Best SACD player for the money - Marantz SA-11S1

Dcaudio
Just as a counter point to your thought.
I have a McCormack UDP-1 which really is a fine sounding unit. Being the possessed, audio nut that I am, I pursued another modder who advertises mods here on Agon regularly. That modder WOULD do a mod on the UDP-1. I also asked Paul at TRL if he would mod the unit, mostly because of the cost of his mods, and the apparent results he gets with them. Paul said "NO". Paul will not mod anything out there. I just got an SA14 modded by TRL - It's still burning in. Based on my dealings with Paul - he is worth a try, to say the least.
Of course, you have to make up your own mind, and feel comfortable with your decision.

Good luck

I would like to hear more comments on the stock performance of the SA-11s1 from those who have lived with it for a while.

DCaudio there was a single disc 555ES in europe. Maybe that was part of the confusion?

Pardales,

I had the player for about a month and a half before sending it off for modding. Based on the performance I heard, compared to my modded Denon 3910, I was questioning whether the mod was necessary for this unit. Ever the audio adventurer though, I sent it in for the evalution. I'd heard good things about the mod outfit that had agreed to attempt the effort. They are not going to be able to put a superclock 3 in her though, as it turned out that the players clock speed is almost double that of even the Superclock 3. They are working on an upgrade to the SC3 that could handle the Marantz player's speed, so it'll be a two part mod. Upgrade power supply, caps and critical parts now, and later the upgraded super clock.

Thanks, John_beavers. That is the kind of feedback I am looking for. The TAS review of the SA11s1 suggested it was at least as good as the Sony XA9000ES, which is saying something. I am considering a stand alone SACD/CD player and want a good one, but am not interested in mods at this point.