Marantz SA-KI Ruby, My Reference DAC

Clipdat
Clipdat Posts: 12,933
edited August 2020 in Going Digital
My article about Ken Ishiwata and the Marantz SA-KI Ruby has just been posted at The Audio Beatnik: https://theaudiobeatnik.com/marantz-sa-ki-ruby-my-reference-dac/

In this post I share my experiences with the Ruby, and the story of how I befriended Ken before his departure from Marantz and untimely death.

Please enjoy the read, and let me know what you think!

Ruby2-1.jpg
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Comments

  • vmaxer
    vmaxer Posts: 5,117
    Very good read.
    Pio Elete Pro 520
    Panamax 5400-EX
    Sunfire TGP 5
    Micro Seiki DD-40 - Lyra-Dorian and Denon DL-160
    PS Audio GCPH phono pre
    Sunfire CG 200 X 5
    Sunfire CG Sig 405 X 5
    OPPO BDP-83 SE
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    Ctr CS1000p
    Sur - FX1000 x 4
    SUB - SVS PB2-Plus

    Workkout room:
    Sony Bravia XBR- 32-Inch 1080p
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    Yamaha DVD-S1800BL/SACD
    Ft - SDA 1C

    Not being used:
    RTi 38's -4
    RT55i's - 2
    RT25i's -2, using other 2 in shop
    LSI 15's
    CSi40
    PSW 404
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  • tophatjohnny
    tophatjohnny Posts: 4,182
    Great story Drew!
    "if it's not fun, it's not worth it & remember folks, "It's All About The Music"!!
    *****************************
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  • SIHAB
    SIHAB Posts: 4,897
    Nice article Mr. Drew
    Speakers: Polk Lsim, ATC SCM19 v2, NHT SuperzeroSpeaker Cables: DH Labs, Transparent, Wireworld, Canare, Monster: Beer budget, Bose ears
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  • BlueBirdMusic
    BlueBirdMusic Posts: 2,277
    Drew, I want one after reading your article.

    I admire your relationship with Ken Ishiwata and bow my head in respect.
    "Sometimes you have to look to the past to understand where you are going in the future"

    Anger is just anger. It isn’t good. It isn’t bad. It just is. What you do with it is what matters.
    You can use it to build or to destroy. You just have to make the choice.     Jim Butcher




    Harry / Marietta GA
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  • msg
    msg Posts: 10,010
    edited August 2020
    That's a nice piece of writing, Drew, I enjoyed several sections, especially where you define the Marantz's performance and use the painter's canvas analogy.

    I found myself nodding along as you described the process of listening in the context of the audio refinements we aspire to, a bit of a "what's possible".

    Good read.
    I disabled signatures.
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  • maxward
    maxward Posts: 1,576
    Very well-written piece, Drew. You own a future classic.
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  • Mike Reeter
    Mike Reeter Posts: 4,315
    Another enjoyable, quality piece of writing Drew. Well done!
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  • JayCee
    JayCee Posts: 1,500
    Very cool story/article. Goes a long way when a rock star from our audio world reaches out like that.

    Haven't had the same one-one-one interaction but have had Richard Schram (Parasound) and Paul McGowen (PS Audio) reply directly to me...on weekends. Met Robert Lee of Acoustic Zen @ the Munich audio show and he was so nice and easy to talk to. Never tried to sell me, however, left me feeling that he loved audio and if I could swing the Crescendo speakers I'd have a thoughtfully designed work of art, excellent sounding speaker, from a damn nice guy.

    Congrats on the published article and the memories to go with your Ruby!
    ➀Speakers: Polk1.2tl's (Uber Mods) ➁Pre/Amp/DAC: PS Audio BHK Signature & 250, DirectStream ➂Cables/IC's: MIT S1Bi-Wire/S1 Balanced +Avel Lindberg 1000VA "Dreadnought" ➃Power Conditioner: PS Audio P15 Power Plant ➄Power Cords: Core Power Technologies Gold, DH Labs Power Plus DIY w/Neotech NC-P301 & P311ends ➅Streaming: Roon ROCK on wifi'd NUC, TP-Link WAP, & Uptone EtherREGEN, AfterDark, Emperor Double Crown Clock, Black Modernize LPS, PS Audio AirLens⟿Ω☯☥☮⟿🔊♩♪♫♬♩♪♫♬♩♪♫♬
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  • Nightfall
    Nightfall Posts: 10,086
    edited August 2020
    If I knew you in real life I'd definitely call you Mt. Drew
    afterburnt wrote: »
    They didn't speak a word of English, they were from South Carolina.

    Village Idiot of Club Polk
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  • Dennis Gardner
    Dennis Gardner Posts: 4,861
    Very nicely written review, Drew. I appreciated the personal interactions detailed and know that Ken must have truly loved what he did for the best part of his adult life.
    HT Optoma HD25 LV on 80" DIY Screen, Anthem MRX 300 Receiver, Pioneer Elite BDP 51FD Polk CS350LS, Polk SDA1C, Polk FX300, Polk RT55, Dual EBS Adire Shiva 320watt tuned to 17hz, ICs-DIY Twisted Prs, Speaker-Raymond Cable

