Marantz SA-10

One of the best digital source components around

CD player ₹5,84,900

Marantz doesn’t often produce top-end disc players, but when it does they are usually done right. Notice we say disc rather than CD player, as the SA-10 also reads SACDs and DVD-ROMs. File compatibility from disc is impressive, from 24-bit/192kHz FLACs and DSD128 all the way to ALAC, AIFF and MP3s.

Marantz’s own SACD-M3 transport was a considerable investment for the company, designed to read the music data off the disc as accurately as possible first time around. Marantz has taken the opportunity to revise the entire signal path and come up with a new digital-to-analogue section that incorporates elements of the single-bit conversion used in the past, but with new filtering techniques and up-conversion.

Marantz has long been a master at getting the most out of its circuits, and here you will find high-quality components and extensive shielding combined with sophisticated power-supply arrangements. This may be an expensive product, but it is obvious where the money has gone. The casework is immensely rigid, well damped and superbly finished. At just over 18kg, it is heavier than some premium amplifiers.