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In Reply to: RE: Marantz SA-7S1 vs. Vinyl posted by Quint on April 10, 2008 at 08:03:35
it makes me wonder if the truth is somewhere down the middle.
As an example, Dr S review ...
"There is only one other source device I have personally heard that I appreciate as much as the Marantz SA-7S1, and that is the Walker Audio Proscenium turntable (as optioned and tricked out by Lloyd himself), at somewhere north of $30K."
and yet ...
"I have not purchased a player since the Sony SCD-1, and had no intentions of doing so until the SA-7 made its way into my life. I figured to wander aimlessly from review unit to review unit; but this all changed with the Marantz."
Well, as good as the SCD1 was (and it was a decent sounding device), I've heard countless superior digital players I'd rather live with long-term. Also, Dr S moved from SCD1 to Marantz seemed slightly ironic, considerig the original Sony SACD players were also hyped well beyond reality.
As for the comparison to a $30K Walker, IMO, its just another example of using exagerated cost/$$,$$$/hype. In my experience, it doesn't take anything close to $30~40K worth of analog gear to equal or best ANY SACD player.
And Quint, great analog can indeed sound near identical to digital if the source (LP/CD/SACD) are indeed similar. As an example, I have quite a few LPs that are originaly recorded in the digital domain, and honestly, they sound near identical on my LP rig as they do on my CDP counterpart.
>>That said, two of my friends own very high-end analog rigs, and since they’ve gotten their SA-7S1s, their LP listening has fallen off sharply. Take it for what it’s worth, but I’ve heard the same from several other people as well.<<
OK, true but semi-meaningless, any excellent digital player will do much the same. As an example, while my analog rig remains superior(although once again, this depends on the mastering quality of the software), my digital player is very musical and offers long term listening satisfaction. Therefore, I'm just as happy to settle back with my remote and toss CDs all night long. Fact is, I listen to CD 80% of the time.
And this brings me back to the hyped original Sony SACD players. I abandoned my time with the Sony 777 simply because it ended up sitting idle (therefore wasted within my system). As good as it was, I had no desire to listen to it long term when I had alternative superior sources.
Look, I'm not saying that the Marantz SA7 isn't worthy of praise. I've recently heard it in passing and I was relatively impressed.
But to be honest, the most impressive sounding digital product (although not a CD or SACD player per-say) I've heard recently was the Linn Akurate DS ... despite its relative LACK of hype/comparison to $20/30/40,000 alternatives.
TBone
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