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ESOTERIC SA-10 SACD/CD Player
Why buy this reference grade SACD player
(1) World Clock In via BNC port —WORD SYNC input terminal to accept an incoming external WORD clock signal. (2) XLR balanced output , great for XLR input pre-amp such as my other listing Bryston BP-20 pre-amp Pre-Amplifier (3) Made in Japan(4) All metal made remote , look photo to see the weight (5) Build Like Tank as weight have 28.6 LB(6) MSRP 3.299 USD $3500(7) Rare USA power as 120v input (8) The D/A converter incorporate Cirrus Logic’s 24-bit/192kHz processing DAC device,(9) can accept and synchronize to the following frequencies received from external devices (rectangular wave):44.1/88.2/100/176.4 kHz(10) The unit can also operate using an ESOTERIC original 100kHz Universal Clock signal. (11) can accept master clock generator effectively upgrades the unit, delivering even better performance with greater definition, transparency and imaging(12) The front panel is made from thick extruded aluminum, top panel (T 5mm), and side panels (T 4mm), are also made from aluminum.(13) The disc drive mechanism is mounted in the center of the chassis and the chassis is supported by three metal feet to create an optimally stable platform.(14) Aluminum body remote control fits comfortably in your hands with moderate weight. Keys are illuminated for low light or no light conditions(15) can play Super Audio CD, CD, CD-R, and CD-RW disks(16) doesn’t perform DSD-to-PCM conversion, as earlier Esoteric digital players have. (17) has isolated the different sections — analog, power and digital — to keep interference and vibration to an absolute minimum. (18) Build in a pair of Cirrus Logic CS4398 DACs, and then a dual-mono analog output stage. (19) There are a Word Sync Input jack for connection to Esoteric external clocking units,(20) There is a spot for the optional I-Link connection, the digital outputs (21) There is a ground connection, and the IEC receptacle for use with the included power cord.(22) The option to switch between two digital filter settings, one steep, one shallow.
It is equipped with VOSP (Vertically aligned optical stability platform) mechanism that adopts ESOTERIC high performance shaft sliding type pickup.
Condition : Operability confirmed 100%.Accessories: Factory Remote , manual Power supply voltage : AC120vOther information : Dimension: W 442 x H 149 x D 353 mm
VOSP MechanismVOSP (Vertically-aligned Optical Stability Platform), features a specially designed shaft-mounted laser pickup assembly. This pickup system is also used by ESOTERIC in the P-01 and the P-03 transports. This pickup design ensures that the laser optical axis is always at the center of the data track for optimal reading capability. With VOSP implementation, no off axis error correction is needed because no off axis data tracking is allowed.2 channel dedicated analog audio output / Precise imaging and deeper sound stageThe D/A converter incorporate Cirrus Logic’s 24-bit/192kHz processing DAC device, model CS4398 in a dual mono configuration. The analog audio output circuits are also in a dual mono configuration producing exceptionally good channel separation. This 2 channel dedicated circuit design contributes to precise imaging and a deeper sound stage for the SA-10.Rich and high speed power supply capabilityThe large toroidal transformer has a highly efficient power supply capability. This provides electric power to the drive mechanism and audio circuits very quickly, without adding noise or distortion to the internal circuitry.Word synchronizationThe SA-10 features a WORD SYNC input terminal to accept an incoming external WORD clock signal. The input can operate with 44.1/88.2/176.4 kHz clock signals. The unit can also operate using an ESOTERIC original 100kHz Universal Clock signal. The incoming ultra-stable clock signal produced by external components such as the AI-10 or a master clock generator effectively upgrades the unit, delivering even better performance with greater definition, transparency and imaging.High rigid chassis construction made with thick aluminum platesThe front panel is made from thick extruded aluminum, top panel (T 5mm), and side panels (T 4mm), are also made from aluminum. This highly rigid chassis construction reduces vibrations and resonance. Screws hidden from exterior view, torqued to specific tolerance, help to further reduce vibration and compliment the SA-10 high end cosmetic.Highly stable center mounted drive mechanismThe disc drive mechanism is mounted in the center of the chassis and the chassis is supported by three metal feet to create an optimally stable platform.Slim remote control with illumination keysAluminum body remote control fits comfortably in your hands with moderate weight. Keys are illuminated for low light or no light conditions.
