Budget CD Players - Which can I trust to be reliable?

[Thropplenoggin]

Having just received - and returned - a NAD 516BEE CD player within a week for a 'clicking' fault that affected both old and new discs alike, I'm still short of a dedicated CD player. At present, discs are played via a Sony BDP and Musical Fidelity V-90II DAC, but this isn't practical, as I need the telly on to see which tracks I'm flicking through.

I have an Exposure 1010 amp and am tempted to raise my budget and go with the Exposure 1010 CD player. It has received good reviews. Does anyone here have experience of this player?

The other option is the Marantz CD6005, which has also reviewed well.

My worry is reliability. I know Exposure do QC in the UK and are built in Malaysia? How do Marantz users find the 6005?

I really don't want to have to send another one back.

Also, I believe the 1010 uses a TI PCM1716 DAC chip (24-bit/96hz) whereas the Marantz's is 24/192. Will this make a difference?

Thanks for your help.

Throppers11

 

[matthewpiano]

I'd go for the Marantz and save a few pounds. Excellent CD player.

 

[Covenanter]

I'm on my third iteration of Marantz kit and it has always been reliable.

Chris

 

[CarlDW]

A few years back my brother had a NAD cd player (I forget which model) which had issues mainly with reading certain discs. I never got on with it, the cd drawer was quite flimsy and the remote was awful.

The Marantz is a very capable player and should be reliable.

 

[chrisr1718]

Marantz?

It's a 'Yes' from me!

 

[Blackdawn]

Go for the Marantz or Cambridge audio.

 

[Blackdawn]

I'd go for the Marantz and save a few pounds. Excellent CD player.

matthewpiano, out of interest, how are you geting on with your current system?

 

[DocG]

I'd go for the Marantz and save a few pounds. Excellent CD player.

matthewpiano, out of interest, how are you geting on with your current system?

OOh, Matthew dropped his sig! Intriguing! :bounce:

 

[shep1968]

A few years back my brother had a NAD cd player (I forget which model) which had issues mainly with reading certain discs. I never got on with it, the cd drawer was quite flimsy and the remote was awful.

The Marantz is a very capable player and should be reliable.

Marantz sound wise are excellent but my cd player died after four years and the cheapness of it makes in unsuitable for repair. Subsequently replaced the whole of my kit which to be truthful i was looking for an excuse to do!!

 

[BigH]

I think Marantz used to be good, I still have the 63SE and its still works fine after 20 years, but recently I read about quite a few issues with Marantz products. I would probably give the Exposure a go.

 

[nopiano]

Either should be pretty reliable, and either will have the odd fault, which will be covered by warranty anyway. I would try to audition both a home and choose whichever you prefer. But predicting reliability is pretty futile.

Good luck.

 

[matthewpiano]

I don't think you're likely to have problems with either, but I've heard both and I just don't think the Exposure is worth the extra over the Marantz, though it does sound very nice.

I'm currently using a CD63SE which is probably about 20 years old, and it still plays most discs perfectly. It just seems to have a small handful it doesn't like and then it starts making a loud chuffing noise, but still plays them. I think at its age that isn't bad going. I have plans to change it to a CD6005.

 

[BigH]

I don't think you're likely to have problems with either, but I've heard both and I just don't think the Exposure is worth the extra over the Marantz, though it does sound very nice.

I'm currently using a CD63SE which is probably about 20 years old, and it still plays most discs perfectly. It just seems to have a small handful it doesn't like and then it starts making a loud chuffing noise, but still plays them. I think at its age that isn't bad going. I have plans to change it to a CD6005.

Marantz are more fussy with cds, I tried about 8 different cdp in auditions, everyone played all my discs even cdr ones apart from the Marantz Pearl Lite, also my Marantz 63SE would not play them.

Exposure is about £100 more so thats worth considering. But longer warranty?

 

[ISAC69]

It's better to match components from the same series the 1010 CD is much better option than the Marantz :dance:

 

[Thropplenoggin]

Thanks for all the helpful responses.

My concern with the exposure is the old DAC chip being only 96hz, most modern ones being 192hz.

The CA 651C has had rave reviews in several magazines, including Hi Fi News. It has twin Wolfson DAC chips:

'Twin Wolfson WM8742 DACs deliver a significant performance upgrade over the 651C's award-winning predecessor and are implemented in a dual differential configuration (each channel has its own DAC to process information). A sophisticated Two-Pole Dual Differential Double Virtual Earth Balanced Bessel filter configuration rejects virtually all noise and distortion present in the DACs and filters them to produce an unprecedented level of performance.'

It also has a Custom CD servo and toroidal transformer. Quite high specs for a 'budget' player, which I think led to those peachy reviews! And it's £50 cheaper than the Expo 1010.

Specs here: http://www.cambridgeaudio.com/products/azur-651c-cd-player

Tho' perhaps ISAC is right about the benefits of matching components. Hmm.

 

[nopiano]

That is why you need to listen to them!

 

[the record spot]

Number of DAC chips a concern? Kenwood DP7090: eight of them onboard. Otherwise I wouldn't worry too much about either system matching unless that appeals to you, or the whole 96 or 192 angle. By far and away the most important thing is the mastering of the music you listen to.

 

[ISAC69]

Number of DAC chips a concern? Kenwood DP7090: eight of them onboard. Otherwise I wouldn't worry too much about either system matching unless that appeals to you, or the whole 96 or 192 angle. By far and away the most important thing is the mastering of the music you listen to.

+1

Excatly !

 

[Thropplenoggin]

Fair enough. I had often felt this to be fundamental, too. Although quietness of mechanism is important, as I often listen to solo piano and choral works.

Anyone with experience of the mechanisms of a CA 351c or a Marantz CD5004/6005?

 

[nopiano]

Any CD player where mechanical noise is an issue can be rejected straight away. You may a get a 'ticking' sound from a weak machine (e.g. like an old Philips /Marantz of which I had a couple) trying to trace the outer edge (and therefore the end of the recording) particularly if the disc is 79 to 85 minutes long. But it is so long since I heard this I thought was no longer an issue.

As you are sensitive to it, you really need the two you are interested in on home loan.

 

[ISAC69]

Fair enough. I had often felt this to be fundamental, too. Although quietness of mechanism is important, as I often listen to solo piano and choral works.

Anyone with experience of the mechanisms of a CA 351c or a Marantz CD5004/6005?

As Advised before I think you should go for the Exposure 1010 CD it's much better than the other choices you mentioned .

Hope the bellow will help you :

http://www.whathifi.com/forum/hi-fi/exposure-1010-amp-and-cd?page=1

 

[matthewpiano]

It isn't 'much better than the other options'. Have you actually heard it ISAC69?

When I auditioned I felt that the Exposure CD player was very good but not particularly better than the best of other budget players. To hear a substantial upgrade over something like the Marantz, I had to listen to the Opera Consonance CD120 Linear at £800, which I currently can't afford.

 

[ISAC69]

CA is too bright and Marantz too "colrful" for my taste and I am not sure it's a good match with the Exposure amp , However I agree with you

that for a sustantial improvement you need to invest more than 800 pounds for a CD .

 

[ReValveiT]

You're going to find that most modern CD player are somewhat prone to laser failure. Laser QC isn't what it once was.

 

[matthewpiano]

Just to point out, I wasn't necessarily making a general point that more expensive CD players are better. I'm not sure it is really the price that made the CD120 Linear better, rather the different 'Non Over Sampling' filter-less design. I've heard other £800 CD players (and owned one) that I felt were ultimately no better than a budget Marantz, CA or similar.