Thiel Owners

tomthiel

Thank You for the SCD-1 update. I can certainly appreciate an 'Audio ICU'. Great sense of humor there.  Mr. Bill Thalmann has an excellent reputation in the Audio repair/restoration business. I can hardly await for his diagnosis. 

We all know that older does not mean obsolete. Historically, key pieces of Audio gear set and continues to set a Gold standard. The SA-11S2 is an opportunity to for me to evaluate Marantz's version of a Reference CD/SACD player. Add to the fact that Fuses and op-amps, can exchange for better presentation and sound, makes the spinner more attractive. 
This purchase is a gateway to the  SA-10 Reference CD/DAC/SACD player in current production. 

As always, I enjoy reading about Thiel Audio history. Specifically, the gear you guys utilized in the sound lab, as Jim was developing his signature loudspeaker sound.  Musical engagement indeed.

Happy Listening!

Happy Friday! All

sdecker

2nd Note:
A long-winded review is certainly welcome here anytime.  Your impression on CD playback from the SA-11S2 mimics my impression of the Esoteric DV-60. Each of the (3) CD filters did nothing for my ears.
On the flipside, SACD playback is excellent. I found it ( and still do) a strange interpretation of the music. I simply could not find the (CD) groove?  I wonder if CD playback improves on the upper-tier Esoteric models?  
There are enough Audio and owner reviews on the Marantz SA-10 Reference player across several forums. Overall impressions and thoughts are positive on CD/DAC/SACD playback. To date, I have not read a negative/poor review.  Not bad for a sub $10K digital machine.

Happy Listening!

Well the SA10 is twice the price of the SA-11S2 and designed nearly a decade later, so I would certainly expect it to sound better, especially following the critical feedback Marantz got from their relatively murky sonics back in the day.  The front panel ergos are improved, there are digital inputs, their in-house transport is two generations newer, and PCM is immediately transcoded to DSD.  I'd venture to say these players could well be sonic apples and oranges. 

You found the SACD format as a whole to be a "strange interpretation of the music" or Esoteric's playback of it?

CD playback should now be as good as the format allows on any player over $2K.  Low-rez PCM ought to have been figured out by now.  Different flavors and approaches, sure, but pulling everything off the CD should be understood -- I may be wrong.

I spent a day listening to the dCS Puccini SACD player nine years ago (vs other units, including my own DAC FWIW): that was the best SACD playback I've yet heard, and I'm sure a decade later newer designs sound as good for less money.

sdecker

not to mention  the several SA-10 filters for CD/DAC and SACD playback. Crazy options!
I found the Esoteric's CD playback "strange" in comparison to its inherent SACD playback. CD was bad. SACD was excellent.

Another strange twist, the previous 11S2 owner did step up to the dCS Puccini.  The SA-10 would be a very strong contender in this regard.

Happy Listening!