marantz sa8005

[hybridauth_Facebook_664715932]

Hi all,
Just ordered a brand new sa8005 to replace my cd6005. For last twenty odd I have always had marantz cdp. So was confident enough to buy without a demo.
I am rather chuffed that I waited a few weeks because the price has come down on sa8005 quite a bit from 1k. Petertyson reduced the price by 35% so it's an amazing deal at the price.
Now the hard part, waiting. 3 days to go.

 

[drummerman]

Good call.

You pretty much know what you're getting with Marantz.

Hope you enjoy it

 

[Vladimir]

 

[hybridauth_Facebook_664715932]

Cheers guys, can't wait.
Managed to get a pair of free audioquest rca interconnects

 

[emperor's new clothes]

Good choice! Are you planning to use the On-board DAC or the ir? I have just sold my irDAC and now run my SBT via coax into the SA8005. Different presentation and both with merits. Will look forward to your views. BTW SACD performance is superb.

 

[hybridauth_Facebook_664715932]

Good choice! Are you planning to use the On-board DAC or the ir? I have just sold my irDAC and now run my SBT via coax into the SA8005. Different presentation and both with merits. Will look forward to your views. BTW SACD performance is superb. 

I will keep the irdac for now, I think it works really well with my ipod classic, will compare it 8005's dac.
Is the dac on 8005 much improved/different from the cd6005?

 

[Covenanter]

Good choice! Are you planning to use the On-board DAC or the ir? I have just sold my irDAC and now run my SBT via coax into the SA8005. Different presentation and both with merits. Will look forward to your views. BTW SACD performance is superb.

I will keep the irdac for now, I think it works really well with my ipod classic, will compare it 8005's dac. Is the dac on 8005 much improved/different from the cd6005?

They have the same DAC chip but whether the rest of the circuits are the same I do not know.

Chris

PS The DAC seems to work very well for sound from my Blu-Ray player.

 

[emperor's new clothes]

As Chris says, they have the same Cirrus Logic chip, but there the similarity ends. SACD and DSD streaming for example and a better dynamic range. I suspect that your Creek and PMCs will easily reveal the difference! Mine seemed a little bright out of the box, but has soon settled down, as have adjustments to my ears. By using an external irDAC, the SA8005 becomes just an expensive transport and loses the SACD benefits which are important to me. I have yet to try the front USB with my ipad, but agree the irDAC was very good in this respect. Streaming from the excellent Radio Paradise app @ 320kbps is a good test, IMHO.

You could connect both the analogue out to your Creek and spdif to the irDAC which would allow instant A/B comparison of the two. I did this with the UD7007->SR7007 and prefer the UD's DAC for CDs and HDMI for full SACD/BluRay audio benefits. I am in danger here for becoming a forum pedantic, so will leave it here

 

[hybridauth_Facebook_664715932]

As Chris says, they have the same Cirrus Logic chip, but there the similarity ends. SACD and DSD streaming for example and a better dynamic range. I suspect that your Creek and PMCs will easily reveal the difference! Mine seemed a little bright out of the box, but has soon settled down, as have adjustments to my ears. By using an external irDAC, the SA8005 becomes just an expensive transport and loses the SACD benefits which are important to me. I have yet to try the front USB with my ipad, but agree the irDAC was very good in this respect. Streaming from the excellent Radio Paradise app @ 320kbps is a good test, IMHO.

You could connect both the analogue out to your Creek and spdif to the irDAC which would allow instant A/B comparison of the two. I did this with the UD7007->SR7007 and prefer the UD's DAC for CDs and HDMI for full SACD/BluRay audio benefits. I am in danger here for becoming a forum pedantic, so will leave it here

Thanks for that.
Considering the price difference I would have thought they would use a different/better dac chip on 8005, as you said with ir dac it does indeed becomes a very expensive transport. I haven't got any sacd and it's very difficult to get indian staff on that format however there are few hybrid ones available. I will just have to play around with the set up to get the best sound, I was hoping connecting 8005 direct to amp would give better sound than the 6005 and ir combo.

 

[emperor's new clothes]

The same chip is used in the new NA8005 and by a number of other manufacturers. The irDAC's TI BurrBrown DAC is not top of the range, but sounds excellent at the price point. When you lift your SA8005 out of the box the extra weight is apparent and the disc transport of notably higher quality. You won't be dissapointed. Just tried the USB in from an iPad and sounded very good to my ears. Very happy with my upgrades after 20 years with Meridian electronics and will now retire from the forum to concentrate on the music. ATB and thanks for all the tips.