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| Model: | SA-14 |
| Category: | CD Player/Recorder |
| Suggested Retail Price: | unknown |
| Description: | Single disc stereo-only SACD/CD player |
| Manufacturer URL: | Marantz |
|
Review by Stephen (A) on February 15, 2002 at 16:46:59 IP Address: 210.49.106.183 |
Add Your Review for the SA-14 |
Let me start by saying that I consider myself foremost a music lover with modest audiophile aspirations so please take this into consideration when judging the following.The SA-14 is the only SACD player I've really listened to. At the time I bought it (6 months ago), this was about all that was available in Australia at the top end of my price range, and probably still is. I A/B'd it with the Musical Fidelity A3CD and Arcam FMJ CD23 and decided the jump in SACD performance well worth the premium. More on this below.
The SA-14 is a simple stereo-only single disc player. Build quality is high and it has (in my champagne finish model) the look of classy Japanese gear. The transport (made by Sharp, I believe) is solid and has a nifty clockwork sound at the beginning and end of play but is otherwise silent. Controls on the player are standard plus a button to switch between the CD and SACD layers on a hybrid disc and another to turn the display off (I can't hear any difference). It comes with a really stylish remote which permits random/repeat/program operations.
As for general operation, some care is required to seat the disc carefully in the tray ... on about 3 occasions I've had to reseat it and try again. TOC reading sometimes takes a while but this varies from disc to disc. My player has a 2 year warranty and I may get them to look at the transport/firmware at the end of this period but I'm not really concerned. It hasn't gotten any worse.
How does it sound? I'm mindful that the player in isolation makes no sound and what I'm hearing is dependent on the system as a whole. I reckon my system is on the transparent and neutral side with the speaker cables adding a touch of warmth and less treble hardness.
Let's start with CD. I would characterise this as basically "honest" ... dynamic, detailed, grain-free are adjectives I'd use. Bass is deep and tight. Treble is extended, clean, pure. I can hear decay/reverb on CDs (not as natural as SACD though). If you only listened to non-acoustic music on this player you'd be happy without playing SACDs at all, in my opinion. On guitar, lute, harpsichord, koto etc it sounds stunning. Overall, an impressive sound with good, three dimensional soundstage, loads of detail and vibrancy. I still get enjoyment out of most of my CDs but they generally sound a bit processed and hollow, mainly due I guess to higher expectations than I had before listening to SACDs.
It's only when you switch to SACD that what you're missing is apparent. The soundstage widens and deepens, you hear more high-frequency cues, decay is more natural and the overall sound is smoother. Everything is more dimensional and piano sounds realistic. Individual instruments stand out and don't get lost when the music gets busy. The realism is often stunning with the amount of detail on some SACDs overwhelming at times. I now play louder as well. If CDs can sound "great", SACDs just sound "natural" ... this basically sums it up for me. My reference is live concerts (mainly chamber music) and I reckon I'm getting pretty close to the sound. My hit rate so far on SACD (pretty well all analogue or DSD recordings) has been very good with CDs being all over the place.
A few comments on the "tweaks" I used. When I got the player, I immediately used my (modest) power conditioning and low end Cardas power cord from my previous setup. These worked well before (better top and bottom end) so I didn't bother with the supplied power cord. I'm not sure exactly what the reason is, but my player benefited greatly by placing it on a vibration isolation platform (eliminated grain, grit on transients, improved resolution etc). Also, I recently got brave enough to replace my ICs with more transparent ones (Cardas Neutral Reference) and this has made the sound more open, detailed, lively etc. I reckon I'm getting close to the maximum this player can deliver but it's taken a while.
Anyway, draw your own conclusions. Well worth a listen!
| Product Weakness: | Bass very lean for the first month or so. |
| Product Strengths: | Truly great sound (on SACD) for the money. |
| Associated Equipment for this Review: | |
| Amplifier: | Musical Fidelity A300 (150W/8ohms) |
| Preamplifier (or None if Integrated): | None |
| Sources (CDP/Turntable): | Marantz SA-14, Rega P3 |
| Speakers: | B&W N805 (88dB), B&W ASW-2500 sub (700-1000W) |
| Cables/Interconnects: | Cardas Neutral Reference ICs (RCA), Cardas Golden Cross internal bi-wire |
| Music Used (Genre/Selections): | Classical only (but pretty well everything including late contemporary) |
| Room Size (LxWxH): | 19 x 11 x 9 |
| Room Comments/Treatments: | Room open on one side |
| Time Period/Length of Audition: | 6 months |
| Other (Power Conditioner etc.): | Cardas Hexlink 5C power cords, basic power smoothing, [iso:form] vibration isolation platform (wood) |
| Type of Audition/Review: | Product Owner |
Follow Ups:
Nice review Stephen. I'm curious what your impressions were of the CD23 vs the SA-14. I had a CD23 for 9 months prior to purchasing the SA-14. Right out of the box I found the SA-14 to have a bit of an edge on transients at loud volumes, but I was pleasantly surprised at the level of detail out of the SA-14 given that the CD23 is excellent in this regard. I think "honest" a pretty good description of the SA-14. Now that mine has a few 100 hundred hours of play time the sound has smoothed out and relaxed quite nicely. At times I find myself listening at very loud volumes without fatigue (especially with SACDs). Cheers!
