The SA-11 series was first launched in S1 guise as the ultimate expression of Marantz's art and craft, but since then has been superseded in this role by the 'Legendary' (sic) series. But there is more than a coincidental degree of commonality in the two ranges. Clearly they look similar - indeed the two disc spinners are hard to distinguish at first glance.

To put some flesh on the bones, the SA-11S2 is basically an updated SA-11S1 or, a simplified version of the SA-7S1 (the £5,000 flagship CD/SACD player which is one of our all-time favourites). The pre and power amplifiers in this month's review plug the yawning chasm between the Marantz £15k Legendary SC-7S2 preamp and MA-95 monoblocks, and the £2k PM-11S1 integrated amplifier. Despite the visual similarity, there are considerable differences as the pricing disparity implies.

The Premium series components are intended to embody as much of the Legendary series engineering as possible, within much tighter price constraints. But there are fundamental differences; while the Legendary series amplifier is fully balanced internally, the Reference series amp is not.

Unbalanced

The preamp (or control amp in Marantz-speak) does have balanced in and outputs and the power amp also has balanced inputs as well as the usual single ended connections. But inside each component, the audio streams are converted to single-ended and processed in this form. The benefits of balanced mode operation - common mode noise rejection - remain available in the circuits outside the amplifier. Internally, however, the audio must circumnavigate the extra circuitry balanced to unbalanced (and complementary unbalanced to balanced) converters.

The SA-11S2 is a direct replacement for the SA-11S1 and uses as much of the technology from the SA-7S1 as cost constraints allow.

It is a two channel only player which uses the new tray module (SACDM-1) developed originally for the SA-7S1, though for cost reasons, the digital isolators from that model are not carried over. In this single component the circuitry is fully balanced internally and includes Marantz proprietary phase error compensation and two four-channel Seiko hybrid DSD/PCM SM5866AS D/A converters.

There is also an input for an external digital clock, an unusual refinement and one we weren't able to try (as it is for third-party clocks). The three output filters from the SA-7S1 are available, as well as the same measures to suppress group delay and out of band noise. The analogue audio circuits are the same as their counterparts in the SA-7S1.The manufacturer is at pains to point out that the SC-11S1 and the SM-11S1 (respectively the control amp and the power amp) draw inspiration and some technology from their counterparts in the Legendary series, but that both are totally new designs.

New features

The SC-11S1 and SM-11S1 can also be operated in unison, effectively as a single component, using a remote trigger signal to link the two. The SC-11S1 includes a new HDAM (Hyper Dynamic Output Module) discrete operational amplifier. Known as the HDAM SA3, it's a complementary cascode push-pull circuit, which uses high-precision surface mount metal film resistors to minimise the signal path lengths, as well as offering improved bandwidth (speed) and relative insensitivity to operating temperature changes.

The design also includes a new internal phono module in which novel measures have been introduced to eliminate the differences in sound between the LF and the HF legs of the circuit, which are normally introduced by the asymmetric nature of the NFB equalisation networks. Volume control is handled by a Wolfson WM8816 variable gain amp, which features unusually low noise and distortion.

A resolution of 0.5dB or better from 0 to -100dB, has click-free operation and an acceleration detection which allows rapid level changes when called for. The headphone amp is balanced and includes a dedicated power amp. A special bi-amp mode is available to drive the preamp as a mono unit, which allows use of additional power amplifiers for biamplified operation, or to help build 5.1 or 7.1 channel amplifiers using additional channels of power amplification. The power supply is a typically high-end design, featuring Schottkey barrier rectifier diodes and custom capacitors, as well as an aluminium encapsulated torroidal transformer.

The SM-11S12 power amplifier embodies many of the same points as the preamp, including the HDAM SA3 discrete Hyper Dynamic Output Module, which Marantz claims is its best yet, and a two-stage amplifier circuit that minimises the effect of back EMF from the speakers - a consistent theme of the design. The current feedback voltage amp, which is the first stage of the amp, is the same as in the Legendary MA-9S2, with the HDAM mods providing balanced to unbalanced conversion.