Marantz SA-KI Ruby Ken Ishiwata Signature Super Audio CD Player with DAC
Marantz has been designing and making amplifiers for more than 65 years, and for 40 of those the products have reflected expertise of Ken Ishiwata. Now, to mark his four decades with the company, the SA-KI Ruby SACD player has been developed and tuned by a highly experienced engineering team led by KI himself. Features the same disc mechanisms as the SA10 that play SACDs, CDs and compilations on CD-ROM or DVD-ROM. The SA-KI Ruby includes an asynchronous USB input that handles formats up to PCM/DXD 384kHz/32bit and DSD11.2MHz and treats all digital music with a unique Marantz Musical Mastering technology. By up-converting all file formats to DSD, using advanced filtering and processing and direct 1-bit conversion to feed the analog outputs, the SA-KI Ruby delivers sound with remarkable clarity, effortless dynamics and exceptional presence—plus, features a laser-engraved Ken Ishiwata signature to commemorate his legacy.
Key Features
Engineered and extensively tuned by legendary Marantz sound master Ken Ishiwata and his team, drawing on more than 35 years of Marantz expertise in CD players
Marantz-proprietary SACD/CD mechanism “SACDM-3” designed purely for audio
Playback of SACD/CD and compilations on CD-ROM and DVD-ROM
Asynchronous USB input for hi-res audio up to PCM/DXD 384kHz/32bit and DSD11.2MHz
Isolation of USB and digital inputs to block noise from connected sources
Innovative Marantz Musical Mastering “MMM-Stream” up-sampling to DSD and filtering
Custom-designed 1-bit direct “MMM–Conversion” from DSD to analog
New analog output stage with Marantz HDAM-SA3 technology and low impedance output
Power supply with toroidal transformer
Dedicated headphone amplifier with all-discrete HDAM-SA2 construction
Laser-engraved Ken Ishiwata signature and Ruby motif, marking Ishiwata’s 40-year Marantz legacy


Celebrating 40 Years of Passion
Designed to celebrate the 40-year anniversary of legendary Marantz sound master, Ken Ishiwata, SA-KI Ruby features pinnacle performance that’s synonymous with Marantz excellence. Complete with thoughtful engineering, painstaking tuning and extensive listening sessions, SA-KI Ruby achieves the elevated output worthy of its name. Elegantly features Ishiwata’s laser-engraved signature to commemorate the design and heightened listening experience that honors the decades-long partnership between him and Marantz.

A History of Excellence
A pioneer of CD playback and musical integrity, the first Marantz CD player — the CD-63 — premiered in 1982 and set the stage for further development and mastery of CD media players. Ken Ishiwata helped sculpt Marantz media players into the world-class, masterful technology that is synonymous with Marantz today. From his passion, the Limited Edition, Special Edition and later Ken Ishiwata Signature models were born — all designed to further optimize and elevate the exceptional CD performance of Marantz media players. That passion furthers the Marantz legacy of musical excellence with the SA-KI Ruby.

Transport Mechanism
At the heart of the SA-KI Ruby is an innovative new SACDM-3 transport mechanism, engineered solely for the best possible performance when playing SA-CDs, CDs and music stored on data discs. This new mechanism promises exceptional sound quality from conventional CD and SA-CD discs and allows listeners to create their own high-resolution audio compilation discs using a computer DVD burner. The SA-KI Ruby supports FLAC files from 44.1kHz to 192kHz at up to 24-bit resolution, DSD2.8MHz and DSD 5.6MHz, ALAC (Apple Lossless), AIFF and MP3 files. Creating and playing hi-res disc compilations is as simple as it is enjoyable.

CDs, SA-CDs and Beyond
The SA-KI Ruby is a fully functional digital-to-analog converter for music stored on a home computer and features Optical and Coaxial digital inputs for existing source components. These inputs support files up to 192kHz/24bit and contain a USB-B asynchronous input for direct connection with a computer. The USB-B input is compatible with PCM and DXD music files at up to 384kHz/32bit, as well as DSD2.8MHz, DSD5.6MHz and DSD11.2MHz.

More Than a DAC
Built with an integrated DAC, the SA-KI Ruby features an all-new disc transport mechanism that re-engineers the digital to analog conversion. Taking full advantage of the 1-bit conversion technology, the SA-KI RUBY incorporates innovative new filtering and up-conversion, providing a simple yet elegant solution.

Marantz Musical Mastering: MMM-Stream and MMM-Conversion
At the heart of digital audio in the SA-KI Ruby lies DSD. PCM and DXD inputs are up-converted to DSD at 11.2MHz using the proprietary MMM-Stream converter within the player, and the high-frequency signal produced is processed by the unique MMM-Conversion stage, used in place of a conventional DAC, to produce the analog output. The MMM-Stream section of the process replaces the oversampling filters normally