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Old 10-01-2020, 10:36 PM
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Crumhorn Crumhorn is offline
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When my Esoteric X-05 SACD self-destructed this summer, I, too, looked into the Ruby vs the SA-10 (among others.) All my ICs are currently single-ended, as I like the ability to switch to my Hovland preamp sometimes, and it has no balanced connections. There seemed to be near-universal agreement that the SA-10 was better, but by how much varied person (& system) to person. I also asked Marantz America what the differences were. They said that in addition to the balanced circuitry & shielded transformer, select components in the signal path (caps, resistors, etc.) of the SA-10 were of a higher quality.

Here is the opinion someone voiced in response to this question on a different forum: "The SA-10 has the same sonic character as the Ruby. The SA-10 just offers a bit more of everything. Piano has more weight, soundstage is wider and deeper, everything is just a bit more real. I think the SA-10 is a really special piece and the Ruby isn’t far behind at significantly lower cost. It is a real value for how great it sounds. I use my SA-10 as a DAC through its digital inputs most of the time, but it really sounds best spinning discs. You can’t go wrong with either option."

I ended up ordering the SA-10 (at the end of July.) I was informed a few days ago that it had finally shipped from Japan. I can't wait. If a comparably-priced Luxman had been available, I would have considered that as well.

SOTA Cosmos TT (vacuum, Electronic Flywheel), SME V, Koetsu Rosewood Signature
Marantz SA-10 SACD player, Alesis ML-9600 mastering CD burner, Nakamichi 700 ZXE Cassette Deck
Pass Labs XP-15 phono stage
Pass Labs XP-30 (SS) & Hovland HP-100 (tube) preamps
Edge G8+ laser-biased monoblocks & Classé M-700 monoblocks
Rockport Atria & Infinity IRS Beta Speakers
Audience AU24 SX Phono cable, MIT Shotgun ICs, Shunyata Alpha SCs
Revelation Audio Labs 'Passage' CryoSilver Reference DualConduit DB-25 umbilical cables for Pass XP-30
Shunyata Denali 6000T power conditioner (on BBA platform), Shunyata Alpha NR, Delta NR, & Venom HC PCs. Also PS8 & 2 Venom Defenders.
Audio Magic Ultimate SHD Bees Wax Fuse, Synergistic Research Blue & Black fuses, Hi-Fi Tuning fuses
Klaudio LP200 ultrasonic RCM

Last edited by Crumhorn; 11-03-2020 at 09:33 PM.
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