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Looking for SACD player............

I’m replacing my Marantz SA8100. Looking at new Marantz SA8500. Anything else new or used  in that price range I should be looking at? Thanks.
tpreaves
tubes444
70 posts
 

tubes444

hifiman5 is R-ON> Marantz SACD 8005 can not be beat unless you spend triple the BUCKS. Even them its splitting HAIRS.

I belong to a Audio Club. Did side by side with (3) CD players other brands in the $3,9 to $ $5,700 range. running thru same Pre-A & Amp& Planer with Sub woofers.

Double blind test. 3 out of 5 of us. Picked the SA-8005.

Bigger Bucks don’t always equate to always the best sound..

hifiman5's avatar
hifiman5
1,611 posts
 
@tubes444 Amen!  In fact one of the most satisfying parts of our hobby can be finding those pieces of gear that perform well above what their lower price point would lead you to believe possible.  Hence the delight in the Marantz SA 8005.

robert53
46 posts
 
I use an Oppo 105D. It has a separate DAC and separate RCA or Balanced outputs for dedicated stereo. Sounds great once broken in and with the right cables.
nyame
198 posts
 
tpreaves

The Absolute Sound Magazine recommends the Marantz SA 8005 in its 2016 buyers guide ( In the price range $1000 to $1400). Here is what they had to say:

"This two‑channel only SACD/Red Book player boasts parts, circuitry, and construction way disproportionate to its low price—virtues that are mirrored in its equally superb-for-the-money reproduction of music. Tonally neutral, authoritative and natural, with just a hint of warmth—thus simply sumptuous on big material like operas and nineteenth-century symphonies—the SA8004 is a music lover’s dream. Fans of hard rock, heavy metal, and the like may—may—find it a little too smooth, but it’s certainly no sluggard with such fare. It’s hard to imagine anyone who appreciates what real music actually sounds like not being seduced. The reviewer (PS) bought the review sample."  The price is listed as $999

The OPPO 105D $1299 is also recommended in this $1000 to $1400 price range.

The fact that the reviewer purchase the Marantz sample he tested is HUGE in my opinion.
nyame
198 posts
 
tpreaves

The Absolute Sound Magazine in their current (2016) buyers guide recommends the OPPO 105D as a best buy in the price range $1000 to $1400. Here is what they had to say:

Oppo BDP-105D
$1299
Few disc player/DACs can compete with Oppo’s BDP-105 at its price point (or even near its price point), because the Oppo offers a seemingly unbeatable combination of versatility, flexibility, and serious high-end sound quality. Clean, clear, and decidedly detail-oriented, it hews somewhat toward sonic leanness, but is far more revealing than it has any right to be for the money. With the BDP-105 what you hear is what’s on the record, with no comforting (but perhaps sonically misleading) infusions of softness, warmth, or bass enrichment. In sum, the do-all Oppo is a multi-format disc player and multi-input DAC with which your system can grow (and it is also the vehicle of choice for many firms offering ultra-high-performance upgrade mods). Finally, did we mention the Oppo sounds terrific when heard through top-tier headphones? 

My son had an OPPO 105D up to recently in his high end system (before he went to a completely computer based system). I know how good the OPPO is because I would listen to his system every 2 months or so.


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