How good is the Marantz SA-7S1?

Go to positive feedback.com issue 35, for a recent review of the SA-7. I have had the opportunity to hear this unit in my system and agree completely with the reviewers assessment. Could not afford the 7 but did buy the 11s2 which IMHO was noticable upgrade over the 11s1. Don't know why there has not been very many comments here on either player but do know that both have been backordered for several months now.

It's excellent. I changed from an Ack dAck 2.0 with hi-res cap option and Metronome CDP used as a transport to a SA-7S1 about 4 months ago. I think its best attribute is that it does everything well.

It doesn't have any sonic weakness. It may not be the "best" in any single attribute, but taken as a whole, it's an "All-Star" player (no steroids needed). SACD playback capability is a bonus.

Gerry

I would be going from an excellent Bluenote Stibbert 2007 with additional Sound Fusion suspension to the Marantz. Has anyone had the privilidge of comparing these fine players? Bob

i heard the marantz player today. well.... i am tempted to buy it, but.... , it lacks bloom. i mean it seems to be closer to truth than beauty, but doesn't seem to have any excesses. i fear that the player will not forgive poor recordings. it is expensive and a classic-tube sounding dac or cd player may be a better choice. if you are looking for a straigh-forward player, you won't be disappointed. an example of such a combination is the zanden separates, or perhaps, the amr player, both of which are more expensive than the marantz.

the question is, can you get this performance for less ??

who knows ?

My friend has one, and he loaned it to me for a while. I’ve owned Meitner, Esoteric, Accuphase, Metronome, Goldmund, and a few other heavy hitters, and the SA-7S1 is the most complete and enjoyable player I’ve heard in my system. It may not be the absolute best at everything, but it has no serious flaws, IMO, and has an uncanny way of bringing out the best in every recording, but without sugarcoating or restricting anything. It’s quite a tricky balancing act that few players in my experience can pull off. It’s certainly not cheap, objectively speaking, but by high-end standards it’s an absolute steal. Economy of scale is a wonderful thing! :) BTW, Dr. Sardonicus got it dead-on in PFO. He nailed the essence of the player.