Advice on melody X

[marijn]

Hi, new to forum and hoping to get some advice. I currently have an old set of Elipson 1303B driven by a Rotel ra-04. I use it to play vinyl records but play music from my iPhone over bluetooth by means of an iFi Zen Blue. I like to listen to music and appreciate good quality, but wouldn't consider my a true audiophile (whatever the definition of that is ).

I'm now looking to both extend this set-up with a cd player and ideally a good streaming solution. I was looking at options and first found the Marantz ND8006, which looks like a sweet piece of equipment but is rather very expensive. Which brings me to the Marantz X (M-CR612) which I could connect through the adio out to the Rotel. Of course I understand the quality is less good, but then the Rotel is decent but not amazing either and if I decide to upgrade in the future I could use the Marantz X for a set-up in the bedroom or something.

Questions I have:
- Does it make sense to put the Marantz X behind the Rotel?
- Will the Marantz ND8006 show its true capabilities behind the Rotel and with the old speakers?
- Is getting a separate CD-player and streamer a better option?

Any insights are much appreciated.

 

[muljao]

It's not an exact answer to what you asked but here goes

The marantz nr1200 gets mostly positive reviews from users and websites. It has streaming and bluetooth built in as well as hdmi and a phono stage. I'd def look at this over the melody maker and put good speakers with it

Also because it has a dac section you could in theory buy a (inexpensive) cd player with digital output and use the marantz dac section

 

[marijn]

Thank Muljao. I read one review that said the phono stage was not particularly good of the Marantz nr 1200. Is this then really an upgrade over my existing Rotel? Also how does it compare to say a Marantz PM6007 combined with a good streamer?

 

[muljao]

Thank Muljao. I read one review that said the phono stage was not particularly good of the Marantz nr 1200. Is this then really an upgrade over my existing Rotel? Also how does it compare to say a Marantz PM6007 combined with a good streamer?

I don't know. I have the pm6006 , had the pm6005. I liked them, never used the phono stage. I wouldn't however write the nr1200 because one person didn't like the phono stage

I have read mostly good stuff about the unit. You can always spend more to get better, question is what level do you need to be happy