Marantz SA-KI-Pearl 30th Anniversary SACD Player - Black

When the KI Signature “Pearls” were first introduced just 12 months ago, music lovers around the world were instantly mesmerised. It was a breathtaking combination of brilliance and finesse. Since then, the Pearls have been universally acknowledged in trade reviews as exquisitely outstanding, and are seen as the perfect tribute to the 30th anniversary of Ken Ishiwata’s association with Marantz.
To faithfully reproduce a musical experience in the way that the original artist intended, to recreate the atmosphere, the emotion and all of the nuances – requires a special CD Player. And that’s exactly what you can expect from the limited edition KI Pearl SACD Player.
But as with the amplifier the quality of a CD Player cannot be judged by reading the specifications list. It requires careful listening. And that’s what Ken Ishiwata has done for hours upon hours. Listening testing, reconfiguring. Searching for the ultimate combination of components. The result is an SACD Player with an ultra-realistic three-dimensional sound stage. Every instrument is positioned with pin-point accuracy, and just as importantly they remain in their locations and never drift with increasing volume. It’s a sound stage that also offers remarkable depth and height, allowing the vocals to be lifted over the music for an extra-real reproduction of a live performance. It all adds up to a sublime musical experience filled with emotion.
The SA-KI Pearl’s striking deep black finish may be the first design element you notice. But its stunning reproduction of music will quickly carry your perceptions from the listening room to an artist’s soul.
Both science and art contribute to this journey. Under its elegant and multi-layered brushed aluminium skin, the SA-KI Pearl SA-CD player rests on thick machined legs which, in turn, support a heavy copper-plated chassis that protects internal circuitry from mechanical vibration and radio frequency interference.
Inside that solid foundation, you’ll find a power supply built around a large toroidal transformer that is itself double-shielded by a silicon steel belt and copper-plated case.
The transport mechanism with Xyron disc tray is a proprietary design specifically tuned to Ken Ishiwata’s specifications. An adjustable filter ideally conditions the digital music signal for the high-precision Cirrus Logic digital-to-analogue converters. Once in the analogue domain, music signals flow through Marantz proprietary HDAM-SA2 modules rather than conventional op-amps for exceptionally smooth stage-to-stage transition. Other circuit elements were chosen and combined only after careful comparative listening revealed their superior audio performance. Symmetrical signal traces eliminate channel-to-channel time delay for pinpoint imaging while machined output jacks mounted on a Zero-Impedance copper plate provide connection to the rest of your system.
In further homage to the Marantz tradition, the SA-KI Pearl SA-CD player also includes a number of conveniences. You can use the internal converters to process non-disc digital sources such as an iPod or MP3 player. The digital output is individually shielded to minimize interference. And a current-buffer headphone amplifier provides extraordinary private listening. As a final touch, the SA-KI Pearl handles CDs of all types – conventional, MP3-, or WMA-encoded discs as well as two-channel SA-CDs.
This Pearl will satisfy the most critical listener. And the most demanding décor-conscious music aficionado. Part engineering and part instinctive understanding of music’s demands, the SA-KI Pearl disc player is the culmination of the Marantz tradition and Ken Ishiwata’s demanding ear.

Mechanism: XYRON
Decoder: MT1389EE
D/A Conversion: Multi-bit, Delta-Sigma
DAC IC: CS4398
Digital Filter: CS4398
Noise Shaper: CS4398
Low Pass Filter Stage: HDAM
Output Buffer: HDAM SA2
Headphone Amp: HDAM + buffer
SA-CD Audio
Frequency Response (Cust.): 2 Hz - 50 kHz (+ 0, - 3 dB)
Dynamic Range (SA): 112 dB
Signal to Noise Ratio (SA): 110 dB Total Harmonic Distortion (SA): 0.001%
Channel Separation (SA): 98 dB
CDDA Audio
Frequency Response: 2 Hz - 20 kHz
Dynamic Range: 100 dB
Signal to Noise Ratio: 110 dB
Total Harmonic Distortion: 0.0015%
Channel Separation: 98 dB
General
Power Consumption: 20 W
Dimensions 440 (W) x 419 (D) x 127 (H) mm
Weight: 14.5 kg

Turnaround

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