Agnostic performer
Regardless of input, the NA-11S1 proved an
extremely able performer with Maranz’s trademark clean, crisp and open sound.
Working in DAC mode with a Cyrus transport on silver disc spinning duties via
the electrical coaxial input, this big black box gingerly trod the delicate
path between euphonic and forensic, revealing as much as it could about the
source and yet presenting it in a thoroughly musical way. As a rule, it proved
agnostic about the type of programmer material used.
The
NA-11S1 proved an extremely able performer with Maranz’s trademark clean, crisp
and open sound
It’s a strong performer at its price then,
as evinced by the beautiful sound it squeezed from a CD of Isaac Hayes’ Shaft:
Original Soundtrack [STAX8802]. ‘Café Regios’ proved an amazing auditory
experience, with a large and vibrant recorded acoustic inside which the
instruments were locked tightly. The soundstage didn’t fall back far, but still
the music gave the feeling of being hewn from granite. From such solid
underpinnings everything else could flourish: all the elements of the mix were
delivered with unerring precision, yet no sense of strain.
One key facet of this was the bass, where I
felt the NA-11SA reached down far lower than its cheaper NA-7004 brother. Yet
it was strong and sinewy rather than plump and overblown, with no sense of
rhythmic slurring. Tonally it proved quite even, with just the lightest glint
across the upper mid-band and treble, making for a light, breezy, open window
into the music. Rhythmically it is not as ‘showy’ as some rival devices but
gives a balanced all-of-a-piece sound that’s easy to relax with.
NA-11SA,
it’s strong and sinewy rather than plump and overblown, with no sense of
rhythmic slurring.
Hi-res files streamed from a NAS drive
really stepped up a gear. Wings’ Band On The Run at 24/96 was bubbling with
detail, taking the listener up close and personal with the recording. Electric
guitars were deliciously crisp and natural, combining a raw edge with a lovely
tonal richness.
Paul McCartney’s lead vocal was full and
emotive, while a cleanly recorded drum kit pounded behind, pushing the song
along. Bass was strong yet devoid of overhang, and the cymbals were delicate
and accurate. The orchestral break leading into the bridge of the song was
wonderfully well defined.
Switching to ‘Misty’ from Kate Bush’s Fitly
Words For Snow [24-bit/96 kHz WAV], and the NA-11S1 was in its element. Giving
the Marantz such a rich and detailed recording is like letting it off the
leash. Ms Bush’s icy, haunting vocals came over as intense and arresting, set
before a wonderfully sumptuous piano, sparkling with harmonics that simply get
lost on the CD version.
The Marantz magicked up a cavernously deep
soundstage; tonally the song came across as ‘just right’, reflecting the
recording’s luscious nature and lack of heavy effects processing. Here we could
hear the Marantz with its best foot forward, wonderfully organic and fully able
to captivate with this mesmerizingly subtle song.
The
Marantz magicked up a cavernously deep soundstage; tonally the song came across
as ‘just right’, reflecting the recording’s luscious nature and lack of heavy
effects processing
Great for DSD Fans
Going back to hi-res via USB, and Alan
Parson Project’s Eye In The Sky [24-bit/192 kHz FLAC] showed the innate
refinement of this box, being silkily smooth yet engagingly musical. This new
product again showed the richness possible form high resolution PCM, carrying
the vocals with delightful delicacy. The harmonies seemed to stretch back
miles, and push way beyond the lateral span of the loudspeakers too. At the
same time, the rhythm guitars had acres of space to breathe inside a vast
soundstage. Without a trace of brightness or a hint of bloom, this back box
added remarkably little of its own character to the proceedings.
Balanced
(XLR) and single-ended (RCA) analogue outputs are joined by USB, S/PDIF (coax
and optical inputs and outputs) and wired Ethernet ‘digital’ connections
The NA-11S1’s DSD performance proved
equally superlative. Alex de Grassi’s The Water Garden [Blue Coast Records] was
exceptionally clean and open, yet blessed with a beautifully lilting, unforced
quality that sounded about as natural as I’ve heard from digital. The acoustic
guitar work was effortless, flowing and tonally sublime, sparkling with
harmonics in a way that I normally only hear from vinyl. This is precisely the
sort of thing that gets DSD devotees hot round the collar, and it’s not hard to
hear why.
