Marantz SA8003 SACD Player
The Marantz SA8003 SACD player brings advanced engineering to all manner of discs – SA-CDs, CDs, even MP3- and WMA-encoded CD-Rs and –RWs. And its advanced digital processing and best-in-class analog circuitry bring even your flash-card playlists to life thanks to a front-panel USB input.
But Marantz design doesn’t extend to just the obvious. As an example, we’ll ask a question: Almost no one thinks twice about the disc tray, right? Well, Marantz engineers do. And when you realize that the tray is most important mechanical link between your favorite discs and the rest of the disc player, you realize just how important it is.
That’s why Marantz helped develop a material called Zylon for the SA8003’s tray. Zylon is a composition of rigid-rod chain molecules of poly(p-phenyene-2,6-benzobisoxazole) or PBO for short. (Now you know why we call it Zylon!) This new tray material has high tensile strength and a high modulus of elasticity. Because it isolates the disc so well from the micro-vibrations inherent in any drive mechanism, it allows the digital circuitry to process a more accurate data stream. This, in turn, translate directly into a more coherent and pleasing aural experience.
While you’re taking a virtual tour of the SA8003’s interior, look at the large toroidal transformer. In addition to the exterior casing that damps stray flux fields even further, you’ll notice a large brass mounting screw that helps hold the transformer firmly in place. Why brass? Simply because it’s totally non-conductive dut to the non-magnetic material, it plays a role in reducing extraneous noise. True, it might be a small improvement but it’s an example of the lengths to which Marantz engineers go to optimize every aspect of a component’s performance.
We’d also like to point out the separate power supply and audio circuit boards that flank the transformer for even further noise suppression capability. .
We’ve used the SA8003’s high-performance Cirrus Logic digital-to-analog converter in other – and far more expensive – disc players in the past. This circuit brings several advantages. In technical terms, its architecture combines a proprietary multi-bit/Delta-Sigma demodulator with noise shaping technology. It eliminates the need for dynamic component matching within the D/A converter itself as well as removes potential destructive artifacts from the resulting signal. For SA-CD playback, the Cirrus IC accepts the SA-CD’s 2.8224 MHz sampling rate directly without the need for decimation. And an integral 50 kHz low-pass filter protects downstream components from potential oscillation.
You’ll also notice a number of critically selected parts at important spots in the analog output circuitry. They’ve been chosen because they meet the criteria established not only in the lab but also in the listening room. And you’ll see Marantz’s proprietary HDAM SA2 circuits there, too. Used primarily as output buffers, these HDAM circuits benefit from a discrete component complement rather than earlier ICs.
Under all this advanced circuitry, you might not notice the double-layer chassis bottom plate. But it provides long-term alignment for all the SA8003’s separate assemblies as well as helps damp external vibration.
If you look carefully, you’ll certainly see the large copper plate behind the machined, chassis-mounted gold-plated analog outputs. The plate minimizes any ground potential between the outputs and results in quieter playback. The outputs themselves are spaced to allow your choice of any interconnect. Mounting them directly to the chassis means you won’t pull them off when changing cables. Small points? Well, not really. When you add up all the similar touches within the SA8003, you’ll understand their surprisingly-large cumulative effect. And it results from an almost maniacal determination to make the SA8003 as good as it can possibly be.
The shielded digital output provides yet another example of this approach. Rather than allowing spurious radiation, as is the case with most digital outputs, an (need info on material) case effectively traps digital pulses and prevents them from interfering with adjacent circuits.
The headphone output, usually far down on the priority list for lesser players, includes a high-speed current buffer circuit for minimal interference, maximum articulation, stability, and fatigue-free listening.
Complete with a soft-touch Power/Standby switch and full-function remote, the Marantz SA8003 brings top-shelf disc playback to a wider audience than ever before. A true Marantz, it contains the most advanced circuits in a chassis that’s highly styled to blend with any décor. It’s a stunning contemporary expression of the Marantz “look,“ long the standard for the entire home entertainment industry.
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