Question Looking for my 'last' CD player.

Tonewheelkev

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Moving around some older separates at the moment....thinking of buying CD player...wondering where the smart money is going these days??!
Thinking 2nd hand....what higher end (but older) player might be a candidate for what might be the last CD player I'll ever buy (Given moves towards streaming, etc!!)
 
It's not a great time to be looking for quality used players on the secondary market as people are being somewhat reluctant to list players for sale because of Covid-19. Marantz have a very good stable of players, especially in the 6XXX range with a good quality DAC on board. If you want to push out a little more than the SACD players such as the sa8005.

It's hard to give any real pointers without a working budget.
 
........It's hard to give any real pointers without a working budget.
Yeah....realise I'm being a bit vague here!
Last time I really looked into this was when I bought my Arcam stuff back in the late 90's....CD was the Alpha 7R player....so budget gear.
Suppose I'd have around £500 to reckon with.....does that help??
 
I would consider the Marantz cd6006 as a new player. Plenty of moving parts and a three year warranty will certainly give you peace of mind. I would certainly consider the cd6006 as being probably the best player under £500. It has a very good Cirrus Logic DAC on board and I never had any problems playing any discs when I had one. If you stretch that budget for a new unit then the Rega Apollo R is a very good player.

With wanting to look at streaming then you could combine the two in something like the Arcam CDS50 or Marantz nd8006. Something that could save you money in the long run.

I've had a quick look on evil bay and there are either very cheap players there but there is a big difference in prices to some quality SACD players then seem to be coming from dealers, perhaps the best I've seen is a Denon DCD 1600 NE for around £700.

With a budget of £500 I would still opt for the Marantz cd6006. Having owned the cd6006 I also have the sa8005 SACD player and they share the same DAC to that shows the confidence Marantz had in it as it was fitted to higher tier Marantz models. Has that lovely warm Marantz signature and is beautiful with acoustic guitars and female vocals.

The other option is to look at UD players that will play your blu ray films as well as being good CD spinners. Some have good analogue out options such as the Oppo and Pioneer players which can be played into a stereo amp instead of an AVR.
 
If you want it to be your last then best avoid second hand. I was pleased as punch with the second hand Marantz CD63 Mk II KI Signature that I picked up.... but after a few months it started being a bit unreliable reading discs and gradually got worse. It’s only to be expected I suppose, they have complex mechanical parts so they won’t last forever.

I replaced it with a (new) Audiolab 6000CDT, which is a transport only and I would highly recommend if you a DAC or amp with digital inputs. It’s a quality bit of kit and I swear it does sound better than the Marantz or my Oppo (used as transports) even though I do subscribe to the view that it shouldn’t.
 
Do you already have a streamer?

if not maybe a Arcam CDS27?
 
If you want it to be your last then best avoid second hand. I was pleased as punch with the second hand Marantz CD63 Mk II KI Signature that I picked up.... but after a few months it started being a bit unreliable reading discs and gradually got worse. It’s only to be expected I suppose, they have complex mechanical parts so they won’t last forever.

I replaced it with a (new) Audiolab 6000CDT, which is a transport only and I would highly recommend if you a DAC or amp with digital inputs. It’s a quality bit of kit and I swear it does sound better than the Marantz or my Oppo (used as transports) even though I do subscribe to the view that it shouldn’t.
Again ....thanks for that....hadn't considered a transport only!!
 
Do you already have a streamer?

if not maybe a Arcam CDS27?
Streaming is something I haven't really thought about! I've a huge collection of audio on hard-drive...and currently use media-players to pull that from my PC.
Would a streamer have it's own Hard-drive attached....or what???
(haven't looked into this...at all!!!)
 
Streaming is something I haven't really thought about! I've a huge collection of audio on hard-drive...and currently use media-players to pull that from my PC.
Would a streamer have it's own Hard-drive attached....or what???
(haven't looked into this...at all!!!)
You can make your own streamer pretty straightforwardly with raspberry pi and PiCorePlayer software and add a usb dac.
 
@Tonewheelkev : The streamers c/w hard drive seem to be dying off.
Its not something I use but the smart money tends to be using a system similar to what you have or a NAS Drive.

Agreed with @gibbsy suggestion for the Marantz CD6006, in fact theres an earlier version on the classifieds here which could be a good buy

 
Denon DCD800NE new for around £299, it has AL32 processing that really makes a difference to the sound. It also has a USB port so you can play your computer audio files.

 
AL32 processing that really makes a difference
Agree. AL32 is brilliant for critical listening with headphones. You won't miss a note on good recordings.
 
