Decent CD player / Low budget

nmedot

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Hello,

I've started treating myself last year buying some HiFi equipment and have to say it has been the best money spent in years.

I got a second hand Marantz PM 6004, new pair of Q Acoustics 2020i and new Arcam irDAC.

I am a big Spotify Premium user on iPad and PC + some FLAC and AIFF.

Looking at the boxes of Cds sitting in my study kills me and I can't possibly get rid of them... too many memories.

I have read mixed reviews of the Marantz CD6004 and was looking for advice on what CD player who be the best option for my setting and budget (250GBP of 300EUR max). I've also read very good reviews on older models of CD players such as CD17 and CD63 but am a bit scared of them dying afetr a couple of months of use.

Any help would be much appreciated.

Thanks

Nico
 

Gazzip

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nmedot said:
Hello,

I've started treating myself last year buying some HiFi equipment and have to say it has been the best money spent in years.

I got a second hand Marantz PM 6004, new pair of Q Acoustics 2020i and new Arcam irDAC.

I am a big Spotify Premium user on iPad and PC + some FLAC and AIFF.

Looking at the boxes of Cds sitting in my study kills me and I can't possibly get rid of them... too many memories.

I have read mixed reviews of the Marantz CD6004 and was looking for advice on what CD player who be the best option for my setting and budget (250GBP of 300EUR max). I've also read very good reviews on older models of CD players such as CD17 and CD63 but am a bit scared of them dying afetr a couple of months of use.

Any help would be much appreciated.

Thanks

Nico

Get the cheapest DVD player that you can find with an spdif output, and then add a Beresford TC-7510 DAC to it. simple, effective and a little bit futureproof for streaming from your PC etc.
 

CarlDW

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The Marantz CD6005 is around £250 at the moment, that would be a good place to start.

You could also consider a cheaper cd player such as the Onkyo C7030 or Pioneer PD10 (both under £200), and connect to the irDAC to utilise it's superior DAC.

Second hand, the Arcam CD17 may be worth a look.
 

slice

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The Arcam dac should be a decent quality, so use the existing cd player as transport and connect to the dac. I can't see why a new £250 cd player would improve on the arcam dac.
 

nmedot

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Thanks for the replies so far.

@ Gazzip, I alread have a DAC so DVD player would be an option but was more looking at a proper HIFI CD player.

@ CarlIDW, I will have a look at the Onkyo C7030 and Pioneer PD10 if can find any. I was referring to Marantz CD 17.

@ slice, the laptop I use don't have any CD drive. So yes I would be connecting the future CD player to irDAC but is there any equipement matching I should be aware of?

Thanks
 

slice

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Sorry, I thought that you already had the 6004. There should be no system matching needed. A cheap DVD player would do, as long a limited display/ noisy mechanism were not annoying. If this is an issue, then any cd player with digital outs. I have a CambridgeTopaz cd10, which I wouldn't recommend as it is slow to load and the mechanism can be noisy.
 

slice

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slice said:
Sorry, I thought that you already had the 6004. There should be no system matching needed. A cheap DVD player would do, as long a limited display/ noisy mechanism were not annoying. If this is an issue, then any cd player with digital outs. I have a CambridgeTopaz cd10, which I wouldn't recommend as it is slow to load and the mechanism can be noisy.

silly me, the 6004 was the amp, not acd player
 
The obvious choice for a proper CD player would be the Marantz CD6005. You could choose a discontinued model and save some money for music, or (whisper it) an upgraded interconnect, but a new model would be guaranteed. I would not worry about an old one expiring as long as you don't pay silly money for it.
 

nmedot

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@ nopiano. Thank you.

from the replies I'll be looking at cd players offering optical and coaxial out and vy low mechanical noises. Don't want to go down the dvd player road since I've experienced quite slow loading of discs.

The only thing I'm not too sure to understand is if cd players already have built-in dacs. Do you bypass them automatically by using the coaxial or digital outputs?
 

Gazzip

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bigfish786 said:
buy a pre-owned Rega Apollo. and forget the rest of the messing about. top quality sound for budget money.

I owned one of these a few years ago. A very distinctive house sound from memory. Could be a good call as if the OP isn't keen on said sound, (strangely analogue but quite pleasing), then he can always pop it through his Arcam Dac and just use the unit as a transport, bypassing the aforementioned house sound.
 

slice

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nmedot said:
@ nopiano. Thank you.

from the replies I'll be looking at cd players offering optical and coaxial out and vy low mechanical noises. Don't want to go down the dvd player road since I've experienced quite slow loading of discs.

The only thing I'm not too sure to understand is if cd players already have built-in dacs. Do you bypass them automatically by using the coaxial or digital outputs?

Your strategy seems sensible. The answer to your question is YES, the cd player has a dac, but this dac is bypassed by the digital outputs, which is why the dac in the cd player becomes unimportant in the context of using the arcam.
 
T

the record spot

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The Onkyo C7030 gets a lot of good reviews from owners on the Steve Hoffman forum. Well worth checking out. Lovely sound to it apparently.
 

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