Marantz Bows Premium Audio Series Based on New DAC Technology

Marantz bowed the Premium 10 series, calling it its most advanced audio combination. The series comprises the SA-10 ($6,999) Super Audio CD/CD player/digital-to-analog converter (DAC) and PM-10 amplifier ($7,999), with both models due in January. The SA-10, which replaces the SA-7 as the company’s reference disc player, uses Marantz Musical Mastering, a two-stage process that replaces a conventional DAC, the company said. Rather than down-converting ultra-high-resolution files to work with a conventional DAC, the SA-10 upconverts all music to DSD 256, it said. Two dedicated master clocks ensure all digital signals are upsampled directly to DSD 256 -- or four times the SACD standard -- without need for sample rate conversion, said the company. The SACD-M3 disc drive, built for Marantz players, plays CDs, SACDs and hi-res audio files stored on CD or recordable DVD media.