Slightly above budget I'd recommend the Rega Apollo.
Half width top loader without a tray or slot mechanism to go wrong over the long term (I've ditched 2 CD players for those reasons).
Oh and nice rich but detailed sound too - not too analytical/cold like some.
 
With the denon CDP ...the 800, 1600 and 2500 what’s the real world difference between them other than SACD? Thanks 🙂
 
With the denon CDP ...the 800, 1600 and 2500 what’s the real world difference between them other than SACD? Thanks 🙂
The 800 is CD only. The 1600 and 2500 are both SACD players. I've not seen or looked at a 1600 but have the 2500. Build quality on the 2500 is robust with a draw mechanism that just says precision engineering. Audio wise it's the best SACD player I've ever owned. It really does put my Marantz sa8005 in the shade.

If you look at build and chassis then 800 weights in at 4.5kg, the 1600 is 8.2kg and the 2500 is the heavyweight at 13.7kg. A lot of that is the extra metal used in the chassis. Both the 1600 and 2500 will eclipse the 800.
 
The 800 is CD only. The 1600 and 2500 are both SACD players. I've not seen or looked at a 1600 but have the 2500. Build quality on the 2500 is robust with a draw mechanism that just says precision engineering. Audio wise it's the best SACD player I've ever owned. It really does put my Marantz sa8005 in the shade.

If you look at build and chassis then 800 weights in at 4.5kg, the 1600 is 8.2kg and the 2500 is the heavyweight at 13.7kg. A lot of that is the extra metal used in the chassis. Both the 1600 and 2500 will eclipse the 800.

Eclipse in build quality or material quality you mean, or is there something else from a sound perspective?
 
Eclipse in build quality or material quality you mean, or is there something else from a sound perspective?
Sound quality. The 1600 and 2500 are SACD and by and large any SACD player will produce a better quality audio over standard CD. This was certainly my experience between my [then] Marantz cd6006 and sa8005 even though they both shared the same DAC. The 2500 is very detailed with redbooks and some of my better discs sound almost as good as SACD titles.

Build quality the difference in weight between the 800 and the 2500 shows how the quality of the chassis is so much better giving for a smoother reading of the disc with far less vibration. If you are prepared to push out for a 1600 or 2500 then you'll not be disappointed as owners of both on the Forum will attest to.
 
Eclipse in build quality or material quality you mean, or is there something else from a sound perspective?

+1 on all Gibby's comments.

Having owned both the 1600 and 2500 they are nearly identical in sound, the 2500 has very very slightly better image separation and detail. It's a tiny difference that you would only notice in a direct A/B comparison if at all.

Both are built like tanks, personally I would go for the 1600 and use the money saved to buy some nice SACD's.
 
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My choice would be a vintage sony, better than my marantz cd6005 (cirrus dac, same as cd6006) and Cambridge audio azur 640v2 (dual wolfson dacs). Close to arcam cd92/alpha 9c.

I have sony CdP970, super reliable, solid build, full of features that are not available in modern amps, colour digital display.
 
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With £500 to spend ..as I understand it... there are plenty of new CD Players to consider -



Steve/bluewizard
 
IMG_20200705_000129.jpg


With £500 to spend I recommend a vintage Sony, something like this for £100 and save yourself £400.

Super smooth cd tray, solid reliability, amazing sound quality, built like a tank, full of features and outputs. Better than marantz cd600x.
 
View attachment 1329311

With £500 to spend I recommend a vintage Sony, something like this for £100 and save yourself £400.

Super smooth cd tray, solid reliability, amazing sound quality, built like a tank, full of features and outputs. Better than marantz cd600x.

My dad had one of these in the late 80's, as I remember they were not cheap. Problem is reliability, leaking caps and probably a laser mech on it's last legs... Sorry but I doubt it sounds better then a modern Marantz player. Jitter was also a big problem with these early players, now a non issue with modern units.
 
Mine has been faultless and sounding great and more reliable than some of the modern cd players ive owned. Ive never experienced any problems that you desribe.

As well as other cd players, I also own a marantz cd6005 (similar to cd6004 and cd6006) and previously had an arcam alpha 9 (same as arcam cd92) and the Sony is the best one (to my ears).
 
Mine has been faultless and sounding great and more reliable than some of the modern cd players ive owned. Ive never experienced any problems that you desribe.

As well as other cd players, I also own a marantz cd6005 (similar to cd6004 and cd6006) and previously had an arcam alpha 9 (same as arcam cd92) and the Sony is the best one (to my ears).

Better then the Arcam 9 with the wonderful dCS Ring DAC??? Really?? The CD92 is not the same as the 9 BTW...
 

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