Have CD players improved much in the last 10+ years!?

Hi all

I have a Marantz CD52 CD player that has served me very well for over a decade and more.

I keep thinking of updating it but would a new £150ish CD player give better sound quality? Or are CD players much of a muchness in this price range?

Cheers

I remember my grandad telling my brother and I about “CD players” once. Oh how we chuckled over his stories of those innocent and halcyon days!

Heh! 😆

Marantz make decent CD players, so if it still works ok, no need to replace it. I’ve had a CD67SE for donkeys years, and it’s still fine.

I bought a NAD 521i to replace a Technics 490 but couldn’t tell any difference, eight years later the Technics is still working but the NAD packed up after 13 months.

No idea. I’m still very happy with my CD63MK2 KI.

My Marantz CD-63 is old but great. “Master of Puppets” sounds really lively.

I wouldn’t bother changing until it breaks unless you are thinking major upgrade etc. Marantz make fine players, if they are as good today, as they used to be.

I have an old CD-63SE a fine player in its day and it is not far behind a £1500 NAIM one, albeit the NAIM has seen much more use. I have been told CD players do lose their edge over time, but that could be Hi-Fi twaddle.

Yes, CD players have come on a lot, as have the DACS.

Nowadays the smart move is to use your computer with a decent DAC.

You can also upgrade your Marantz with a better DAC, but be aware that the quality of the clocked output from the Marantz can make a large different to the performance of the DAC – the so-called jitter.

If you have a laptop with a PC-Card slot you could pick up one of the Echo DJ card, or the IO if you want to record as well, for about £50 from fleabay, and it will give you the quality of around £1000s worth of audio CD player.

Alternatively a DVD player like the Cambridge Audio DVD-99 for around £100 will give you more options media-wise, with superb sound quality.

My 1998 CD-67 is still going strong too… Not bad for a budget player really!

As for losing their edge with time, I guess that in theory the transport could wear which would result in increased jitter/missing data which in turn would mean the correction and filtering electronics might have to work harder. I think the transport would have to be pretty knackered for you to notice it though .

Oh and I guess capacitors in the analogue stage would eventually lose it…

I’m not being very helpful am I? I’d say unless you want to upgrade to something expensive then run the old one into the ground..

Re the computer idea .. Ok in theory but who can provide meaningful comparisons on the effective jitter from a pc as source? Also bear in mind it’s not ideal having a card with a DAC built into such an electronically noisy environment.

( One of my ideas for my dissertation was an off-board DAC with FireWire connectivity , back in the day

I would say that the DACs are the component that has improved the most. I would use your PC/Laptop as a source and get an off-board DAC and connect it via USB. If you are concerned about jitter then just get a DAC that re-clocks the input to (virtually) eliminate the jitter – Job done!

Whatever Cd player you get make sure you invest a shite load of money in some good cables and they are connected the correct way round.

I recently retired my Marantz CD52 mkII to the loft, but only because our BD player seems to sound as good with CDs so it’s one less box/remote to accommodate – the technology seems to have caught up, previous DVD players were rubbish with CDs.

If you look at the inside of a modern CD player the mechanism often seems to be a cheap computer drive, the magic being in the DACs etc as others have said (plus the badge on the case – makes all the difference!). Anything anyone tells you about them “going off” is most likely Hi-Fi mumbo jumbo.

My CD63 se died which made me very sad. Awesome CD player especially for the £53 it cost my from Scag converters.

I won’t be upgrading my CD player. Next upgrade path will be to something connected to a large amount of storage and the internet. Not sure exactly what tho, needs planning.

there are quite a few websites with info on upgrading marantz cd63/67 etc. some of the models are very sought after for that reason.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/UPGRADE-YOUR-MARANTZ-CD6003-PLAYER-HI-END-RESULTS-/220736156487?pt=UK_AudioTVElectronics_HomeAudioHiFi_CDPlayerSeparates&hash=item3364e67347#ht_2623wt_1059

I went into our local branch of Sevenoaks with the intention of upgrading my 80’s system–Arcam alpha+CD, audiolab 8000A amp and expected to be blown away by the improvements that 25-odd years of hi-fi developement would offer. Had a fair idea that it would cost me quite a bit and was prepared to shell out. Decided my system still cuts the mustard & ended up keeping what I have & wait for something to break then rethink.

