Reference class Super Audio CD player with USB DAC, digital inputs and unique Marantz Musical Mastering technology
The SA-10 is an exceptional player of both CD and SACD discs, but can also play high-resolution
music stored on computer-burned discs, as well as being a high-end digital to analog converter for
computer-stored music. From the unique new disc transport designed for this player all the way
through to a complete rethink of the way digital audio data is converted into analog signals, the
SA-10 is a ‘clean sheet’ design, the result of painstaking research and development and extensive
listening in Marantz’s custom-built listening facilities. That’s symptomatic of the way Marantz has
always done things: while it always aims for the most elegant engineering solution, the listening
test is always the final arbiter. It’s all to do with that simple phrase running through the heart of
everything the company does: ‘Because Music Matters’
At a glance
• All-new SACD-M3 transport mechanism for CD, SACD and more
• Playback of high-resolution audio compilations on DVD-ROM
• USB input for hi-res audio up to PCM / DXD 384kHz/32bit and DSD11.2MHz
• Isolation of USB and digital inputs to remove noise from connected sources
• USB-A input for USB memory device, external harddisc and iDevice
• Innovative upsampling to DSD and filtering using unique Marantz Musical Mastering – Stream technology
• All-new custom-designed 1-bit direct Marantz Musical Mastering – Conversion from DSD to analog
• High-quality analog output stage with Marantz HDAMs
• Generous power supply using toroidal transformer
• Dedicated headphone amplifier with all discrete construction
Whether playing SA-CD or CD, or data discs containing music, it’s vital that any player retrieves the information as accurately as possible: unlike a computer reading a disc for ripping, there’s no time for repeated re-scans when playing music – it happens in real time, so the disc transport needs to get things right first time. Many modern CD and SACD players use computer-style DVD or ‘universal’ disc drives, simply because it’s increasingly difficult for manufacturers to source dedicated ‘music drives’, purely designed for SACD/CD playback. The Marantz solution? If you can’t buy it off the shelf, design it and have it made: at the heart of the SA-10 is an all-new SACD-M3 transport mechanism, engineered solely for the best possible performance when playing SA-CDs, CDs and music stored on data discs. Not only does this new mechanism promise the very best sound quality from conventional CD and SA-CD discs, its extended ability with the playback of music files stored on DVD-ROM discs makes it possible for users to create their own high-resolution audio compilation discs using a computer DVD burner. The SA-10 can play FLAC files from 44.1kHz to 192kHz at up to 24-bit resolution, and DSD2.8MHz and DSD5.6MHz, well as ALAC (Apple Lossless), AIFF and MP3 files. That means making and playing hi-res disc compilations is now just as simple as it’s always been to make such discs in CD quality.
