Marantz SA-11S3 CD & SACD Player

Marantz SA-11S3 CD & SACD Player

The new Marantz SA-11S3 follows in the foot steps of the reference 11 series CD players, replacing the SA-11S2. The SA-11S3 is available in the same colours as the matching amplifier Marantz PM11S3 - as well as champagne, it is also available in black. The combination of both the SA11S3 and PM11S3 represents the ultimate pairing for those audio enthusiasts looking for the best possible musical performance in the home. The two products are designed to function together perfectly as one system to deliver maximum performance, however they will also function extremely well in combination with other manufacturers products.

The Marantz SA11S3 is the ultimate CD and SACD player, delivering best best possible audio performance - to make this possible, Marantz have paid extra attention to every single detail of this product, which results in a very high build quality. Similar to the PM11, the SA-11S3 is a very heavy unit thanks to the 5mm thick aluminium top plate and a double layered aluminium bottom which will prevent distortion from mechanical vibrations outside the enclosure. The rigid, heavy casework also prevent internal vibrations, for example from the power transformer, from affecting the sensitive audio signals within. Excellent grounding of the entire product is assured due to copper plating of the chassis - copper is an excellent conductor of electricity, and because each part of the chassis is a zero or ground potential, any ground noise is rendered to nothing.

There are eight separate sections of circuitry within the product:-

• Disc mechanism - the SA11S3 can read both CD's and Super Audio CD's - SACD's rotate at a very high speed, much higher than normal CD's, and this is normally a significant cause of unwanted vibration in the unit. The disc mechanism has been re-designed to thoroughly suppress any vibration - most mechanisms are made from a plastic drawer and clamp, and exposed to the environment since it is not housed in a sealed enclosure. Errors in the digital bit stream are very likely with this plastic mechanism, as the disc rotates eccentrically and also vibrations make it hard for the laser to accurately read the disc. The disc mechanism in the SA11 is of a much higher quality level - it is extremely rigid due to a steel chassis, and is able to dissipate all external vibrations. The top lid is also of steel, which enables the CD clamping assembly to precisely locate the CD disc in the mechanism, avoiding any eccentricity of the CD. The CD loading tray is itself made of die cast aluminium, which is very resistant to vibration, giving the advantage that the digital audio bit stream can be read from the disc with very few errors, resulting in an exceptionally clean audio signal.
• Digital input board - the SA11S3 has an exceptionally high performance DAC with Marantz Musical Mastering, which can accept a digital audio feed from external music sources. This improves the sound quality of external music sources so that you can enjoy them even more. There are four digital inputs - coaxial, optical and USB on the rear panel, and a further USB input on the front panel. The two USB inputs are isolated from the sensitive analogue audio circuits by opto couplers - these devices allow transmission of the USB data stream from PC for example with no ground connection, the data is transmitted by light pulses alone. |Lot's of unwanted noise is present on a USB signal, and this is the reason opto couplers are used to eliminate this harmful effect on sound quality.
• Digital processing and digital-to analogue converter - the digital processing is a filtering process now known as Marantz Musical Mastering, which is a technique to improve the quality of digital audio feeds which are not yet at high definition quality, such as standard CD's. After filtering the digital signal is converted to an analogue signal by the DAC, which is then passed to the analogue output stage for preparation to be sent to the amplifier.
• Analogue output stage - in this section the analogue output from the DAC is amplified to line level, this section is often also referred to as the output buffer, and the signal needs to be powerful enough to drive the interconnecting cables and power amplifier. This section uses the well known Marantz HDAM SA2 amplifier modules which are popular because they have a very fast transient response, very low noise level and use the best sounding discrete components.
• Discrete headphone amplifier stage - this is a dedicated amplifier using HDAM SA2 modules to amplify the analog output signal for headphone listening, making the SA11S3 the perfect solution to those audiophiles who listen regularly via headphones. The volume control know on the front panel allows the desired listening level to be precisely set by the user.
• Two power supplies are used instead of one, to supply the digital and analogue sections separately with regulated, smoothed and high current dc power. The digital power supply often has to deal with noise when feeding the digital circuits which would disturb the analogue audio circuits. By separating the two and also creating separate grounds, a barrier is created between the two - the result is a clean audio signal, free of high frequency noise. The analogue power supply is very powerful, it contains large reservoir capacitors that can supply current very quickly when needed. The best sounding capacitors have been chosen by Marantz engineers, since the composition of the capacitors is crucial for best sound quality.
• The toroidal transformer is the final section which steps the higher mains voltage down to the required low voltage used by the power supplies - the secondary windings have very low impedance so that the reservoir capacitors can be charged extremely quickly. The toroidal transformer has a very low radiated magnetic field, causing very little disturbance to the rest of the player, plus there is less mechanical hum than when designing in a lower cost,  laminated transformer. The toroidal design is also very efficient in providing the high currents required. A final level of additional shielding is provided by the metal can encasing the transformer.

Marantz Musical Mastering technology is the latest version of digital filtering present in the SA11S3, which gives a precise sound stage and a very wide stereo image. Due to the technical limitations of CD (16 bit resolution, 44.1kHz sampling rate and limited storage capacity), the high resolution audio recordings made in a studio by an artist have to be mastered (reduced in quality) to fit the CD medium. Marantz Musical Mastering however allows you to enjoy a CD in your living room at full HD quality as heard in the recording studio. The standard 16 bit 44.1kHz data stream is read from the CD and through a process of filtering, shaping, dithering and noise shaping is transformed into a 24 bit 352.4kHz data stream which is much smoother than the original 16 bit signal - the 24 bit DAC then converts this data stream to a very pure analogue audio signal. The dithering technique requires significant processing power, only previously seen in professional recording studios - the SA11S3 is the first consumer product on the market to feature this advanced audio technology. There are two user selectable filters available, depending upon your personal preference - filter 1 gives a more profound stereo sound stage, whereas filter 2 gives a more analogue sound quality - using the filter button on the remote control you can switch between both filters. The remote control also features a dither button, allowing you to switch the noise shaping and dithering on and off at will.

The Marantz SA11S3 has two sets of analogue audio outputs, balanced XLR and unbalanced RCA outputs - the balanced outputs connect perfectly to the balanced inputs of the PM-11S3, and are the recommended connection method, as they are more resistant to disturbance from electromagnetic radiation than unbalanced connections. Two noise-free, opto coupled USB connections are provided, one on the front panel (idea for connecting your iDevice, USB hard drive or USB stick containing MP3 or WMA files) and a rear panel USB , again ideal for USB hard drive or PC / Mac connections, using the SA11S3 as an external sound card. High resolution audio files such as FLAC HD 24 bit 192kHz files can be replayed from your PC once JRiver software is installed, or via Mac - the transfer of data is fully under the control of the SA-11S3 - this is called asynchronous mode, meaning that the clock of the SA11S3 is determining the flow of digital data from the PC or Mac. Rear panel optical input and coaxial digital inputs allow you to connect your TV, set top box or Apple TV for best possible sound quality, thanks to the advanced DAC and Marantz Musical Mastering of the SA-11S3.