Marantz SA-14 measurements

[PristineSound]

Wow the performance is quite good. Back then when you bought high end like that from a reputable brand; you also purchased quality engineering that 20y later proves you would get all the performance that CD could offer (basically). Which is what you would be paying for.
Today brands have just become names and lots of the designs aren't even made in house.

Today's products are just plain out disposable. It is often times cheaper to replace than to repair.

If you take a look at the Topping and SMSL, they come out with a new DAC every 3 months, then in the course of 3-4 years, the unit you brought is likely no longer supported. It feels like Topping and SMSL are rushing to the market with new products so that they can sell novelty.

Sure the technology today may evolve rather fast, but this 20+ year old Marantz unit is still relevant for those who still want to play optical discs. It has character, it's the owner's time machine of memories, it accumulates the owner's experience lived, it's sturdy, it's timeless.

I think everyone in this hobby should own at least one of these statement units.

 

[Labjr]

The same reasons why people buy vinyl and turntables. You either a;ready have a disc collection or you want one . I'm in the first category, I have a few CDs around from the 90s and I want to give them a spin from time to time. I wouldn't spend this much on a CD player myself, but there are many who would. I personally like to see how these older devices compare, performance wise, with newer equipment. To me, there is still a slight pleasure when I take a disc out and I use the old Marantz CD52 and the music coming out sounds really nice . It's a freaking laser reading data from a disc, this is still pretty cool . I also have a digital library, Tidal account and a decent DAC (few of them actually ). Another thing is that when these devices came out, mid 90s for my Marantz, I did not have the money to afford one and now I'm compensating . I also like to test the marketing of that times, with the TDA1540/1541. the 1-bit DACs and all the rave they were making around these technologies.

I like reviews of old products too. Interesting to see how it compares with modern components made with the help of design aids like an Audio Precision analyzer. However, I wouldn't buy an old CD player now. Definitely not a $1,500 used piece. Bound to have mechanical problems and vacuum Fluorescent displays become dim and fail etc. I won't even buy new vinyl. IMO, it took some time but digital is now far better than vinyl ever was. I don't care if it's disposable, state of the art digital starts at like $50.

I'm still a bit sentimental about traditional amplifier design and haven't made the switch to Class D. Maybe a few db's more improvement on SINAD and multitone test results or bricks for extra weight will sway me.

 

[horias2000]

I like reviews of old products too. Interesting to see how it compares with modern components made with the help of design aids like an Audio Precision analyzer. However, I wouldn't buy an old CD player now. Definitely not a $1,500 used piece. Bound to have mechanical problems and vacuum Fluorescent displays become dim and fail etc. I won't even buy new vinyl. IMO, it took some time but digital is now far better than vinyl ever was. I don't care if it's disposable, state of the art digital starts at like $50.

I'm still a bit sentimental about traditional amplifier design and haven't made the switch to Class D. Maybe a few db's more improvement on SINAD and multitone test results or bricks for extra weight will sway me.

I agree, I wouldn't buy one of these either. I think that the Denon 900NE is a much better option. I had Denons in the past and the laser drives are very good and robust. As for amplifiers, I design my own (you can see the results in my other posts ) and for now I'm not tempted by class D. For my needs, class AB is more than OK. I can get a SINAD of around 90dB and enough power to annoy my neighbors . Class D makes sense if you need a lot of power and I don't.

 

[Haskil]

I like reviews of old products too. Interesting to see how it compares with modern components made with the help of design aids like an Audio Precision analyzer. However, I wouldn't buy an old CD player now. Definitely not a $1,500 used piece. Bound to have mechanical problems and vacuum Fluorescent displays become dim and fail etc. I won't even buy new vinyl. IMO, it took some time but digital is now far better than vinyl ever was. I don't care if it's disposable, state of the art digital starts at like $50.

I'm still a bit sentimental about traditional amplifier design and haven't made the switch to Class D. Maybe a few db's more improvement on SINAD and multitone test results or bricks for extra weight will sway me.

The CD was better than the 33 rpm record from the first generation of Philips and Sony players... Much better, in fact, in every way. And improvements in analog-to-digital conversion made obvious progress, as did the quality of the players' analog output stages, but the quality was a far cry from the LP's meager performance: from burning to pressing, from playback with a cartridge that, one might say, was miraculously able to extract such performance despite its terrible limitations, to the RIAA stage with such high intrinsic noise...
Yes, from the very beginning of the CD, this medium and its number one Philips and Sony players crushed the unfortunate LP...

