Dear Marantz or anyone who can answer this question:
I am the Very Happy owner of Two Premium Reference Marantz Products, Namely the DV-12S2 and My Beloved CD-7. I would very much like to extend this line with a SC-7S2 Pre-amp. But I have come in doubt regarding whether I should really choose the SC-11S1, since this is apparently a completely new construction, with among other features, features such as the HDAM SA3 Version as opposed to the SC-7S2's "Standard" SA-Version (Without any number attached, such as 2 or 3). My question is: I would love to go for the SC-7S2, because I want the best and also because it has the same lovely design line as My Lovely CD-7, but my question really is. Why hasn't the SC-7S2 been outfitted with the new SA3 HDAM's, just like the SC-11S1??? I understand, that while the SC-7S2 was under construcción, the new SA3 version of the HDAM, probably hadn´t been developed yet, but it has been now and so I don´t understand why these new HDAM's hasn't been incorporated into the SC-7S2??? Is itbecause the don´t fit physically into the print-board or because they don´t measure the same, electronically?? Even if this is te case, this should be no feat for such experienced personel as yourselves, so my question is: Are you going to update the SC-7S2 to for example an SC-7S3, with the new HDAM SA3's incorporated??? Its just I feel a little studid investing more than twice the amount of money for an SC-7S2, when this pre-amp has more or less been outdated by its younger as well as smalled sibling, the SC-11S1, which you can aquire for less than half the price of an SC-7S2, so my questons are as follows:
1) Is the SC-11S1 better in certain areas sound-wise, than the SC-7S2 and if so, in which areas is it better???
2) Is there in the near future, for example in spring or summer 2010 going to be released an updated version of the SC-7S2, with the new HDAM SA3's incorporated, either within the S2 Model or released as an S3 model???
3) if not in the summer 2010, THEN WHEN will there come a new HDAM SA3 Version of the SC-7S2???
Sincerely Thomas Lerche, Copenhagen, Denmark
4) Is the new SC-11S1 actually BETTER than the acclaimed SC-7S2, due to its completely new circuitary of which most important of this is the Completely Newly Developed HDAM SA3 modules are used as opposed to the older and not as fast regular HDAM SA(No Number) Modules??
I have seen photos of the inside of both the SC-11S1 and the SC-7S2 and it seems that the both have the exact same power supplies (the two black round power-supply and Filter Inductor look exactly the same and so does the Printboard between them, apart from some miniscule differences). So appart from that the SC-7S2 has more (18) Hdam Modules, than the SC-11S1 (which although it has fewer, it still has NEWER HDAM Modules, namely the SA3 Version as opposed to just the "Normal" SA(No Number) Version. Apart fromthis, the SC-11S1 seems to have inherited all of the circutary of the SC-7S2, only perhaps at a little smaller scale, because the quality of the components seem to be just as good in SC-11S1, if not BETTER than those in the SC-7S2??? So am I not right about these observations and the most important of all: Does the SC-11S1 not sound evey bit as good as the SC-7S2, with newer and faster components and then with apparently the exact same power-supply as the SC-7S2??? I have a seaking suspicion, that the SC-11S1 has surppased the SC-7S2 sound-wise, but nobody really dares to say this, because this would halt all sale of the SC-7S2, unless of course a new S3 version of the SC-7 is going to be launched in the near future???
Sincerely Thomas, Copenhagen, Denmark