The Marantz SA-8001 SACD player

I've posted extensively about this unit elsewhere, and thought I owed it to my friends here to do likewise. I recently purchased the Marantz SA-8001 SACD player after much contemplation between it and two Cambridge Audio units: the 740 nd 840 models. I ruled out the 840 for price reasons, and selected the Marantz over the similarly priced ($900) 740 because of its SACD capability.

I've been looking for a 2-channel SACD player for a long time that would also perform as a first rate CD player, and the 8001 seems to be just the ticket for that. I have no use for the multi-channel capabilities of SACD's (though, this is not a crticism of multi-channel playback), but wanted to emphasize fidelity in a 2-channel format, as my main system for listening is 2-channel (as is most for those posting here and elsewhere, I believe).

The Marantz SA-8001 is one of the very few components that doesn't cost many thousands of dollars that also has been declared a "Stereophile Class-A Recommended" component. To many, that says a great deal, as it does to me too. Even a "Class -C" recommendation is high praise, but "Class A" is something truly special.

While SACD's perform splendidly on the 8001, it is the CD performance that really makes this unit shine. There are plenty of far less expensive SACD players out there that play those discs well, but fare poorly on standard, "redbook" CD playback. That most definitely is not so with the 8001: CD's have taken on an all new life, almost as if they've been re-recorded, or remastered. Sometimes, the difference is absolutely remarkable, and at other times less so, but all CD's sound significantly better on this unit than they did on my Adcom GCD-600/GDA-600 combination, and that combination wasn't too shabby, either!

I've often stated how big a fan I am of the Telarc label, and how I've often communicated with Jack Renner, former founder/president/chief recording engineer of Telarc. Naturally, the first 7 SACD's I purchased were Telarc hybrid discs, two of which are remastered discs from older Telarc recordings done via the Soundstream digital recorder. Telarc has extensive material written about the superiority of the Soundstream recorder vs. the standard redbook CD capabilities, and how the SACD format better captures the sonic performance of the original Soundstream masters from over 15 years ago.

I only have two such SACD's (a combination of two, now on one disc - "Tchaikovsky's 4th," and Stravinsky's "The Rite of Spring," as well as the splendid performance of "Mahler's 2nd" performed by Leonard Slatkin. The newer discs are amazing when compared to the older redbook CD versions, and even the CD layer of the hybrid disc blows away the redbook CD, due to its remastering via the Direct Stream Digital (DSD) process. Comparing the CD and SACD layers of these discs reveals yet another sonic revelation. I intend to watch the Telarc website closely to see which Soundstream discs are released as hybrid SACD's and purchase as many as possible. It's hard to believe how much better these older recordings can now sound, and they sounded pretty good in the first place!

There are those who eschew the CD medium completely, and vigorously claim that analog, LP's still reign supreme. I'm not one of those folks, and should they take a listen to how either an SACD, or any well recorded CD can sound when played on the Marantz SA-8001, I suspect they just might think twice about their position.

As another member of another site said back to me, "your turntable might just get dusty" now that you have this player. Indeed it might!

Congrats on your new unit ...but, i'm a big fan of Cambridge Audio gear...

Enjoy.

A member of another site (audioreview.com) actually received both the Marantz 8001 and the Cambridge Audio 740 as Christmas gifts! He wrote extensively about the two, and preferred the 740, and thorougly dismissed the SACD capability of the Marantz unit (something he now says he regrets).

He also traded in the 740 for the 840, and prefers the 840, but the $1,400 price tag was just too much for me. And it isn't an SACD player either.

I concur with you $1,400 it's a little too much. The Azur 840 C costs in EU around 1,150€.

This post has been edited by clint e. on April 08, 2008 01:12 pm

i was itching to go with an SACD player last year but opted instead for dedicated redbook transport. cost had a lot to do with it, but in the end it was the availability of titles that fell within my tastes in music that made the decision for me. if the format ever expands into my region of music i'll most certainly go with an SACD player.

I don't know what your musical tastes are, dingus, but check out

AcousticSounds.com

and you might be surprised at how many SACD's are available, and not all of them are classical either. I was quite surprised myself at the number of available titles, and the variety.

Also you can check this:

http://www.sa-cd.net/topsellers

emaidel, thanks for the great review. I have also long been a fan of Telarc discs, and use a number of Telarc tracks on my personal A/V test CD.

Over the last year I have also become a fan of the modern Marantz gear. I find that in today's world of plastic face plates, feature bloat, and poor sound quality, Marantz stands out as a company producing well made and great sounding (or great looking regarding video) equipment. You might give up a few features, but all of the important ones are there and work exceptionally well. This allows Marantz to invest where it matters most, while still keeping their prices competitive. They aren't the cheapest, but IMO they are offering incredible value.

Rob