SystemSuper Audio CD, CD, CD-R, and CD-RWAudio output
(Analog Audio)JacksXLR jacks (2channel) 1
RCA jacks (2channel) 1Maximum Output level(1kHz, full scale)2.2Vrms0.1V/10kohmsFrequency response5Hz to 50kHz (SACD,DSD setting:Normal)
5Hz to 80kHz (SACD,DSD setting:Direct)Signal-to-Noise Ratio(S/N)130dBDynamic range107dBTotal harmonic distortion0.001%Audio output
(Digital Audio)OPTICALOptical digital jack 1COAXIALRCA jack 1(Optional at additional cost)The i.LINK (AUDIO) terminals (4pin 1, 6pin 1) will become available after a future hardware upgradeWord Synchronization input formatJackBNCInput levelTTL level/75ohmsGeneralPower supply
AC 120V 60Hz
Power consumption18WExternal dimensions
(WHD)442149353 mm
(17-3/85-7/813-7/8 “)Weight12.5kg (27-9/16lbs)The SA-10 can accept and synchronize to the following frequencies received from external devices (rectangular wave):44.1/88.2/100/176.4 kHz-Design and specifications are subject to change without notice.-This product is available in three different power supply variations shown in the chart above. Make sure that the voltage shown on the rear panel matches the AC line voltage in your area.-The shape of the AC inlet and plug of the supplied power cord depends on the voltage rating and destination country.OptionOptional i.LINK (AUDIO) interface
Optional i.LINK interface provides digital transmission capability of high grade Super Audio CD’s multi-channel signals to other i.LINK equipped devices such as a multi-channel D/A converter or A/V surround sound processor.
ESOTERIC SA-10 SACD/CD Player
It is equipped with VOSP (Vertically aligned optical stability platform) mechanism that adopts ESOTERIC high performance shaft sliding type pickup.
Condition
Operability confirmed 100%.
Accessories
none.
Power supply voltage
AC100V 50Hz/60Hz
Other information
Dimension: W 442 x H 149 x D 353 mm
To these ears, Esoteric’s SA-10 sets very high standards for CD playback across the board and is committed to the neutral path of the born truth teller.
This player is characterized by:an agile, well defined bass which remains dry into the lowest reaches
a midband and treble which are perfectly linear, lucid and transparent and thus the essence of high fidelity great dynamics both in the micro and macro domains.
The Esoteric SA-10 is also a gifted player and blessed with rhythmically impulsive reflexes to convey the energy and life of the music
truly spectacular staging. Be it the strikingly transparent layering or — even more so — the absolutely impeccable image focus, more doesn’t seem possible.
Should it be, I’d call it too much already.
a minor weakness which curtails the ultimate decay of certain instruments.
Alas, this depends on the choice of music and is valid only for the “narrow” setting of the digital filter.
A simply button push to “wide” and this apparent minor liability turns asset because…
…the shallower filter produces enhanced warmth and longer fades.
This particularly benefits piano music to transform piano notes into piano runs.
What you give up is a degree of image lock and staging transparency. This program-specific adaptability is a very useful feature.
Sound”What I heard was a CD player that offered acute retrieval of low-level detail, the ability to sort out massed voices and instruments,
better-than-average dynamic prowess, a wide and deep soundstage, and excellent reproduction of vocals.”
But with SACDs, “that’s the format with which [the SA-10] really shines.” “Its ease was addictive” and “detail retrievalwas the best Ive heard in my system.”
Features”The SA-10 is strictly a two-channel player.” The SA-10 uses “Esoterics proprietary
VOSP (vertically aligned optical stability platform) transport.”
“After the data leave the transport, they encounter a pair of Cirrus Logic CS4398 DACs, then a dual-mono analog output stage.”
“The SA-10 doesn’t perform DSD-to-PCM conversion, as earlier Esoteric digital players have.
Each format is kept native right up to the analog output stage.”