Re the computer idea .. Ok in theory but who can provide meaningful comparisons on the effective jitter from a pc as source?

I can, I can!!!

I have an M-Audio firewire 410 interface and also an M-Audio SuperDAC, which are both from the same era and use the same DAC chips.

If I hook the SuperDAC up to a Micromega CD player and play a CD, versus ripping the CD to the PC and playing it through the 410, the 410 sounds much better.

If I put a Monarchy Audio DIP 48/96 Upsampler in between the CD player and the SuperDAC they sound identical. I don’t think the difference is the ‘Upsampling’ but rather the reclocking that the DIP is doing, so the SuperDAC is getting a better clocked signal. The difference is quite marked.

The DIP and SuperDAC were an improvement over the Micromega Leader player, which was already good and better than the Marantz CD72SE I demoed it against. The Echo Indigo PC card I mention was better still, and I am guessing that the even better ‘clocking’ and connection provided by it being a PC card was advantageous.

Lynx Audio did the LynxTWO soundcard (I have one) which gave pro-studio standard levels of ADC and DAC and is hosted in a PC, so the noisy environment is not necessarily a problem.

Had a CD63 SE and the transport part died. Probably something todo with the bearings as it would scip towards the end of a CD. I bought a new transport from some place Wembley way for not much money. Replaced it and good as new. Gave it to some relatives about 10 years ago as I got an Arcam DVD player that sounded almost as good. The Marantz is still going strong. As is the Arcam.

Still got my Technics SLPG 490, I bought the thing in 1998 with my Cambridge Amp and it all works as good as it did then.

I don’t think I’ll ever replace it until something dies.

Another CD63 SE KI Signature still going strong here 🙂

And an Arcam Alpha 5 in the shed!

I’ve tried using the PC, Ipod and CD63 as the source through the same amp (Arcam Aplha 8) and speakers and the CD player sounds better – if only as you haven’t got the (admittedly quiet) ‘hum’ of the PC in the background.

and a happy CD 6000 OSE KI owner here…

Might the other end of the chain be more worth looking at?

Turnerguy = Nerd

😉

(says the guy with a science degree in the subject)

Oh and a little known fact is that not all CD transports come out of the Sony or Phillips factory equal.

When I worked at Arcam we used to test them by plugging them into a PC and running a diagnostic tool.

Some would pass well within the accepted tolerances whilst others would scrape through!

Thanks all – I think I’ll stick with what I’ve got then!

alpha+CD, audiolab 8000A amp

Ooh I had that combo, upgraded to a Naim CD3/NAC72/NAP140 combo which was an improvement but the Alpha+ had a smooth sound for sure; previous CD player to that was a Marantz CD40 which was very harsh in comparison.

mudshark – Member
alpha+CD, audiolab 8000A amp
Ooh I had that combo, upgraded to a Naim CD3/NAC72/NAP140 combo which was an improvement but the Alpha+ had a smooth sound for sure; previous CD player to that was a Marantz CD40 which was very harsh in comparison.

Mudshark – are you still using the 72 or have you now settled on the 102? Gary

Actually, I have a pristine CD63SE, if anyone wants to make me an offer…

My Old 1995 “Rotel 965 BX LE Discrete” still works just fine. Still sounds great too. It blew me away in 1995 compared to similar CD players.

Got it “Clocked” a few years ago too and the kings cloths worked a treat.

Old stuff still has it IMO. Along with my 1990’s Audiolab pre & power amps and 1990’s AVI speakers…. 😀

Nowts broke so why fix it.

Yes, cd players have come a long, long way in 10 years IMHO. Get down to a shop and have a listen and judge for yourself.
However, as others have said, computer or similar to a DAC is the way to go nowadays. Having said that, I have just bought a new cd player because I find it so much easier and less faff.

Thing is, when you can actually afford decent audio kit you tend to be ‘older’ and then your ears have suffered a lifetime of over decibel-abuse.

For instance, even if you have slight tinnitus whats the point in buying the worlds best system?