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Marantz Player Question

My Marantz SA-12S1 player died a couple of weeks ago. It was in the Marantz shop for repair but the cost of replacing the board is going to be prohibitive and my dealer would prefer to just change the machine. The SA-12S1 isn't being manufactured anymore, so the dealer is considering the DV-9500 as a replacement. I'm wondering if that change might mean a loss of quality with SACD, which I've grown to love. The advantage of the 9500 though is DVD-A and I'm now buying recordings from Mode with that dimension, so the 9500 might be a good trade. Other options might well be the Marantz DV 12-S2 and the Marantz SA-11-S1. Has anyone compared any of these and which might be the best overall player. Originally when I bought the SA 12-S1, I was looking at DVD playback with the SACD option. Now I'd say that SACD quality is my first priority with DVD second and maybe DVD-A third. Don't recommend any other players because Marantz won't refund my money to buy them. I'm just looking for a replacement that can do a comparable or better job with SACD from the Marantz line. Thanks in advance.
washline
millenium
62 posts
 
sorry did not realize it kid.

BILL L
rello
308 posts
 
OK, back on topic. The SA11 is purely a 2 channel audio machine SACD and CD only. If you need video the 9500 will give you solid audio and video.
washline OP
185 posts
 
Thanks Rello.
washline OP
185 posts
 
Here's an update. I can't believe this is dragging into the new year, but c'est la vie. Marantz initially tried to repair the machine, but was having trouble in doing so. Now they want to trade the player for the DV-12S2 and have me pay additional money! I did some research on all of this. The SA-12S1 uses 12 CS4397 DAC chips whereas the DV12 uses three CS4392 DACs. The SA-12S1 also uses the higher quality super ring transformer whereas the DV-12S2 uses the more pedestrian EI transformer, as do the 9500 and 9600. Apparently the machine still sits in Japan and for whatever reason cannot be repaired. I received a call from the local office on Monday that they were willing to go ahead and offer the DV-12S2 as a replacement. I told them the results of my research, that the CS4392 DACs in the latter machine were of a lower quality than the ones in mine and that the quality of transformer was liable to affect sonic output as well. I told the caller that the machine should be replaced by an SA-11S1, which has comparable sonic output even while lacking DVD video playback capability. She said that would mean my paying more money for the trade. I said that I shouldn't have to pay anything if Marantz cannot repair their own units. My preference would be to retain my machine, which despite reliability problems has great sound. I have yet to hear back from them, but that's hardly a surprise since they weren't very helpful in responding over the past three months either. Any additional comments or suggestions would be appreciated. my sense is that settling for a DV-12S2 or a DV9500 or a DV9600 would be a step down in sonics. I still cannot believe that Marantz cannot repair one of its product lines. This seems absurd to me.
washline OP
185 posts
 
I should have added that the SA11S1 also uses the Super Ring transformer (so does the SA 17) but it uses a different DAC architecture. My general position here is that if Marantz can't make the repair, they should replace the machine with one of comparable sonic value, since that's my priority, rather than greater video capability.
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