Hi everyone!
New member, first post, so hello!
I've been debating with myself whether join this forum or not, but in the end I couldn't resist, even though I'm sure I'm going to get flamed!
Just to be clear, I haven't come here to troll or for the sake of having an argument, but to offer a (hopefully informed) alternative to the majority opinion, and also to learn.
So, full disclosure. I am 58 and a musician by profession - classically trained, went to Trinity College of Music in London and have worked mostly in orchestras and shows, playing wind instruments. I have also had, unusually for a musician, a lifelong interest in Hi-Fi. My first experience of the wonders of reproduced music, other than the kitchen radio, was my Dad's record player. And I mean record player, not turntable. It had its own built in speaker. I remember listening to Tchaikovsky 1812 and other works on the old Decca Classics label at the age of 6 or 7. My Dad let me use the record player. I was very careful!
Fast forward to the 90's and I had the means to buy a decent Hi-Fi, which, after many upgrades, culminated substantially in the system which I still have today. I won't bore you with the whole inventory, but the CD reply side has been, Marantz CD12/DA12, Mark Levinson 38, ATC SCM100A SL. Until recently that is, when my CD12 finally gave up the ghost after 30+ years. (It still works, but you have to manually help it read/spin the disc). So, what to replace an iconic and state of the art/reference balanced (to go with my fully balanced system) CD player with? Yes, you guessed; the SA-10.
This is where I'm going to have to start to choose my words carefully, but as I said, I'm curious to learn rather that simply argue and alternative viewpoint. It seems that the majority here think that measurements are more important than anything else, is that correct? So if a piece of equipment measures better than another then it must sound better, and if it doesn't, then either you are deceiving yourself (due to cost and appearance for example) or your opinion of which sounds better must be wrong?
Personally I have to confess that I don't fully understand all of the measurements in amirs's review, or what the sonic implication of any given measurement is. I've spent my whole life and career honing and trusting my listening skills. The only thing that matters to me is how something sounds, and to my (if I say so myself, experienced) ears, the SA-10 sounds phenomenal. As to whether it justifies it's asking price, well that would have to be up to the purchaser. I bought mine at a substantial discount before the price point is where it is now. Would I pay the current asking price? No, but only because I couldn't justify it. When you look at the reviews of the SA-10 and compare it to it's competition it looks rather competitive. But yes, it's overpriced - rather like a Rolls Royce is.
So, a few additional questions; Has anyone here (apart perhaps from the one person who said he had an SA-10) done any listening comparisons to the the much cheaper DAC's which measure better? And if not, how can you say that they sound as good or better? Second, does anyone think (as I do) that reproduction from different formats/sources (DAT, CD, USB etc) sound different, despite the fact that they are all digital?