Use”One last point that’s important if you audition an SA-10:
Dont even think about giving it a serious listen until it has at least 250 hours on if — preferably more. Esoteric stresses this, and I heartily agree.”
Value”The SA-10 is the digital source for audiophiles on a budget, allowing us to jump off the equipment merry-go-round and get on
with the enjoyment of our music collections. It’s Esoteric and affordable.”
Whats this? An Esoteric CD/SACD player for $3500? Doesnt Esoteric design and manufacture strictly high-priced digital gear?
After all, Esoteric is TEAC Corporation’s high-end division, specializing in cutting-edge audio equipment.
If you want inexpensive digital, you buy the TEAC brand; if you want the best, you buy Esoteric.
So isnt a $3500 Esoteric player a bit like a cut-rate Ferrari? Well, yes and no.
If Esoteric can produce a CD/SACD player that meets its lofty standards and sell it for less than its other megabuck digital products, that’s good for audiophiles.
However, as with Ferrari’s manufacturing methods, it would be patently impossible to produce an Esoteric digital product without cutting some corners.
But if you think that the SA-10 signals a trend and that Esoteric is about to lower its standards or trade on its name and make its products even more accessible, think again.
The SA-10 is Esoteric through and through, just a less extreme version of the company’s well-established products.
Build
Simply put, the SA-10 is a large, heavy silver box that measures in at 17 3/8″W x 5 7/8″H x 13 7/8″D and weighs a robust 28 pounds.
Theres nothing overly fancy about the chassis, but where would you rather the money be spent — outside to make it look nice, or inside where it counts for making music?
Ill take inside myself. With my eyes closed concentrating on the music, Im not looking at the SA-10 anyway.
So how did Esoteric get the SA-10 to come in at $3500? Well, for one thing, the SA-10 is strictly a two-channel player.
Sure, at some point in the future Esoteric will come out with an I-Link board and connection that can be retrofitted into the rear of the SA-10s chassis
should you wish to spend the money for the upgrade to allow multichannel playback.
Also, while the SA-10’s chassis is made from anodized aluminum, its not as fancy-shmancy as those of its more expensive brethren.
Youll find no engraved company name on the top of the unit, no smoothly rounded edges, no excessive buttons and LEDs.
Instead, Esoteric settled for a single row of rectangular push buttons and only two LEDs on the front panel.
The display is also small and tough to read from across the room.
Internally, the SA-10 eschews FIR and RDOT filters that other Esoteric players provide.
Still, what you do get is impressive.
First there is Esoterics proprietary VOSP (vertically aligned optical stability platform) transport.
No off-the-shelf or modified unit for Esoteric, the company designs and builds its own transports to ensure absolute rigid stability,
thereby enabling the player to read the information encoded on your discs properly and transmit it to the DACs with a minimum of error and jitter.
It costs a fair bit to conceive and build a transport mechanism.
That Esoteric can include the VOSP in a unit at the SA-10’s price speaks volumes for the company’s commitment to sound quality.
Internally,
Esoteric has isolated the different sections — analog, power and digital — to keep interference and vibration to an absolute minimum.
After the data leave the transport, they encounter a pair of Cirrus Logic CS4398 DACs, and then a dual-mono analog output stage.
You can connect the SA-10 via single-ended or balanced outputs.
However, in its case, the output levels are the same — 2.2V.
A fully balanced circuit normally has double the voltage of a single-ended one, but in the case of the SA-10 the balanced output voltage has been cut in half at the first gain stage.
Thus, when the balanced output is summed, it is only 2.2V, the same as the single-ended.
Why did Esoteric do this? My only guess would be out of concern for overloading certain preamps with the greater balanced voltage.
I did try both single-ended and balanced connections, and I preferred balanced for their greater clarity.
The SA-10 doesn’t perform DSD-to-PCM conversion, as earlier Esoteric digital players have.
Each format is kept native right up to the analog output stage. As you may have already gathered, the SA-10 supports CD and SACD only.
The SA-10 comes with Esoterics standard big, heavy remote control, and there are a number of buttons on it that you wont be using.
