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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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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. |
#10
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Despite feeling a bit put out by Esoteric, my first thought was to see what their current replacement model would be. 3 different major Esoteric dealers told me that Esoteric had apparently abandoned the US market - multiple big-dollar orders by them had gone unfilled, inquiries to Esoteric by them had gone unanswered, & they had been forced to give their customers refunds. (They also said that no-show replacement parts were delaying repairs.) They all advised me to avoid Esoteric like the plague. My thoughts then turned to Luxman, but they had just retired their entire SACD player line, & the only new model that will be available this year is the d-10x, which is way out of my price range. Because I need SACD (I have over 1000 discs), my player choices are limited to begin with. I did a lot of research, & called a lot of dealers, and the SA-10 seems like the best player available within my price range, unless I am willing to wait a year for the new, less expensive, Luxman models, which I'm not. The new Esoteric players have gotten some good reviews, but that does me no good if I can't (reliably) buy one. It's been a very frustrating process. Although the AC inlet on the Marantz lacks a ground pin, it takes a standard IEC-type plug, allowing the use of aftermarket PCs like my Shunyata Alpha NR - it simply makes no connection to the ground. I currently have a call in to Shunyata to ask if this is a problem. (Richard is on vacation until next Wed.) As my turntable is also out of commission at the moment, I've been without my system for over 2 months, & I'm going through withdrawal... Last edited by Crumhorn; 08-21-2020 at 07:13 PM. |
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