 

[Haskil]

I agree, I wouldn't buy one of these either. I think that the Denon 900NE is a much better option. I had Denons in the past and the laser drives are very good and robust. As for amplifiers, I design my own (you can see the results in my other posts ) and for now I'm not tempted by class D. For my needs, class AB is more than OK. I can get a SINAD of around 90dB and enough power to annoy my neighbors . Class D makes sense if you need a lot of power and I don't.

Yes, finally: every time you buy a new CD player, you have to buy a new mechanism as well. Because the fragility of mechanisms today is appalling... Not to mention that brands don't keep spare parts in the catalog and their after-sales service is lamentable.

 

[horias2000]

The CD was better than the 33 rpm record from the first generation of Philips and Sony players... Much better, in fact, in every way. And improvements in analog-to-digital conversion made obvious progress, as did the quality of the players' analog output stages, but the quality was a far cry from the LP's meager performance: from burning to pressing, from playback with a cartridge that, one might say, was miraculously able to extract such performance despite its terrible limitations, to the RIAA stage with such high intrinsic noise...
Yes, from the very beginning of the CD, this medium and its number one Philips and Sony players crushed the unfortunate LP...

Indeed. CDs and digital audio was and is better than pure analog. I think that the reason why people still feel or believe that LPs are better is due to the mastering process. Unfortunately, CDs were mastered to sound loud (loudness wars) and compressed. LPs cannot use the same mastering technique as the needle will jump out of the groove or the distortion would be terrible. So, LPs were mastered with a lot more "silence" than CDs and therefore can have a sound that is more enjoyable. Needless to say, if CDs are mastered in the same way, the sound is way better. I think they stared mastering CDs in a better way recently (last 5-10 years).

 

[Haskil]

Indeed. CDs and digital audio was and is better than pure analog. I think that the reason why people still feel or believe that LPs are better is due to the mastering process. Unfortunately, CDs were mastered to sound loud (loudness wars) and compressed. LPs cannot use the same mastering technique as the needle will jump out of the groove or the distortion would be terrible. So, LPs were mastered with a lot more "silence" than CDs and therefore can have a sound that is more enjoyable. Needless to say, if CDs are mastered in the same way, the sound is way better. I think they stared mastering CDs in a better way recently (last 5-10 years).

The first generation of CDs were very well mastered without Loudness War and the comparisons with the corresponding 33 rpm records were cruel for the latter. The Loudness War came later as well as more or less good productions... but that also existed in the time of the LP... I advise you to scratch your ears with the piano LPs from Decca or Deutsche Grammophon from the 1970s-1980s: hard, metallic, dry...

 

[AdrianusG]

Nice review. However, I'm not sure why anyone would want a CD player anymore.

To play CD's?

 

[Roland68]

Nice review. However, I'm not sure why anyone would want a CD player anymore.

Then you haven't realized that CDs and vinyl records have been among the largest growth markets in the hi-fi sector for years, far ahead of all streaming services.
People don't just buy these recordings to put them on the shelf.
Sales for CD players and transport have also increased significantly.

 

[Labjr]

Then you haven't realized that CDs and vinyl records have been among the largest growth markets in the hi-fi sector for years, far ahead of all streaming services.
People don't just buy these recordings to put them on the shelf.
Sales for CD players and transport have also increased significantly.

My CDs have been sitting in boxes for twenty years. I still buy CDs, mostly used ones, and rip them for playing through a DAC.

 

[jamescarter1982]

has any body tested the pioneer dvd players that made use of firwire400 to pass digital audio to the compatible amplifier like the ax10i I have . I seem to remember these being touted as the next big thing around the turn of the century. Is it feasible to test something like this that uses ilink or firewire?

 

[NTTY]

My CDs have been sitting in boxes for twenty years. I still buy CDs, mostly used ones, and rip them for playing through a DAC.

Play them with a CD player, they’ll sound better

 

[NTTY]

Then you haven't realized that CDs and vinyl records have been among the largest growth markets in the hi-fi sector for years, far ahead of all streaming services.
People don't just buy these recordings to put them on the shelf.
Sales for CD players and transport have also increased significantly.

That’s good news.