Still, all the standard options are there — open/close, on/standby, display dimming and a setup feature youll use when you configure the SA-10
The back panel is a model of simplicity.
There are a Word Sync Input jack for connection to Esoteric external clocking units,
a spot for the optional I-Link connection, the digital outputs
– both TosLink and coaxial — the balanced and single-ended analog outputs,
a ground connection, and the IEC receptacle for use with the included power cord.
Thats it. You wont be getting confused when it comes time to connect the SA-10 to your system.
One last point that’s important if you audition an SA-10:
Dont even think about giving it a serious listen until it has at least 250 hours on it — preferably more.
Esoteric stresses this, and I heartily agree. In fact,
the SA-10 sounded increasingly better in every way during the time I had it in my system, and I put over 500 hours on it.
Luckily it’s easy to break in a digital player: Just load a disc and set the player to repeat all tracks.
Sound
Because most of us have many more CDs than SACDs, I was interested first and foremost in the SA-10s good ol’ Red Book abilities.
What I heard was a CD player that offered acute retrieval of low-level detail,
the ability to sort out massed voices and instruments, better-than-average dynamic prowess,
a wide and deep soundstage, and excellent reproduction of vocals.
Despite being a multiformat player, the SA-10 handled CDs extremely well.
The SA-10s reproduction of low-level detail — the fine points often obscured in the music
— was impressive. With Sonny Rollins latest CD, Sonny Please [Emarcy B0008], the percussion instruments in the background were not buried in the mix
but were also not thrust out more than would be natural. Instead, everything was just there, placed in the soundstage as it would be had I been present in the studio.
Massed voices, such as those on the Turtle Creek Chorales new CD Serenade [Reference Recordings RR-110],
were well delineated, and big-band music was sorted out well. Take the new Charles Tolliver CD Big Band With Love [Blue Note 0946 3 69315 2 4].
What I heard was no formless blob of sound, but rather a soundstage cluttered with individual instruments that I could follow easily.
The SA-10s ability to handle wide swings in dynamic range was shown with the well-known Sheffield Labs Track & Drum Record [Sheffield Labs CD-14/20].
Listening to both solo drum sets imparted the sense of hearing two distinctly different drummers.
Whether using sticks or brushes, snapping a snare roll or smacking a cymbal, each was reproduced in a realistic manner. Every technique was identifiable.
No, the SA-10 wasnt perfect. There was a slight sense of the transients being foreshortened, but not enough to be easily noticed unless youre comparing the
SA-10 to a better and far more expensive player.
When it came to reproduction of vocals — always one of the major factors in judging any piece of audio equipment —
the SA-10 did a fine job. From the hip-hop vocals of Speech to the sultry soul/blues of Bettye Lavette through the pop sound of I-Nine, all of which I listened to on the
Paste Magazine Sampler #19 [no catalog number], the SA-10 made each sound distinct. These very personal vocal styles and vocal inflections came through loud and clear,
despite all the different production values.
All in all, I wouldn’t say the SA-10 is one of those CD players that will make you question why anyone would need to listen to another format, but it does a more-than-satisfactory job of reproducing CDs, and it does so with little or no digital-induced fatigue.
But CD replay isnt the major reason for purchasing the SA-10. If youre considering the SA-10, you likely have a number of SACDs,
because that’s the format with which it really shines. Its ease was addictive. I listened for as long as I wanted, the time spent reveling in its sound limited only by the clock and my schedule.
Detail retrieval with SACDs was the best Ive heard in my system. I just received the new 2L Grieg/Mozart dual-piano disc by the Dena Piano Duo [2L 40].
Grieg was an admirer of Mozart, and, for a lark, he wrote a completely new piano sonata for four of Mozart’s.
This was to be played simultaneously with Mozarts on two pianos.
The SA-10 easily sorted out both the musical lines as well as the dual pianos.
This disc is great fun to listen to on any SACD player, and thanks to the SA-10s abilities, it was even more so.
The SA-10 made acoustic instruments sound completely natural, both in tone and timbre. The first Closer to the Music sampler [Stockfisch Records SFR 357 4003.2] is a case in point.
