I want to take you higher.

In your review of the Marantz SA 8260 CD player in Issue 105, you mentioned the improved sound quality obtained in SACD mode with the high frequency (20k to 100K) filter cut out. If human hearing is generally limited to 20k, how do frequencies above that improve sound quality? I own the 8260 and am anxious to try it with the filters cut out but I am awaiting conformation from my other equipment designers/manufacturers that no damage will occur in that mode.

I would appreciate your response.

Ernest Naples

New York, NY

Mr. Naples, your letter raises a couple of key issues of interest to audiophiles. First, there is the issue of whether a filter above 20 kHz affects sound quality. This is an old debate, with both sides making some valid points. The purist in me likes to think that wide bandwidth is better, while the pragmatist part of me believes that keeping potentially circuit-disrupting ultrasonic energy out of the playback chain is a good idea that may have its own sonic benefits. Some legendary equipment was designed for wide bandwidth (e.g., Harman-Kardon's Citation equipment, the original Van Alstine "phase-coherent from DC to light" equipment), while other legendary equipment was deliberately bandwidth-limited (e.g., Mitch Cotter's equipment, the early Audio by Van Alstine designs--Frank has swung both ways in his career). My advice would be to leave the filter on, as I have found that pragmatism generally trumps purism.

The second interesting issue is what the review actually said. Although TL is definitely on the purist audiophile side of such issues, and when I read you letter I assumed that he had made such a claim in his review, I went back to his review and discovered that he had made no such claim. Here is all he had to say about the filter: "There are both coaxial and optical digital outputs for the red book CD signal, and a filter that is switchable between standard and custom. This filter is provided to attenuate ultra-high frequencies so that the protection circuits of standard amplifiers are not activated. The presence of these ultra-high frequencies on SACDs, says Marantz, might damage normal amplifiers that are not designed to handle SACD playback. The 8260 is shipped with the switch in the standard position. When the unit is connected to a 'next-generation amplifier that supports SACDs' and the switch is set to 'custom,' this will, according to the manual, ensure play with 'a wider frequency range.' I'm sorry to take up so much space about this feature; it just started me wondering why I never saw this feature on any other player before this one. Perhaps it's just built into the others without giving one the option to switch it on or off."

That's all he mentioned about the filter. Nowhere did he claim that the sound quality was improved with the filter cut out. It looks as though both of us read more into his remarks than was actually there ...