When Marantz refreshes its flagship hi-fi range, it’s a big deal. The SACD 10 is the first new statement silver disc spinner since 2016, so it is an important product. This fact is physically reinforced by the machine’s colossal real estate – it measures 440x192x422mm, and weighs just 0.7kg less than its partnering Model 10 integrated amplifier at 33kg. At nearly double the weight of Ken Ishiwata’s swansong SA-10, that’s quite a thing. Even the Saul B. Marantz-designed Model 7C preamplifier of 1958 tipped the scales at a svelte 9kg…

The new Marantz 10 Series ‘reference standard’ range includes the SACD 10, the Model 10 integrated, and the LINK 10n streaming preamp — a trio the company says is aimed squarely at restoring its historic stature in the premium luxury tier of high-end audio, no less. Marantz says that the disc spinner has many components that are shared with the other two reference-grade products. These include a two-layer chassis, which is in-house designed and manufactured in Shirakawa, Japan, and there’s enough copper in this to make Hiroyasu Kondo of Kondo Audio Note do a double-take. Retailing for a considerable A$19,500, will the SACD 10 make the same impression as Marantz’s heroes of the past?

Up Close

The company says its engineers were given a blank cheque when it came to the parts specification for the new player. Over five years in development, this SACD/CD spinner supports CD-R/RW – but not DVD-Video – while multichannel audio is down-mixed to two channels only. It sports USB-A and USB-B (DAC), coaxial and TOSLINK inputs for external hi-res digital sources and coaxial RCA and TOSLINK outputs. It also has balanced XLR as well as RCA analogue outputs to make the most of its fully symmetrical internal signal circuitry. A neat feature is that when an input source other than CD is selected, the power to the disc drive mechanism is turned off.

Marantz supplies optical disc transports to other high-end manufacturers like Wadax, Metronome and McIntosh, and has fitted its own front-loading SACD3ML type here. Size and weight improve stability and performance, so the machine’s top-cover assembly is 12 mm-thick aluminium. Build is superlative, down to the massive, giant brass footers. The chassis is a clean sheet design, using multiple layers and isolated compartments to minimise noise and resonance. The upper level is where the digital magic happens, with the transport mechanism underneath. Toroidal power transformers are quarantined in their own copper-plated cases, with one each for the digital and analogue sections respectively.

For such a large unit, the industrial design is appealing. The 45mm thick front panel and display fascia assembly has a pleasing three-dimensional quality, and is backlit yet fully dimmable. This is apparently the most expensive part of the chassis to manufacture, such that only six can be crafted a day. The SACD 10 is available in Marantz’s beloved champagne gold for those who remember the Model 7C, and black for those who remember the CD-63MkII.

The beating heart of this machine is its unconventional one-bit digital-to-analogue convertor stage, which benefits from an updated implementation of the unique SHARC DSP-based Marantz Musical Mastering processing platform. This radical DAC architecture is common to both the SACD 10 and the LINK 10n streamer, and works by first converting the original PCM datastream in the case of CD to DSD256. In the case of USB-A storage devices, it can accept up to 24-bit, 192kHz, and up to 32/384 and DSD256 via USB-B. Listeners are able to fine-tune the sound by adjusting various processing parameters, including switchable digital filters, noise shaping and dither via the scroll-through menu, which is mirrored on the remote control.

The SACD 10 boasts next-generation HDAM SA-3 op-amps in the output stage, laid out on eight-layer PCBs to optimise signal flow, reduce interference, and maximise stability, the company says. There’s also a new and upgraded discrete variable gain headphone amplifier. Marantz points out that, compared to the outgoing SA-10: 

137 types of components in the SACD 10 are new, 87% of the total number used in the product. 21 types of components in the product – 13% of the total – are carried over from the old product.

For the purposes of this review, the SACD 10 was tested using the Marantz Model 10 amplifier and Robert Koda separates with either Acoustic Revive balanced/XLR or Kondo copper RCA cabling.

The Listening

The new Marantz SACD 10 makes a great case for physical media – and indeed the company’s continuing presence in top-tier 2-channel hi-fi separates. No matter what format you use – CD, SACD or the DAC inputs – it sounds absolutely compelling, with SACD in particular being very special. The latter has a remarkable sense of ease and effortless rhythmic flow, which is just what the format is capable of, via the very finest players. From all sources, this machine presents music with a striking tangibility, great spatial scale and unflappable dynamics. There is superb detail, too, as the Marantz sounds clearer than a Shirakawa mountain stream.

It comes across as pretty much technically perfect, yet it isn’t overly analytical and you could never call it emotionally detached – there’s a great evenness and authenticity to its sound. For example, Keith Jarrett’s At the Deer Head Inn is as intimate and expressive as I’ve ever heard it. The smaller baby grand piano is appropriately sized and has distinctive attack, abbreviated sustain and superbly accurate decay. Almost as impressive as the cavernous acoustic space that is recreated. Meanwhile, Gary Peacock’s acoustic bass has great weight yet sounds taut too. The recording’s highly resolved bottom end has textural subtlety and intensities rarely encountered in the digital realm.

Compared to its predecessor, musical timing is noticeably superior, and compared to its companion Model 10 amplifier, it sounds more transparent. Fishmans Long Season is a half-hour-long continuous composition that combines aspects of dub, psych, trance, and shoegaze into a peculiar Tokyo genre known as Shibuya-kei. On SHM-CD, it sounds great, with convincing transient snap and sparkle; it’s the highly immersive and textured experience that it always was. Indeed, the Marantz’s disc transport bettered a downloaded 24/192 FLAC file that I compared it to – with superior microdynamics and more life.

On the SACD layer of Love’s seminal psychedelic Forever Changes album, the music comes across with even more vibrancy and flow. The midband sounds wide open and enveloping, the vocals beautifully textured with real soul. Treble is superbly clean and extended, helping to push out the expansive soundstage in all directions. Instrumentation has meticulous inner harmonic detailing and timbral realism, giving orchestral passages a true symphonic sweep. Brass and strings are vivid and lustrous. Despite the intricacy of the arrangements, the only compression appears to be from the recording itself.

Even on a standard 16-bit/44.1kHz Red Book CD, the Marantz SACD 10 sounds great – and way more refined and detailed than you’d expect from this veteran legacy format. This is not down to an opaque softness because even heavy rock sounds compelling – there is sweetness, light and great reserves of power. The Japanese indie swagger of Shonen Knife’s Sweet Candy Power proves to be positively addictive.

The Verdict

A massive product with an equally enormous sound, Marantz’s SACD 10 makes a huge impression. Never could you call it cheap, but it still represents good value if you crave what it delivers. Surely the company’s finest ever flagship silver disc spinner, it makes a great case for CD and SACD’s continued existence. Of course, at this price, it faces stiff competition from premium CD, SACD and DAC makers alike – so always try before you buy – yet it’s an immensely capable machine that makes both modern and ‘legacy’ formats a joy.

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