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Marantz SA8001 Initial Impressions

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Just got my new SA8001 yesterday and have it burning in for the past day. I know it's premature to make any judgement until it's fully burned in, but I must say it is pretty phenomenal.

Background is extremely "black" (absolutely silent with the gain up). Compare that to a lot of static on my Rotel 1072 (at even a quarter gain), and the Rotel is supposed to be very quiet.

Secondly, the sound is incredibly warm, refined and velvety smooth. I've been playing solo Bach (Julia Fischer on Pentatone) as well as Fournier's live recordings of the cello suites, and the depth of the bass and round shape of the tone is really noteworthy.

So far only qualm is that this warmth can sound a bit veiled with some recordings. A tiny bit on the stuffy side. Not sure if this is just in my system (Rotel RC-1070 preamp / RB-1080 amp / PSB Image T65 speakers) or a general quality about the Marantz. Anyways, definitely worth a look for those who are interested in getting into hirez at a reasonable price (I paid $640).


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Topic - Marantz SA8001 Initial Impressions - chooch 13:43:50 03/10/07 (3)


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