I want to take you higher.(FORUM)(Letter to the Editor)

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.