[hibuckhobby]

Probably no surprise to anyone, but the Marantz won.   I bought the Oppo with a view toward having a player that did SACD discs as well as a creditable job on redbook.  It's not bad...just a bit bland and one dimensional, but mostly sins of omission.  I wanted a Marantz player after a very positive experience with my Marantz PM-11S-1 integrated I own and the fact that the cosmetics were similar didn't hurt.  On redbook, but Marantz was better...although my Arcam FMJDV-29 gives it a run for the money.  On SACD it was a different story.  The clarity on the Marantz was orders of magnitude better.  I went with the SA-15 because I'll probably never be doing multichannel music other than music dvd's so I wanted a player that would do a good job on redbook and SACD.  I'm happy with it.
Hibuck...

[slippers-on]

Good for you. Marantz reference gear in my opinion is very much underated and does not get the praise they deserve. Thanks for the review.

[Brandon B]

Looking for a new SACD player, and been going back and forth on an Oppo vs. the Marantz 8004.

Former would let me also play my DVD-As and blu-rays, the latter would give me an upgrade to DAC duties with my computer, since it has an async USB input to its DAC section.

Any idea how the 8004 compares to your 15S1?

[Ericus Rex]

Hi Brandon,

I sold my BDP-83SE and bought a SA8004.  I've been thrilled with the Marantz and don't regret the decision one bit.  I found the Oppo to be buggy and slow, and the sound was a bit 'etched' and unnatural.  Also, it was quirky in that it would occasionally skip on discs that worked just fine in other players and a couple of my discs wouldn't play in it at all.  The Marantz has performed flawlessly and has a smooth, liquid natural sound.  All quirks aside, if you're into hearing every last bit on the disc (tend toward analytical presentation) you might prefer the Oppo.  But if you're into natural glorious sound than the Marantz is the hands-down winner.

Hope this helps!

Ericus

[jtsnead]

You might also want to listen to a Sony 5400ES, I had a Marantz Sa-11S2, and a NAD M5 and liked the Sony better than both of those.

The Marantz and NAD sound simular if you want a warmer not as extended sound compared to the Sony. The Sony is not etched at all to me.

Two channel only setting with a switch on the back or multichannel thru hdmi.

Food for thought,
JT

[Brandon B]

Where my system is now, I'd probably appreciate a bit more warmth over a bit more detail.  Not unhappy with the amount of detail I already have.  But a little more warmth would be welcome.  Got a bit when I add a Butler TDB amp, but not as much as I was hoping.  Unexpectedly, I got a big improvement in detail from it though.

I'd be replacing an "SACD when I feel like it" SCP-C555ES.

Thanks for the insights.

BB

[Ericus Rex]

I certainly wouldn't call the Marantz dark, I hope I didn't imply that.  But by comparison I found the Oppo to be hyper-detailed and the Marantz more realistic.  You still get plenty of highs with the SA8004.

[Sam-fi]

Have you considered the sony xa5400es? Just an innocent question.


Sam

[Old timer]

I wasn't surprised by your comparison. I've owned 2 Oppo 971's. one Oppo 981, one BDP-83, 2 Marantz SA-14's, one SA-11, one SA-8001.

I bought the Oppo's after reading about them at Audiogon and at Audio Asylum. Not terrible sounding, the Marantz players just did/do everything better. (Dynamics, staging, focus, tonal balance, etc.)

All of the Oppo players failed within a year or less. Some of the Marantz players are pretty old, and still work flawlessly.