Interesting. A dealer in my area has loaned me the CD23. He said the next step up on the ladder from this player for CD playback that he will be carrying is the SA-14. He does not carry the Sony ES players.With something like the XA777ES and SACD for free versus CD23 for the price, that speaks volumes for Sony ES players. I know the XA777ES can hold its own versus the CD23. How do I know? I have that unit in my living room as the XA777ES was also loaned to me by another dealer.
The SA14 versus XA777ES would be interesting!
I'm looking forward to some professional reviews of the SA-14 as well. Like Greg, I am not at all interested in multichannel. If the XA777ES tri dac system is really that good, it makes me wonder how good it could get if Sony made a dedicated 2 channel version with no compromises in the rest of the electronics, i.e., that an owner would be tempted to go the modification route.
SayWhat,Isn't the dedicated no compromise unit from Sony the SCD1??
There have been quite a few posts here claiming that the XA777ES has better 2 ch redbook play than the SCD-1, specifically because of the tri dac/ch approach. And, if the SCD-1 was no compromise, why are so many inmates modifying them?
Stereophile will hopefully be publishing a review on the SA14. Michael Fremer has this player and according to Kal Rubinson should be out soon. Maybe they will compare to the XA777ES? That would be an interesting comparison as I am mainly only intersted in how well it plays Redbook and SACD is a bonus.Personaly, I am not interested in mulitchannel. I would imagine that designing a Multichannel player to the same quality level of a dedicated 2 channel player such as the SA14 would be very difficult from cost point and sound quality point of view. Both of these players are around the same price point.
I only heard the Arcam for about 2 hours comparing it with a just-out-of-the-box SA-14. I liked the Arcam but it wasn't in the same league as the SA-14 playing SACDs. I still continue to re-evaluate my SA-14 as I make improvements to my system. As for resolution, I'm beginning to wonder whether I've got too much now!An option I may consider is to add an external DAC together with more forgiving ICs to rescue some of my CDs, while using the more transparent ICs just for SACD. This is probably the best of both worlds ... but I feel no imperative to fiddle at the moment. I buy very few CDs now and consider them poor value given the sound I can get on SACD.
Stephen Best
Canberra, Australia
What do you think are the downsides of "too much resolution". I find myself moving further and further in that direction. I replaced my Bryston BP-25 preamp with a Placette passive and there is a noticable improvement in both resolution and over clarity. I'm rediscovering older CDs and find that with a purer signal path more detail comes through and glare is significantly reduced. I am still buying redbook CDs because I listen to Jazz, R&B and Rock. SACD software is very limited for my tastes.
Resolution (and transparency so you can hear it) isn't without its downsides. I think there's two issues:1. You hear EVERYTHING. On my Gould/Bach Italian Concerto SACD it's very distracting. The FIM "River of Sorrow" SACD has an overwhelming presence which means you're on the edge of your seat as it's all very "live". So much for putting on a nice disc to relax! I still think it's a step in the right direction, I just have to get used to it.
2. Transparency highlights problems in other areas of the system. I've noticed that my system sounds different (slightly harsher high frequencies) at different times of the day and I'm pretty sure it's not my imagination, biorhythm, whatever. I starting to wonder if this is caused by voltage drop in the supply. Anyway, I going to look next at power conditioning (I currently have a $100 power board with modest smoothing circuitry). Has anyone tried UPS's designed for computers? I can pick these up pretty cheap. I'm after voltage stability and smoothing.
Welcome to the asylum, I guess!
