1. Home
  2. digital
  3. 124454-2164

Esoteric SA-60

Never have I had such problems with a piece of equipment.  It's connected to the 7.1 bypass array of a Bryston SP3.  The display shows multichannel when I play a surround SACD, but I get sound only from the center channel.  I removed the parallel balanced stereo connection between the SA-60 and SP3, but that had no effect.  I never heard stereo from the SA-60 when I selected the balanced input, but I think I've heard stereo and multichannel from 7.1 bypass.

The trouble seemed to start when I learned that the SP3 does no processing in the bypass modes so provides no speaker management.  I set up speaker management using the menu of the SA-60.  But I've tried clearing the SA-60 memory several times since then.

I hope the problem is pilot error and not a defective SA-60. 

dbphd
dbphd OP
1,058 posts
 
jafant,

Not at all.  Gary at Bryston claimed he would try to help, but my emails to him have gone unanswered.  I reset memory last night, then left the the SA-2 unplugged until this morning.  I tried a stereo SACD.  The display shows the LR icons and that the disc is being played, but there is no sound.  I set audio output to multichannel and played a 5.0 disc.  Again, no sound.

Next is to remove the multichannel connection and try balanced and single-ended stereo just to see if that works.  But even if it does, that would defect the purpose of the SA-60, because I have an Ayre C-5xeMP for stereo.

islandmandan
848 posts
 
I can't know the operating similarities between your SA 60 and the DV 60 I own, but I've got to believe it has to be something in the settings that is amiss. There are a lot of settings to choose from, try going through them again, and see if you've missed something.

Other than that, it may be a problem with the transport mechanism. I was able to replace the optics in my DV 60 on my own, it's not too big a job. The easiest way is to remove the face plate (and the lid), the mechanism is then easy to remove and replace. Contact Teac of America, they probably have replacement parts in stock.

Best of luck, regards,
Dan
jafant's avatar
jafant
10,525 posts
 
Thanks! for sharing- Dan.
I am thinking that there cannot be much difference between the SA/DV -60. Hopefully, the interface and on-screen menu(s) are similar enough to assist db.
dbphd OP
1,058 posts
 
I also think my problem is with the menu settings.  I've reset the menu several times, consulting the manual at each step, but later today I'll go through it again.  The SA-60 display shows that it recognizes DSD, is playing the disc, and the speaker icon matches the purported output array.  I hoped resetting the memory and the overnight power-down would give me a fresh start, but I haven't heard a sound from the SA-60 since.  I've been setting up audio equipment for 60 years, and this is the first time I've experienced such problems.

gocubs999
154 posts
 
The fact your only hearing sound from the center channel using the 5.1/7.1 analog input of the Bryston SP3 is leading me to thinking the Esoteric unit is the offender here. As you probably know, there are several formats available of standard SACD's (3 to be exact) With my DV50S, you can change the readable format from Stereo Audio, 5.1 Channel audio and for standard SACD's. (reading right from the manual). This function cannot be performed from the remote, but; the unit itself. 
Short of telling the SA-60 which section to read for playback, sound from only the center is .......pointing to an issue with the SA-60 if all of the setup settings are correct.
More to discover