My cables are Cardas Neutral Reference fed into a Musical Fidelity A308. The Marantz SA-14 ver. 2 was definitely awesome, but I really want 5 channel, and redbook playback that is decent. My test disc is Holst's "Planets" (Dutoit/Montreal), the end of Saturn with the quiet organ pedals. The Marantz SA 14 ver. 2 could capture the fundamentals and present them in their own space--it was an awesome experience. Surely though, there are 5 channel players which can do Redbook as well. I'm probably going to try the Sony XA9000ES. I see there are a few XA777ES's out there. Big difference? (I don't need distance comp.)
Marantz SA-8260--low output and fuzzy bass???
I sold my two-channel Marantz SA 14 ver.2 and replaced it with the Marantz SA 8260 because I wanted 5 channel capability. The later is $2000 cheaper than the former and I was expecting a slight drop in sound quality for redbook playback. Presentation in the mids and highs are much like the SA-14, in other words fine, but the bass response on the 8260 is so far hugely disappointing--organ pedal notes, for instance, are imprecise and fade in and out, as if the player can barely hold on to them. Does the player need more break-in time? What kind of modification would need to be done to improve this? The only alternative is the Sony XA9000ES back at $3K, but I worry about it's being called "honest" regarding Redbook playback. And owners of the Sony: how's the bass precision?
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- 8 posts total
- 8 posts total