Stephen Best
Canberra, Australia
I got my Cardas Neutral Reference ICs a week ago and I think I'm going to swap them for Golden Reference (twice the price, unfortunately) ... sorry Christine!I think the Neutral Reference is a *great* cable (and I may end up keeping the pair I've got for the future), it's just that it's too revealing for my CDs. If I could route CDs through something more forgiving I'd still use the Neutral Reference for SACD but don't have the funds for an external DAC at the moment. SACDs with Neutral Reference sound wonderful ... sob.
I've been doing a lot more listening over the weekend. The resolution my player delivers is astounding. With piano (even at low volume) I hear every time the sustain is taken off, even at the end of a piece when the note has decayed to nearly nothing ... and this is on CDs! Everything else has so much more information as well. I think this says heaps about the transport and output stage of the SA-14!
My problem is that piano is so artificial on CD with the Neutral Reference that it's well nigh unlistenable. So I've decided to trade some resolution for a slightly more forgiving, relaxed sound. This is a pragmatic decision based on my investment in software. I don't think this reflects badly on the CD stage of the SA-14 at all, but more on CDs themselves. I'm sure most people with cables less revealing than Neutral Reference will be very happy with CD performance on this player ... as I have been up until now.
Stephen Best
Canberra, Australia
that's okay stephen you have to buy whatever gives you a better result. who knows maybe if i like the neutral ref i may even buy your cable from you!i *still* haven't connected it up. nearly did on thu but turned out to be a harder problem than i thought - our rack is quite full and it's difficult to route the thick cables within it. plus the inlaws came for a visit on sun and i've got too many dvds to review ...
agree with you re piano resolution - i have one recording (cd) where i can hear not only the sustain pedal being released i can hear the pedal movement itself, the creaking in the piano stool, ... yes, way too much resolution!
I've tried the Hydra and PS300 and they didn't sound natural. Righ now I'm using Quietlines at various points and have the Audio Magic Stealth on request for a home trial.
Stephen,According to the February issue of "audioXpress", these don't provide the sort of clean power that audio equipment requires.
This magazine says on page 36:
"They are designed for maximum efficiency to extend battery operation for as long as possible. There are two types: off-line and on-line. If the AC line is the primary source and the internal battery/inverter is the backup, the topology is known as an off-line UPS. If the UPS provides continuous inverter power from the mains, switching to battery when the main voltage sags, it is an on-line UPS.
The impedance of the internal inverter usually results in a flat-topped output voltage waveform where the peak output current occurs. The inverter may also have power factor correction (PFC), but the power-switching circuitry can introduce high-order harmonic distortion on the output power. Since the switching power supplies in PCs are fairly tolerant of line-voltage excursions, the inverter may not switch on until the mains voltage is pretty far afield - below 90V AC or above 140V AC."
(with reference to US 120V AC)
The AC Power Line and Audio Equipment Part 3 by Charles Hansen
audioXpress 2/02This 3 part series by Charles Hansen of Ayre Acoustics has been quite interesting.
Regards,
Metralla
I just re-read the bio of the author of that article in audioXpress and it does not mention Ayre Acoustics at all. It does say that the author Charles Hansen has 5 patents in the field of electrical engineering but does not mention Ayre.I put two and two together and came up with 5. Apologies to all Charles Hansens out there I may have offended.
Regards,
Metralla
nt
Stephen Best
Canberra, Australia
i agree re transparency. both the xa777es and the cdm7nt are very transparent, which is showing up problems in my amplifier, cables and cds. it certainly pushes one into the upgrade path! i noticed on our second system in the study (denon/nad/rotel/601) some of the "faults" i hear have been masked out.re power conditioning - i have been thinking about this as well - keep us informed if you do some research. the feb issue of "technology and business" has an article on ups - good ones (online inverters) seem to cost around a$2000. however i'm worried that they don't deliver enough power (the volt amp ratings are generally 1000-1500 VA)
if i ever have enough money to buy a big power hungry amp, won't the limited power compromise the sound far worse than the conditioning benefits?
the other option i'm thinking of is to get a dedicated circuit from the step down transformer at the mains box to the system. this shouldn't be too expensive - i'll try and get a quote for this.
Your review is making me want to listen to your setup more and more!Do you still have your Arcam, or have you sold it?
I went through a stage where I hated the sound of a lot of my CDs, but now that I've done a few tweaks (mainly speaker positioning, plus also using the 5.1 analog in of the receiver) I'm pretty happy with CDs. Although you are right, compared to SACDs many of them sound decidedly inferior - esp. classical recordings.
Borrowed the David Helfgott Rach 3 from the library the other day. The quality of the recording was so poor the performance was almost unlistenable!
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