Packed with singer/songwriter acoustic music, its reproduction via the SA-10 was an exercise in enjoyment. The shakers on the Alan Taylor cut, “
The Beat Hotel,” sounded just like seeds enclosed in a small resonant cavity. The Chris Jones track, “No Sanctuary Here,” gave a full and realistic representation of his acoustic guitar
— in size, shape and tone. I could follow Joness fingers on the strings, hearing whether he was strumming, picking, or a combination of both.
The Paul Stephenson song “Captain of the Loving Kind” gave a completely different sense of an acoustic guitar than that on the Chris Jones track —
more whole and less a matter of technique. Also, the vocals of Taylor, Jones and Stephenson were well differentiated, just as they should be.
Well-recorded SACDs, like the Herb Ellis/Joe Pass recording Seven, Come Eleven [Concord SACD-1015-6] were superbly handled through the SA-10.
Not only were the two guitars set in different space, but they were also tonally separate as well.
Plus, the SA-10 allowed the instruments to bloom, just as they do live, filling the recording venue with sound in a three-dimensional manner.
I could close my eyes and “see” the musicians.
But how would the SA-10 respond to over-processed rock? With some trepidation I pulled Aimee Manns Bachelor No. 2 [Mobile Fidelity UDSACD 2025] from the shelf.
This isnt a great recording, but the music is superb. The SA-10 sorted out this music as it had all the other music Id listened to.
Sure, I could hear the recording’s faults, but there was nothing added by the SA-10. The instruments came through loud and clear. Manns voice,
one of the more distinctive in rock, was wispy and fragile, just as it should be.
As has become my norm, I did the bulk of my listening to SA-10 just as it came, with the supplied power cord. However, when I swapped in a
Harmonic Technology Pro AC-11 power cord and some Symposium Roller Blocks and a Svelte Shelf beneath and atop the SA-10, everything improved to a great degree.
While I wont say that these accessories are mandatory with the SA-10, they do allow it to reproduce music to its fullest capabilities.
Comparisons
If you think that you can buy top-level high-resolution sound for under a grand, think again.
Yes, my Marantz SA-8260 ($995 when new; it has now been discontinued in favor of the new SA-8001) is a fine-sounding CD/SACD player, and it was highly regarded in its day.
It offers a taste of what makes SACD such a noteworthy digital medium.
But when stacked up against the wares of a company that specializes in designing and building state-of-the-art high-resolution digital gear,
it falls short and you cant help but hear the differences.
One of my favorite jazz CDs is Andy McClouds Jazz for Bighead [Mapleshade 07832]. Through the Marantz SA-8260, it was enjoyable without being involving.
McClouds bass was clear, but not all that realistically rendered. The vibes didnt shimmer as much as they should.
The SA-10 conveyed not only a better sense of the size, shape, and makeup of McClouds bass, but more of the wooden sound from the big cavity of the instrument as well.
I could also picture McCloud standing there playing. As for the vibes, they not only shimmered, but I got a much better sense of how Steve Nelson was using his mallets.
When I played the CD through my Stello CDA320 CD player ($1995), the results were much, much closer.
Both the CDA320 and SA-10 imparted the sense of McCloud standing there playing his bass, but the Stello player went one important step beyond and
added a sense of acoustic space that just eluded the Esoteric. But it was close — the results barely falling on the Stellos side.
With SACD, specially Allison Krauss’s Now That Ive Found You Collection [Rounder SACD 11661-0325-6], the
Esoteric SA-10 went beyond the Marantz SA-8260 in terms of resolution and conveying the identifying traits of Ms. Krausss voice.
The SA-10 allowed me to hear how her voice emanated from her body, and it went one giant step further, conveying how her voice interacted with the space around her and
with the balance of her band, Union Station. Both players captured the angelic quality of Krausss voice, but the Esoteric player allowed that voice to sound more like it would live.
If I had to rank all of these digital players in terms of their CD performance, coming in last would be the Marantz.
It couldnt reproduce all the aspects of the performance in as realistic a manner as either the Stello or the Esoteric.
