Limited Edition Marantz Ken Ishikawa Pearl SACD Player/ Transport / DAC Mode Copper Plate 500 units produced only

The Marantz SA-KI Pearl is a highly revered, limited-edition Super Audio CD (SACD) player meticulously designed and personally tuned by Marantz’s legendary brand ambassador, Ken Ishiwata. Built like a battleship to minimize fidelity-destroying vibrations, the player weighs an impressive 32 lbs (14.5 kg) and features a rigid, vibration-damped cabinet capped with a 5mm solid aluminum top cover and heavy aluminum feet. Beneath its striking silk-black exterior, the unit utilizes a double-layered, copper-plated chassis to dramatically lower electrical impedance and shield the sensitive audio signals from internal and external interference. The core disc transport relies on Marantz’s in-house SACDM-10 mechanism, which features a highly rigid Xyron (poly-p-phenylene-2,6-benzobisoxazole) disc tray to isolate the spinning disc from micro-vibrations, insuring an incredibly stable and accurate initial data stream.

At the digital-to-analog heart of the SA-KI Pearl is the high-performance Cirrus Logic CS4398 DAC chip, coupled with Marantz’s proprietary HDAM-SA2 and HDAM high-speed output amplifier modules rather than generic integrated circuit op-amps. When playing back 1-bit DSD layers from stereo SACDs, the machine achieves an astonishingly wide frequency response of 2Hz to 100kHz (with a useful shelf of 2Hz to 50kHz at –3dB), a dynamic range of 112dB, and a total harmonic distortion (THD) rating of just 0.0010%. For standard 16-bit/44.1kHz Red Book CDs, the performance remains exceptional, offering a flat 2Hz to 20kHz frequency response, a 100dB dynamic range, and an A-weighted signal-to-noise ratio of 110dB across both formats. Users can also fine-tune the standard CD playback via a front-panel switchable digital filter, where “Filter 1” offers a gentler high-frequency roll-off that tames harsh recordings, and “Filter 2” provides a standard, linear presentation.

Beyond acting as a standalone disc spinner, the Pearl includes an internal digital-to-analog converter (DAC) mode that transforms it into a premium hub for external digital sources. It sports a gold-plated pair of unbalanced analog RCA outputs, alongside coaxial and optical digital outputs, and a dedicated optical digital input that can accept PCM data up to 24-bit/96kHz. Power delivery is robust and ultra-clean, driven by a massive, copper-shielded toroidal transformer running alongside custom, low-noise block capacitors inherited from Marantz’s upper-tier flagship components. The front panel is rounded out by a low-noise, dimmable LCD that displays SA-CD text and ID3 tags, alongside a dedicated, high-quality headphone amplifier stage with its own discrete volume control, ensuring a pristine private listening experience.