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Marantz Life Amplified |
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#1
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SA-12SE announced in UK - How does it compare to SA-10?
I just ordered the SA-10 a few weeks ago, & now the SA-12SE has been announced in the UK. If the SA-12SE will be available here (U.S.), and is better than the SA-10, I might still have time to change my order. Does anybody know anything?
http://www.hifiplus.com/articles/mar...dition-models/ https://www.marantz.com/en-gb/shop/sacdcdplayer/sa12se SOTA Cosmos TT (vacuum, Electronic Flywheel), SME V, Koetsu Rosewood Signature Esoteric X-05 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 |
#2
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You purchased Marantz's top of the line player.
I suspect that the release of the SA-12SE might be to supersede the KI-Ruby player since Ken Ishiwata was let go from Marantz before his passing. It doesn't make sense to have a player with his name on it anymore. I'll bet the SA-12SE is a great player, but it's scaled back a bit compared to the build and components SA-10. The difference in sound would probably be evident in a direct comparison between the two players. But if you didn't need the balanced circuitry, the SA-12SE could be worth the cost savings.
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Christian south: Mark Levinson No. 52 pre, Bricasti M28 amps, Lumin A1, Oppo BDP-205, Pioneer CT-43, Sony SS-AR1 Speakers, Audioquest Dragon PCs, Audioquest speaker cables, Audioquest interconnects, HB Power Design Powerslave Star Galaxy power distributor north: Vitus SIA-030, Luxman D10X, Sony TC-KA3ES, Harbeth 40.2, Siltech cables |
#3
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Thanks! I failed to notice the lack of balanced outputs on the SA-12SE. I chose the SA-10 over the Ruby because I wanted that last bit of performance.
I do wonder whether this presages the announcement of a full-blown SA-12 replacement for the SA-10. I hope I won't be kicking myself in 2 months for not having waited... Last edited by Crumhorn; 08-12-2020 at 02:12 PM. |
#4
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I think the SA-10 will have another 1-2 years of being the top of the line. The previous SA-11S3 had about a 5 year run and the SA-10 came out about 2017. I doubt you'll regret the SA-10 once you hear it, even if they do something next year. It's really great!
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Christian south: Mark Levinson No. 52 pre, Bricasti M28 amps, Lumin A1, Oppo BDP-205, Pioneer CT-43, Sony SS-AR1 Speakers, Audioquest Dragon PCs, Audioquest speaker cables, Audioquest interconnects, HB Power Design Powerslave Star Galaxy power distributor north: Vitus SIA-030, Luxman D10X, Sony TC-KA3ES, Harbeth 40.2, Siltech cables |
#5
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Thanks, Christian.
------------------------------ John |
#6
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Buy a pre-loved SA-7S1...
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Avid Acutus SP, NO ARM, Benz Micro LP-S, Whest Audio PS.40RDT SE, PS Audio DSMP+DS DAC, Simaudio Moon 700i, Dali Epicon 6, Simaudio Moon Nēo 430HAD, HiFiMan HE-1000v2, Chord Sarum SA XLR, RCA, USB, Chord Sarum speaker, Nordost Vishnu power, Furutech plugs, PS Audio P10+Chord Sarum SA power, Stillpoints Ultra SS, Ultra Mini and LPI, HiFi Racks rack, Audio Desk Systeme PRO+Keith Monks Omni RCM |
#7
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Thanks. Given the rapid advances in DACs, I find it surprising that you think that the 12 year old SA-7S1 would sound better than the SA-10...
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#8
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So I tend to agree with you.
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Christian south: Mark Levinson No. 52 pre, Bricasti M28 amps, Lumin A1, Oppo BDP-205, Pioneer CT-43, Sony SS-AR1 Speakers, Audioquest Dragon PCs, Audioquest speaker cables, Audioquest interconnects, HB Power Design Powerslave Star Galaxy power distributor north: Vitus SIA-030, Luxman D10X, Sony TC-KA3ES, Harbeth 40.2, Siltech cables |
#9
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I agree that DACs have advanced, though some have retreated too! When I compared the SA-10 to my SA-7S1 side-by-side (somewhere on AA there is my short review) I preferred the SA-7S1. The DAC may potentially be better, but the quality of the rest of the player comes into the equation too.
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Avid Acutus SP, NO ARM, Benz Micro LP-S, Whest Audio PS.40RDT SE, PS Audio DSMP+DS DAC, Simaudio Moon 700i, Dali Epicon 6, Simaudio Moon Nēo 430HAD, HiFiMan HE-1000v2, Chord Sarum SA XLR, RCA, USB, Chord Sarum speaker, Nordost Vishnu power, Furutech plugs, PS Audio P10+Chord Sarum SA power, Stillpoints Ultra SS, Ultra Mini and LPI, HiFi Racks rack, Audio Desk Systeme PRO+Keith Monks Omni RCM |
#10
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Plus I noticed that on the AC inlet on the back of the SA-10 has only two-way prong and missing ground. So, it will be hard to find a good audiophile quality power cable that has only two-way prong female connector. All good upgraded power cables have three-way prong female connectors. I noticed all Marantz Reference series gears have only two-way prong AC inlet on the back of their gears. Wonder why? Could someone explain? I was considering the SA-10 before but when I saw that two-way prong AC inlet on the SA-10 it kinda thew me off a bit, so I ended up getting a used Cary Audio CD 306 SACD player which also sounds very musical and it's in the same league as the SA-10 sonically and build quality wise but the Cary is an older player and has been discontinued sometime ago. My cousin has DCS Vivaldi full four separate stacks which consists of the Vivaldi masterclock, Vivaldi upsampler, Vivaldi DAC & Vivaldi CD/SACD transport. One time one of his buddy brought in over the Marantz SA-10 and the he was dissapointed with the sound quality of the SA-10 especially in comparison to his DCS Vivaldi full stacks. I know this wasn't a fair comparison at all, far from it. I wouldn't compare $7k SA-10 to $130k DCS Vivaldi stacks. |
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