Second, by a whisker, would be the Esoteric.
In terms of SACD replay, the SA-10 was leaps and bounds better than the Marantz.SA-8260,
conveying more of what made the recordings I played unique.
And the SA-10 was better than the SA-8260 to a greater extent than the difference in price between these two players — which is significant — would indicate.
Summing up
So, the SA-10 offers very good CD replay and beyond-reproach SACD playback. Is it $3500 worth for both? Absolutely.
I could live with the SA-10 as my single digital source into the foreseeable future.
The SA-10 isn’t the ultimate in either CD or SACD playback — it doesnt offer all that the megabuck players and separates do.
Its CD replay in particular doesnt equal that of some top-flight standalone players, but it’s very good nonetheless.
However, the SA-10 certainly lives up to the high sonic standards Esoteric has set for itself — and if you check the SoundStage! archives,
youll see that many of us here have been favorably impressed with Esoteric products in the past.
The SA-10 is the digital source for audiophiles on a budget, allowing us to jump off the equipment merry-go-round and get on with the enjoyment of our music collections.
It’s Esoteric and affordable.
Which is exactly what Esoteric’s SA-10 pulls off:
It precisely and accurately locks each individual event but then integrates it with the big picture.
Very high localization power meets grounding into the most abysmal bass.
The tunes neither splinter apart into isolated ingredients nor follow the trendy ideal of ‘warm analog CD sound’
(for which my privately irreverent equation is jitter + valve distortion = musicality).
The Esoteric SA-10 is supremely extended, neutral, utterly transparent and without HF irritation or midrange glassiness.
This being the case, an artificial injection of warmth seems entirely unwarranted. Analog lovers should simply buy a record player and be done with it.
Tonally, this player is plainly linear and flat. No matter what, I couldn’t detect any deviations.
The SA-10 is no crooner who romances with subdued charms. Rather, it’s a hard-boiled session player whose studio gigs don’t ask for artsy edits but playing the right notes as the score calls ’em. An honest worker then. While pointier ears might disagree, I can’t for the life of me discern a tonal blemish here.
Soundstaging:
This player is big in all dimensions. While laterally very broad, the immense depth casting will be the subject of true fascination. Even in height — admittedly a somewhat esoteric subject –
– one gets the sense that rather than a flat roof above the speakers’ baffle edges, there’s a kind of dome.
This translates as added dimensionality even though with breadth, width and height covered, we’ve already run out of proper dimensions.
Regardless, this extra dimensionality factor of “Om Vinteren”, a 12-minute dream by the Danish octet, became simply stupendous and significantly more acute,
a quality not to be confused with…
Localization focus:
This relates not to the size and boundaries of the soundstage per se but the organization and sorting of instruments and sounds within it. Here the
Esoteric goes about its business with such precision as to be downright scary at times. Think millimeter-obsessed virtual stage reconstruction where nothing wanders, blurs or obscures.
The SA-10 even differentiates between up and down. Just slightly off center left in the second layer rings a cymbal one meter high, in the third layer behind it a hi-hat attack
occurs 30cm higher and 10cm off to the right. All this is standard protocol with the Esoteric and when delivered at such a steady clip, a true luxury.
You must be familiar with 3D CAD animation for automobiles that are routinely shown in television commercials.
Semi-transparent green drafts of cars revolve around their central axis and that’s how you must envision the
Esoteric SA-10’s holographic abilities. I occasionally sensed that if I could just stalk the sound unnoticed, it’d stand still and I’d be able to inspect it from above,
below and any imaginable lateral angle. Needless to say, sounds never do stand still but the illusion of utter spatial solidity was one the SA-10 prompted routinely on the right recordings.
Will everyone fall for this? Won’t some holistic philosophers in the high-end secretly suspect artifice?
One can’t ever satisfy everyone. The Esoteric SA-10 simply bypasses philosophical discussions and projects holographically mastered albums with laser precision into the
playback venue. In an interview, Mrs. Sennenvaldt called her music a bit “too much”, presumably to indicate that excess itself becomes
compositional style and substance. Her music deliberately attacks the subconscious.
