I purchased the SA7001 which I think is the european version of SA8001 without perhaps some aesthetics improvement. I ended reselling it a year later when saved for a real detailed with "analogue feel" sound from a famous old CAMbridge manufacturer (who uses dCS technology and begin manufacturing "Amplification and Recording" gear... I wont say names :-)
Well, the SA7001 sound??? For CD (CDDA, cd-audio) well.... any Sony CD player hifi componet bettered the Marantz with CD. More deatail, warm, even more punch... Arcam SACD compatible player was even better than Sony. And what about SACD ( SA-CD.net ) performance??? Just like with CD-audio, the Sony was better, and the Arcam the very best at the price range. But Marantz digital source did it better than Yamaha ones, Pioneer, Rotel, NAD, cambridgeaudio and even the "pro" D/A converter built in Presonus studio gear. So my advice is regarding digital sources, if you want go Japanese, go Sony. If not and only want the best from the best, Arcam digital sources always. From audiophile to audiophile :)

The Marantz SA8001 is by far better than my previous 12 yr old CD player. It definitely has a wider soundstage, much more impressive sound that my previous Onkyo CD player. Instruments seem to have good separation, and an overall much cleaner sound, while bass is much tighter. It plays all CD's and CD-R's, SACD that I have tried without any problems.

I did buy some different cables which did take some breaking in but overall I am very please with the sound through my Linn 5140 speakers, and would recommend this SACD player to anyone wanting a two channel only player.

.

Strengths:
Very clear, tight bass, Build, and excellent separation.

Weakness:
Very slow fast forward and reverse.

very clear, detailed and smooth sounding player with excellent separation between instruments.

no deepest bass; very slow in "FF" and "REV"; doesn read "CD-text" (only from SACDs).

My review relates to SA7001 model.
(NOTE: This review is mostly based on comparisons with my CD player Marantz CD6000OSE-LE and some others I've heard, generally all of them belong to lower midrange).

The first thing I noticed is a very clear and polished sound with excellently separated instruments. It is not a flawless player however, so I'll mention a lack of deepest bass.

7001 has a wider soundstage than the 6000; although it goes much more to the left and to the right, while in the same time it goes proportionally less upwards and especially downwards (I guess this is caused by missing deepest bass). There is enough depth and imaging is very good i.e. instruments are well positioned in space.

Bass is a little bit slower and it sometimes lacks some energy, although this is something typical for most Marantz CD-players. The sound is a little bit cold and lean in the lower ranges (6000 sounds fuller). Upper bass is very obvious but there isn't almost any deep one. The deepest bass lines are those that underline and make basis for rest of the sound. This lack was a reason few discs sounded to me pretty thin. The unusual thing here is that the lack of deep bass is more obvious on normal and lower volumes, while it's harder to notice it on higher volumes. All this results in that 6000 sounds warmer, "meaty" and passionate against the sound of 7001. I think that it is worthwhile to try this player via the interconnect cable van den Hul – The Name because of its very deep and meaty bass (mine is van den Hul D-102 III).

I want to point out once again a very good separation between instruments with sheer sound in the same time (6000 looses here the competition). Vocals sound excellent, especially female vocals. Whole upper frequency range is very detailed, smooth and refined without exaggerating in that direction.
Attention; the sound of 7001 is so detailed and clear that sometimes you will be aware of a strange noises or for instance distorted sounds that you never heard before (of course that this depends also on a quality level of rest of your equipment). In other words 7001 is capable to reveal easily even a technical mistakes is recording, or mixing or mistakes in burned CD-R. The same can be heard with my 6000 CD player as well, but it is harder to notice, while such noises are more covered with rest of the sound. 6000OSE has a romantic soul, while 7001 likes to show you the real true on every disc (for good or for bad).

Although the sound is not so well balanced, generally 7001 sounds very nice, pleasant and relaxed. It allows you to enjoy your music for many continue hours without being tiresome.

P.S. SACD reproduction sounds excellent; detailed, very dynamic and clear. In short term it's like studio recording in a "live" manner. This is based on only 2 originals, hybrid SACD's I have.

Similar Products Used:

Marantz CD6000OSE-LE & 6000-KI; NAD C541i.

The way it makes everyone and everything sound seperate.
The fine detail of the instruments are brought out.
Build quality.
Ease of operation.

None

This was the last peice of equiptment in my latest upgrade. Did speakers first, then amp and now CD player.
I was very excited to hear what this could do to compliment the rest of the components. Considering i just paid 4 times more than the CD5001 it replaced i was expecting alot.
It definatly made improvements. No doubt about it, however the speakers (B&W 603 to B&W 704) and amp (Marantz SR7500 to SR8001) made bigger jumps in improvement.
What struck me the most was the sence that all the instruments were well seperated from each other. Like they all came from their own speaker. It gave this airyness, openess that wasnt there before.
Stereo imaging was also a bit better however this was mostly improved by the speakers.
The build quality is amazing. Even down to the rubbery feeling tray. Disks feel like they are being well looked after even when in the tray.
The only SACD ive bothered to play so far is MJ Thriller. Can't get any closer to a live experience i'd say. A big thumbs up on SACD.

Similar Products Used:

In this price range none.
In cheaper units. Marantz, Yamaha, Poineer

Neutral timbre, good bass, convincing on a wide range of music

none considering the price

This machine is basically a modified 2-channel only version of the 8260, but with a bigger and better power supply. The 8260, which the 8001 replaced in my system, has long been the benchmark under $1K player. After living with the 8001 for almost a year I can say unequivacally that it is at least as good as the 8260 and better in some respects, most notably midrange neutrality and solidity of the bass. I also think this player outperforms the older and more expensive SA14 on SACD (I had the SA14 in my system for over a year). Although the sound is still a little tense and two dimensional compared with mega-buck machines, it nevertheless sounds very natural and doesn't call much attention to itself, which I think is an indication that it is not doing anything wrong. This is not surprising since the 8001 has basically the same inerts as the highly acclaimed European model SA7001KI Signature, sharing the same circuits and power transformer. I have not heard the latest Rotel, but this new Marantz is definitely a superior player, especially on SACD.

Customer Service

Unknown. The player has worked perfectly.

Similar Products Used:

Marantz SA8260/SA14, Rotel RCD971

Build
Sound
Value

Text display works with SACDs only

I bought this to replace my Sony SCD670XD instead of the SA8260 because I do not want DVD or multi-channel.Very pleased with results on quality SACDs like Telarc or Pentatone. Very smooth transport and solid build quality. Upsampled CD sound not bad either although I prefer my Rotel 991 A.E. for CD.

Customer Service

None needed.
Sales experience very pleasant.

Similar Products Used:

Sony