CD player upgrade?

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Aug 10, 2019
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Hi, everyone. This is my very first, and (probably) very last post (except for "thank-yous" and acknowledgements, of course), so please bear with me as it's likely I won't know what I'm talking about!

My system is a decade old now and I've always been reasonably happy with it except that I've always felt that my choice of CD player has let it down. The system consists of the following bits and pieces: Yamaha CDX493, Rotel RA971 amp, B&W 601s2 speakers, Ixos Bronze interconnect, and QED Original BI-wire Mk2 speaker wire. Now, to my untrained ear, I've never felt that I could have chosen a better amp/speaker combination (for the money I paid for them, that is) but as I've stated previously, perhaps I could have picked a better source. I've been checking out CA 540c reviews but a different thread on this forum (more to do with CA amps than CD players) has made me a bit skittish about it. I've also been looking at second-hand Arcam stuff but maybe that sort of thing would look down it's nose at my amp/speakers? Anyway, it may be that I only need to upgrade the interconnect and that would bring about the improvements that I feel I need. Or, as I wrote in the first paragraph, I really don't know what I'm talking about and I should leave well alone! So, all help and advice will be greatly appreciated but please try not to use any technical terms as I won't know what YOU are talking about and I'll just get confused.
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Ta

Graham
 

John Duncan

Well-known member
Hi there - I've said before on here that I have found it worthwhile spending more on amps and speakers, as CD players are so good nowadays that the incremental improvement from £250 to £1,000 is much less startling than elsewhere in the chain.

So before you plump for a new player, I'd be inclined to take all your components to a dealer and replace each of them in turn with something much better, and see where you want to spend your money.

That being said, you may find that the Yammy is just a bit monotone, and a dynamic new player like the Marantz 6002 or the Cambridge 640 v2 (do spend the extra fifty quid over the 540, it's worth it) is just what you need. Not that you'll be able to listen to the Cambridge, you'd just have to take my word for it
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Anonymous

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Seconded. I have the 540C and like it a lot, although I would go for the 640C given the price difference. I also heard the Marantz Jon mentions at the weekend and that was also very sound for the cash. I don't think you'll go far wrong with either of those.
 
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Anonymous

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Right-640c it is then. Thanks to JohnDuncan for the recommendations (regrettably, I don't have the cash for wholesale changes) and thanks to Tractorboy for confirmation of those recommendations.
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Graham
 

JoelSim

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Stop....

there's an Arcam FMJCD23 on eBay for £450 which would be a vast vast improvement on the CA or Marantz, plus if you were to sell it in 5 years you would recoup at least half your money.

then in the next couple of years, upgrade your amp and speakers. Slowly does it but set aside a little every month and it'll become a very rewarding process.
 

JoelSim

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By the way, you know I got the ProAcs, well they are going up once my kitchen has been done.

It was started on Monday...

Monday night we took everything out of the kitchen which is now all over the **king pigsty that is currently my house....

Tuesday, the builder's missus decides to go into labour, so he's been off since.

How inconsiderate is that when I have some shiny new speakers still sitting in the cupboard!!!!
 

John Duncan

Well-known member
[quote user="JoelSim"]By the way, you know I got the ProAcs, well they are going up once my kitchen has been done.

It was started on Monday...

Monday night we took everything out of the kitchen which is now all over the **king pigsty that is currently my house....

Tuesday, the builder's missus decides to go into labour, so he's been off since.

How inconsiderate is that when I have some shiny new speakers still sitting in the cupboard!!!![/quote]
Just get them up - who needs a kitchen?!?!
 

JoelSim

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I can't. They need fixing to the walls, and a big hole drilling between the living room and kitchen and cables attaching and hiding, and loads of painting. No chance!
 
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Anonymous

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Jeez, I didn't think that such a simple (though completely "round-the-houses") enquiry would degenerate into a discussion on home improvements. (Shouldn't you be having that discussion on a B&Q forum if there is such a thing?!?)
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Any road up, I'm currently running in the 640c which, for anyone who may be interested to know, I got from RS in Tunbridge Wells for £20 less than their in-store price as they've cocked-up their catalogue printing (ha!!) so the manager honoured the sale. I'm feeling very pleased with myself (there don't seem to be any smilies depicting self-satisfied smirks, so you'll all have to imagine it). Again, ta to those who've taken the time to reply to my post-it was most gracious of you, and, JoelSim, hope you'll be as self-satisfied when your kitchen is done as I am with the new gizmo.

Regards

Graham
 

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