During the first two minutes, I thought “that’s a bit intense” but quickly relaxed into a “let’s go with it” and then I was gone hook, line and sinker.
The ecstasy of the morphine addict. Play loud!
With the test subjects of Esoteric AI-10 integrated and SA-10 SA/CD player, I first used only the spinner with amplification by Funk LAP2 and Bel Canto e.One M300 monos
over the Zu Druids for a quick sound check. Why suffer involved system adjustments if fun was aplenty and outdoor sun didn’t beckon to elsewhere?
Such fun became quickly apparent in rock-hard bass runs that explored true subsonics with pitch definition and recoil as though to express peak athlete disdain for
upper-bass love handles. Clearly, the Esoteric SA-10 doesn’t pretend at low bass with extra padding two octaves higher. Why cheat when your concrete foundation is pillared deeply underground? That this would benefit the Danes of Under Byen was self-evident. The path to the subconscious sneaks through the deep.
For illustration, watch a David Lynch flick without bass. If I recall correctly, certain bonus tracks of his Mulholland Drive DVD do indeed juxtapose a scene with and without low-frequency soundtrack. Ever since then, I’ve known that the ears are watching too and that Lynch’s suggestive imagery is fed by frequencies well below 100Hz. Ditto for Under Byen’s
music. Their low bass is the black hole around which stately revolve the sonic vista – and black the Esoteric does very well.
Details:
To pick up the pace and avoid boredom, one word shall suffice – first rate. I won’t swear to first sightings never heard before. Not really. It was more the combination of excellent resolution with the abovementioned image focus which added relevance to minutiae which otherwise linger in meaning limbo. Despite such resolution, nothing turned agitated or nervous.
The SA-10 is far too grounded for that. Besides, it seems to outright detest jittery, hyper-present (pseudo-analytical) renditions.
Dynamics/Timing:
The Esoteric SA-10 is dynamically astute and evidences no issues differentiating between extreme voltage jumps or minimal level fluctuations. I was at outright hello with Zappa’s Yellow Shark where a few mean kettle drum beats and the SA-10’s iron-fisted infrasonics and ready willingness to go real loud gave me quite the scare.
Which gets us from tympani to percussion and timing and thus, the twins of impulse response and rhythmic fidelity. One giveaway of this player is its exceptional
speed or immediacy on transients. This befits drums and percussion as well as guitar and harp plucks, piano and cimbalom hammers.
While some won’t care, such details present music with the kind of jump factor that involves the heart just as it should be.
Timing of course transcends leading edges to include sustain, decay and release. This segues into perhaps the sole minor weakness of this machine.
After extensive A/Bs against Fonel’s Simplicit (review forthcoming), I concluded that particularly on piano runs, as precise as the Esoteric captured attacks, it also foreshortened note decays just a bit. The instrumental afterglow wasn’t quite as embodied as over the Fonel. At first I was undecided, citing the Esoteric’s somewhat more open and clearer treble as the reason for the perception difference. I ultimately locked the decay issue on a Tord Gustavsen piano trio number where the Simplicit simply went farther to fluidly connect individual notes whilst the
Esoteric focused on the individual notes. Make no mistake though – such distinctions required extensive comparisons to become sweaty reviewer neurosis rather than relaxed music consumption.
For an intermediate bill of sonic health, the Esoteric SA-10 (SA)CD player is a definitive benchmark
which sets such high standards in all aspects to make it the ideal reviewer’s tool and yardstick whereby to measure deviations in other machines.
To my chagrin, temporariness intruded since this loaner would have to return to its makers…
Granted, this conclusion wasn’t entirely blue-eyed and unexpected given that Teac’s luxury arm of Esoteric embodies the ultra high end of digital as perhaps no other firm.
Heck, these are the folks who offer mono converters. Absolute must-haves, mono DACs.
Shouldn’t this require addition of an external master clock like the G-01 to go the distance? 14,000 extra euros in this context wouldn’t exactly gild the lily.
Sadly, I’d anticipate significant domestic protest over any “honey, I need an atomic clock so let’s cancel our holidays for the next two years” proposition.