    2 Channel Thorens TD 318 Grado ZF1, SACD/CD Marantz 8260, Soundstream/Krell DAC1, Audio Mirror PP1, Odyssey Stratos, ADS L-1290, ICs-DIY Twisted , Speaker-Raymond Cable
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  • Clipdat
    Clipdat Posts: 12,933
    Speaking of Ken Ishiwata: https://www.dagogo.com/rotel-launches-special-edition-a11-tribute-integrated-amplifier-cd11-tribute-cd-player/
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  • Clipdat
    Clipdat Posts: 12,933
    More info in this press release post: https://hifipig.com/rotel-launch-tribute-models-in-honour-of-ken-ishiwata/
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  • txcoastal1
    txcoastal1 Posts: 13,280
    Obviously a budget system and grateful for the offerings, but not really impressed with the DAC chip choice. There are other budget chips that I believe would offer more, even for an extra $50
    2-channel: Modwright KWI-200 Integrated, Dynaudio C1-II Signatures
    Desktop rig: LSi7, Polk 110sub, Dayens Ampino amp, W4S DAC/pre, Sonos, JRiver
    Gear on standby: Melody 101 tube pre, Unison Research Simply Italy Integrated
    Gone to new homes: (Matt Polk's)Threshold Stasis SA12e monoblocks, Pass XA30.5 amp, Usher MD2 speakers, Dynaudio C4 platinum speakers, Modwright LS100 (voltz), Simaudio 780D DAC

    erat interfectorem cesar et **** dictatorem dicere a
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  • Clipdat
    Clipdat Posts: 12,933
    edited August 2020
    "Texas Instruments 24-bit 192kHz DAC" - it doesn't say what model.

    44r9qlslbnqd.png
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  • joecoulson
    joecoulson Posts: 4,943
    Great story Drew. Thanks for sharing w us.
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  • Clipdat
    Clipdat Posts: 12,933
    Thanks Joe! And a big thank you to everyone else who took the time to read my article. I sincerely appreciate it.
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  • jdjohn
    jdjohn Posts: 3,147
    Wait...what about the Benchmark DAC? Has this Marantz unit surpassed the Benchmark DAC3?
    "This may not matter to you, but it does to me for various reasons, many of them illogical or irrational, but the vinyl hobby is not really logical or rational..." - member on Vinyl Engine
    "Sometimes I do what I want to do. The rest of the time, I do what I have to." - Cicero, in Gladiator
    Regarding collectibles: "It's not who gets it. It's who gets stuck with it." - Jimmy Fallon
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  • Clipdat
    Clipdat Posts: 12,933
    edited August 2020
    Despite having the Benchmark DAC3 B in my possession for some time now, I've yet to actually hook it up and listen to it.

    The only Benchmark gear I've experienced is the LA4 preamp and AHB2 power amp.
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  • jdjohn
    jdjohn Posts: 3,147
    I guess "reference" is always relative.
    "This may not matter to you, but it does to me for various reasons, many of them illogical or irrational, but the vinyl hobby is not really logical or rational..." - member on Vinyl Engine
    "Sometimes I do what I want to do. The rest of the time, I do what I have to." - Cicero, in Gladiator
    Regarding collectibles: "It's not who gets it. It's who gets stuck with it." - Jimmy Fallon
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  • Clipdat
    Clipdat Posts: 12,933
    edited August 2020
    Well I've only been on my audiophile journey for 8 years now, so I'm not saying I've had experience with hundreds of DACs.

    But, I have got my ear on and had first hand experience with at least 15 different ones.
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  • Clipdat
    Clipdat Posts: 12,933
    Actually I counted again, and It's actually 22 different DACs that I've had in my system(s), soon to be 24 once I listen to the Auralic and the Benchmark. :)
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  • joecoulson
    joecoulson Posts: 4,943
    Curious to see your findings between a streamer+Benchmark DAC and the Vega G1
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  • Clipdat
    Clipdat Posts: 12,933
    edited September 2020
    Yeah, that might be interesting. I could do that using the Aurender A100 as a streaming transport connected to the Benchmark via USB.
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  • tophatjohnny
    tophatjohnny Posts: 4,182
    edited September 2020
    Clipdat wrote: »
    Yeah, that might be interesting. I could do that using the Aurender A100 as a streaming transport connected to the Benchmark via USB.
    The G1 is my bet! And as always great reading!
    "if it's not fun, it's not worth it & remember folks, "It's All About The Music"!!
    *****************************
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  • Milito
    Milito Posts: 1,959
    Great review and story.
    Yamaha RX-A2070, Musical Fidelity M6si integrated amp, Benchmark Dac1, Bluesound NODE 2i, Audiolab 6000CDT CD Transport, Parasound Zphono USB Phono Preamp, Fluance RT85, Ortofon 2M Bronze, Polk L600's, L400, L900's, RC80i's, SVS 3000 Micro, Audioquest Interconnects and Digital Cables, Nordost Silver Shadow Digital Cable, Cullen Gold and Crossover Series Power Cables, Douglas Connection Alpha 12AWG OCC Speaker Cables, Douglas Connection Alpha Analog Interconnect Cables, Douglas Connection Alpha 11 OCC Custom Power Cable, Signal Power Cable, Furman PL-8C 15 Power Conditioner, Sony 65" 900F, Sony UBP-X700, Fios, Apple TV 4K, Audioquest Chocolate HDMI Cables.
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  • Clipdat
    Clipdat Posts: 12,933
    Thank you!
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  • kevhed72
    kevhed72 Posts: 5,054
    Great article man. Keep up the good work!
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