Comments pls.: TEAC vs Marantz CD/SACD players


Would appreciate your thoughts on the TEAC Distinction Series CD-3000 vs Marantz SA-11S3- especially from any that have heard or own either. I'm in the process of reading as much as I can find about them. Have searched the forums here as well. Both are audio only, can do CD & SACD and offer balanced XLR out. Both accommodate a range of digital inputs (up to 192 kHz?) including USB.

I'd hope to be able to do in-house auditioning. Goal would be to replace an Upgrade Factory mod'd. Denon DVD2910.

The TEAC is very attractive at a $1000 lower price and has dual DACs - but relatively little info to be found on it. While generally favorable, I'm not entirely sure how to interpret the Feb 2012 HiFi Choice review.

Thanks in advance for your time and comments.
128x128ghosthouse
Thanks for your comments Newbee. Took a look at your system - some nice gear [but based on a quick scan of it's history since '03, I'm wondering if "Done For Now" is quite the right place for it ;-) ].

Good to know the Marantz compares well to the higher priced and better regarded Wadia brand.

re warm up, doesn't the Marantz have a standby mode?

Thanks again for your input.
Newbee - just came across my double post (after you'd already answered about a "standby" mode on the Marantz). Sorry 'bout that.
FWIW - still haven't purchased anything!
Gentlemen: I'm late to the party, but I think that as an unhappy owner of the CD-3000, I have something useful to contribute.

There is a major problem with this SACD player and its two brand mates (CD-2000 and CD-1000) in the grandly named Distinction line: they don’t play SACDs properly. That is to say, all three models insert an intolerable and idiotic two-second pause between every pair of SACD tracks, even when the music is meant to be uninterrupted.

I have thrice written to TEAC customer service, but it has been 100 percent unresponsive to messages complaining of this crippling and inexcusable design flaw. Phone calls, of course, go straight to voice mail; they too have never been answered. TEAC clearly acts as if customers and their legitimate concerns don’t matter.

I have now reviewed the CD-3000 on the Amazon product page and posted a warning notice on the CD-2000 page. Similarly outraged reviews of the CD-1000--reviews, alas, I saw only after my own discovery of the near-criminal design negligence in this $2,000 machine--have been pretty heavily down-thumbed, whether by the usual Amazonian morons or by company shills I have no way of knowing (I've added comments to several of these reviews). I wonder how long it will be before my review also gets down-thumbed for revealing the truth about the scandalously inadequate design of what TEAC called the flagship of this product line.

As I indicate in my review, this is the worst purchasing mistake I’ve ever made, and because I foolishly bought the unit on eBay, I have no recourse whatsoever. As I suggest above, what use is a SACD player that won’t properly play SACDs?