Marantz has introduced Series 2 update versions of its midrange SA-15S2 SACD player and PM-15S2 integrated amp.
While the pair look very similar to their predecessors, the company claims that the SACD player at least is ‘completely different’ to the original. Using engineering lessons learnt during the construction of Marantz’s £5,000 flagship SA-7S1, the new model is built around the company’s own SACDM-10 mechanism which feeds a Cirrus Logic CS4398 24-bit/192kHz DAC.
Also inside are bespoke electrolytic, thick film capacitors, Shottky diodes and Marantz’s own SA-2 Hyper Dynamic Amplifier Modules (HDAM) instead of the more common third party single chip op-amps. There are also separate sound filter options for CD and SACD, and a ‘display off’ function to prevent noise from the display interfering with listening.
The machine is finished off with a heavy extruded aluminium case and extra-stiff Xyron disc tray to minimise vibrations.
The matching PM-15S2 amplifier meanwhile can pump out 200 watts per channel, uses HDAM-SA2 and -SA3 modules and includes an MM/MC phono stage for vinyl freaks.
There’s also a Power Amp Direct mode which allows it to be used in a multichannel set-up by using the power amp section to drive the front left and right speakers of a multichannel system, while the surround channels can be powered by a separate AV receiver.
Both the SA-15S2 and PM-15S2 are on sale now for £1,700 each.