Owner's Manual

Reference class Super Audio CD player with USB DAC, digital inputs
and unique Marantz Musical Mastering technology
SA-10
SUPER AUDIO CD PLAYER
SUPER AUDIO CD PLAYER
DAC board with digital isolation circuitry
and - Stream processing
MMM - Conversion Marantz mechanism SACDM-3
The SA-10 is an exceptional player of both CD and SACD discs, but can also play high-resolution
music stored on computer-burned discs, as well as being a high-end digital to analog converter for
computer-stored music. From the unique new disc transport designed for this player all the way
through to a complete rethink of the way digital audio data is converted into analog signals, the
SA-10 is a ‘clean sheet’ design, the result of painstaking research and development and extensive
listening in Marantz’s custom-built listening facilities. That’s symptomatic of the way Marantz has
always done things: while it always aims for the most elegant engineering solution, the listening
test is always the final arbiter. It’s all to do with that simple phrase running through the heart of
everything the company does: ‘Because Music Matters’.
It starts with the disc
Whether playing SA-CD or CD, or data discs containing music, it’s vital that any player retrieves the
information as accurately as possible: unlike a computer reading a disc for ripping, there’s no time
for repeated re-scans when playing music – it happens in real time, so the disc transport needs to
get things right first time. Many modern CD and SACD players use computer-style DVD or ‘universal’
disc drives, simply because it’s increasingly difficult for manufacturers to source dedicated ‘music
drives’, purely designed for SACD/CD playback. The Marantz solution? If you can’t buy it off the
shelf, design it and have it made: at the heart of the SA-10 is an all-new SACD-M3 transport
mechanism, engineered solely for the best possible performance when playing SA-CDs, CDs and
music stored on data discs. Not only does this new mechanism promise the very best sound quality
from conventional CD and SA-CD discs, its extended ability with the playback of music files stored
on DVD-ROM discs makes it possible for users to create their own high-resolution audio compilation
discs using a computer DVD burner. The SA-10 can play FLAC files from 44.1kHz to 192kHz at up to
24-bit resolution, and DSD2.8MHz and DSD5.6MHz, well as ALAC (Apple Lossless), AIFF and MP3
files. That means making and playing hi-res disc compilations is now just as simple as it’s always
been to make such discs in CD quality.
At a glance
• All-new SACD-M3 transport mechanism
for CD, SACD and more
• Playback of high-resolution audio
compilations on DVD-ROM
• USB input for hi-res audio up to PCM /
DXD 384kHz/32bit and DSD11.2MHz
• Isolation of USB and digital inputs to
remove noise from connected sources
• USB-A input for USB memory device,
external harddisc and iDevice
• Innovative upsampling to DSD and filtering
using unique Marantz Musical Mastering –
Stream technology
• All-new custom-designed 1-bit direct
Marantz Musical Mastering – Conversion
from DSD to analog
• High-quality analog output stage with
Marantz HDAMs
• Generous power supply using toroidal
transformer
• Dedicated headphone amplifier with all-
discrete construction
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