
 I don't. The SACD recordings that I've heard are 88.1/24 PCM conversions that I have downloaded from HDtracks.com. Too bad they aren't done at 176.4/24 though.

Tony Lauck

"Diversity is the law of nature; no two entities in this universe are uniform." - P.R. Sarkar

My 775 is still going strong on 9 years, posted on November 7, 2009 at 05:48:56
TimB5881
Audiophile

Posts: 559
Joined: September 5, 2001
 While my other cheapo the 595 Sony stoped reading SACD's after I moved. I think the fault is mine in that it was not boxed up, and rode on a truck floor across the country. It still reads and plays red book cd's with no issues. I had thought of buying the new Marantz 8003 SACD player, but maybe not now.

RE: This is common with SACD players, posted on November 6, 2009 at 19:21:05
PeterCapo
Audiophile

Posts: 182
Location: New England
Joined: January 5, 2001
 Good points, thank you.

I’ve had have a Pioneer Elite DV-58AV since last spring that I got for around $350. Sounds pretty good and so far it hasn’t refused to play anything.

I am also thinking of the new Onkyo SACD player in the same price range, the C-S5VL. There are a few posts about it here, but I’d like to know more.

I am definitely thinking that I don’t want to spend a lot of money on players that only work sometimes. What's the point. At least if one of these less expensive but still reasonably good sounding machines fail, your losses won’t be as bad.

Years ago, there was a sense of outrage when you paid money for something and it didn’t work and the manufacturer didn’t want to know about it. That outrage seems to be gone today, which is a major reason why these companies get away with charging and getting a lot of money for unreliable products. What a shame.
Well, posted on November 6, 2009 at 17:35:32
JMCIII
Reviewer

Posts: 1363
Location: Vermont
Joined: April 3, 2000
 Then buy an SACD player from a company that builds their own transports - like Esoteric. I owned their entry level SA-10 for two years and it never once failed to read a disc. My new SA-50 has been equally strong (abet not for as long - yet).




Just my (adjusted for inflation) $2


John Crossett

___

It sounds like English, but I can't understand a word you're saying.
Haven't heard of any problem with SA11S2 and SA7S1..., posted on November 7, 2009 at 08:10:29
QuadESL63
Audiophile

Posts: 402
Location: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Joined: December 8, 2005
 ... with their Marantz-made in-house transport (SACDM-1), which has been around for ~2 years now (for the SA7S1, at least).

Even my older SA-14 is problem-free for the year or so I have it but I guess one sample does not make it statistically reliable.
I'm happy for you - but Marantz, especially the 8260, posted on November 7, 2009 at 11:18:25
JMCIII
Reviewer

Posts: 1363
Location: Vermont
Joined: April 3, 2000
 Has had tansport problems. Well documented here. I had one and it had those selfsame problems. Mine was, however, fixed properly, so I had no complaints. But both my Esoteric's have never had a hic-up's problems.


Just my (adjusted for inflation) $2


John Crossett

___

It sounds like English, but I can't understand a word you're saying.
I'm well aware of the problems with 8260, posted on November 9, 2009 at 09:25:21
QuadESL63
Audiophile

Posts: 402
Location: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Joined: December 8, 2005
 Read about it in details. I have also done a bit of researches before I bought my SA-14v1 (manufactured after the 'TOC' fix) and my SA-7S1.

I don't like the sound of the Esoteric. Not saying it is not good but I guess it doesn't have the synergy with the rest of my system. I like the EMM Labs player but it has the (in)famous Philips mechanism at the time (and a bit over my budget ;) ). Well, since EMM Labs have switched to the TEAC/Esoteric mechanism may be I will take a second look next time around. Also like the Cary but I have read about issues with the Sony mechanism it has at the time, too (have Cary switch to something newer from Sony? Didn't follow up).

In their defense, posted on November 6, 2009 at 15:23:03
madisonears
Audiophile

Posts: 487
Location: midwest
Joined: September 6, 2006
 I, too, have had transport problems with a more expensive Marantz SACD player, documented here previously. Those issues were finally (I hope) resolved satisfactorily. Marantz was VERY responsive to my complaints. I was contacted twice by the North American sales manager; both turned into friendly, informative, longish telephone conversations. I'm sure he had better things to do. I think that qualifies as pretty good customer service.

Perhaps the problem lies as much with the service center as Marantz. They depend on service centers to handle failures so they don't need to bother with them. A company's primary goal is to make a profit from sales, not fix stuff. You can't expect a company to buy back every product that eventually proves defective, especially if they can't even detect the defect. I doubt that any lawyer would ever be willing to attempt such a class action suit.

In your case, you have made a decision to never buy another one of their products, but others may see it differently. I feel the same way about Sony.

Peace,
Tom E

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