Marantz provides just two digital filter
options, selectable from that fiddly remote control, both of which are
infuriatingly good but different. Filter 1 gives a seemingly wider, more
expansive and musical sound whereas Filter 2 pulls things in across the
mid-band slightly but gives a useful fillip to the bass and takes you a little
closer to the recording setup, while making things gel in a slightly less
natural way.
Annoyingly, both work well across a range
of programmer material but always sound markedly different-thus guaranteeing
you won’t be able to stop toggling between the two.
Lab report
A key contributor to the NA-11S1’s
technical fingerprint and sound- regardless of S/PDIF, USB or Network
connection – is its integrated MMM digital filter. Neither the default Filter 1
or Filter 2 is a conventional linear-phase FIR type and in practice the former
is the more ‘extreme’, all but eliminating pre/post ringing in the time domain
at the expense of a more obvious treble roll-off (-3.4dB/20kHz with 48kHz media
and -5/7dB/45kHz with 96 kHz media) and poor stop band rejection (just 3.5dB
with 4.8 inputs). Filter 2 is a ‘halfway house’ minimum phase type with greater
post-vent ringing and phase distortion but a more extended HF and improved 34dB
rejection of aliasing images. Take your pick!
THD
vs. 24-bit/48kHz digital signal level over a 120dB dynamic range. S/PDIF and
network connections are identical (1kHz/black, 20 kHz/ blue)
Marantz’s balanced analogue output is
driven via a single DSD 1792 DAC (useful, bearing in mind the player’s
compatibility with USB/DoP) which offers a very consistent level of performance
regardless of S/PDIF, USB or wired network input. Distortion is very low at
0.0002% mid-band at 0dBFs (0.00075% right channel here), falling to as low as
0.000009% at -20dBFs [see Graph 1, below]. High frequency distortion (0.0008%
at 20 kHz/0dBFs) is largely unaffected by choice of digital filter although the
contribution of stop band artefacts an enharmonic distortion, is higher with
Filter 1. The S/PDIF input offers the lowest jitter at 33psec with the network
connection only slightly higher at 88psec [see Graph 2, below]. Incidentally,
the latter does not accept 32-bit floating point files as the limit is set at
24-bit/192kHz. Readers may download full QC Suite test reports for the Marantz
NA-11S2’s S/PDIF and network audio performance by navigating to www.hifines.co.uk and clicking on the red
‘download’ button.
High
resolution 24-bit/48kHz jitter spectra, S/PDIF (black) and via network
(red-slightly higher)
Specifications
·
Maximum output level (balanced): 4.7Vrms at 45 –
49ohm
·
A-wtd S/N ratio (S/PDIF/Network): 114.0dB/
113.7dB
·
Distortion (1 kHz, odBFs/ -30dBFs):
0.0002%/0.00009%
·
Dist. & Noise (20 kHz, 0dBFs / -30dBFs):
0.0008%/0.0038%
·
Freq. resp. (20Hz - 20 kHz/ 45kHz/90kHz): 0dB to
-3.4dB/ -5.7dB/ -10.9dB
·
Digital jitter (S/PDIF/network): 33psec/82psec
·
Res. @-100dB (S/PDIF/ network): ±0.2dB/±0.4dB
·
Power consumption: 30W (3W standby)
·
Dimensions (WHD): 420 x88 x355mm
Verdict
Marantz’s new NA-11S1 shows just what is
possible from modern high resolution digital source. It has a plethora of
facilities, including stable streaming and USB provision, and is beautifully
built too. It’s subtle, smooth and intricately detailed sound is always
musical, setting an enviable standard. Only a dull display and mediocre remote
control disappoint on what is otherwise a supreme streamer.
Sound
quality: 84%