Still, I’m tickled that such exotica exists, more tickled still that this firm’s know-how eventually trickled down to components like the SA-10 which remain within reach of us mortals.
With sonics mentioned, let’s inspect the user interface and a few technical bits which present certain unexpected items, albeit cosmetically hidden
since the SA-10 arrives in timelessly stark trim. Its eight frontal controls are elegantly integrated into the trim
strip which also accommodates the narrow disc tray.
Two blue LEDs live above the left power button and the right play decal and centrally between them resides the sizeable, well legible and equally blue display
which can be dimmed in three stages or extinguished – a true purist’s solution. Noblesse oblige, the enclosure is immaculately finished and assembled from
4-5mm aluminum panels. Which gets us to the back…
.. and joy over connectivity options la analog RCA and XLR outputs ( with 10cm distance between left and right channels no less – engineering with brains, no miserly futzing with narrow WBTs). Not that I could cotton to great differences between symmetrical/single-ended feeds though I slightly preferred the RCAs for a degree more sheen on female vocals.
Which could have been a function of cables even though I did use equivalent Ecosse Symphony runs.
Interestingly, both outputs deliver the same 2.2V, with balanced not twice the voltage as might be commonly expected.
The digital outputs are twinned as well for Toslink and coaxial.
On to the unexpected. First, an earthing screw. For analog sound? Surely not.
This traces back to Japanese power delivery peculiarities, making it mostly irrelevant for non-Japanese listener though it might be a viable option to connect various components
to a single chassis ground point.
More interesting is the “word in” socket.
This accepts an external master clock to further increase the player’s internal 25pmm (parts per million) clock frequency accuracy.
Before you faint over 14,000 euros, 3.5 big ones would suffice. Enter the AI-10, the SA-10’s companion full-featured integrated amplifier which — more on it later — includes a 1ppm clock.
Not for nothing was the spinning 10 dubbed SA. It also plays SACDs.
My predictions about this medium came true and I never became an adopter. The medium is in its deaths throes now if not buried already, hence my CD-only commentary.
Under the lid, one discovers three items: circuit boards stuffed with surface-mount devices; a transformer sizable enough to suit an integrated amplifier; and a transport sled not as extreme as Esoteric’s ultra models but clearly derived from the same gene pool and here dubbed
VOSP for Vertically-aligned Optical Stability Platform.
Due to this sled assembly’s innate height, one appreciates the necessity for the SA-10’s chassis height. No slim-line profile is possible here but then,
who wants to spend 3Gs for a thumb-high machine?
The sled is centrally mounted and in conjunction with enclosure rigidity and three-point footer coupling,
Esoteric touts data retrieval uncommonly unaffected by vibration and resonance effects. The laser pickup too is inspired by
Esoteric’s massive sleds and claimed to always lock precisely to the center of the data groove to render off-axis corrections mute.
As the theory goes, the less servo correction the laser assembly requires, the less error correction interpolation is invoked which lowers transport jitter to result in
a more precise conversion of binary data string to analog signal.
Conversion is via twin 24/192 Cirrus bits, one per channel.
The dual-mono theme continues with the output stage to suggest that the stunning soundstaging of the SA-10 is at least partly a function of very high channel separation.
Flipping through the owner’s manual, I realized an earlier oversight,
i.e. the option to switch between two digital filter settings, one steep, one shallow.
I frankly didn’t expect much difference between the steep (narrow) and shallow (wide) settings and while it didn’t entail a wholesale transformation, it was readily
audible not just to the creaky chair obsessed. In fact, my prior minor criticism relative to shortened decays had to eat humble pie since in the wide setting,
it no longer was the case. Alas, it’s really two aspects which the filter switch affected:
The tonal balance took a small step toward warmth while image focus moved one step toward ‘organic flow’ and away from holography.
As though I needed further proof to be sold on the SA-10, this option to slightly shift the sonic quality with filter settings pushed me over the edge.
For Jazz, I preferred “wide”; with highly artificed but immaculately crafted soundscape wizardry la Under Byen, I got more mileage out of “narrow”.
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