Has anyone purchased or had a demo of the Marantz Pearl Lite CD Player?

[admin_exported]

I'm looking to upgrade my elderly Marantz CD 6000 OSE KI player which I now run through a Cambridge DAC Magic II.

I am planning to spend up to £1000, possibly more if there is a compelling reason to do so.

I once had desires on the full blown Pearl CD player but my wife still hasn't forgiven me for splashing out on the Michell Orbe turntable.

Does anyone have any hands on experience of the Marantz Pearl Lite CD player. It has had a very good review recently.My CD 6000 has been very reliable and sounds good. looking for as step up now though.

I have to say the rave review of the Audiolab CD8200 has also set me back in my decision.

Looking forward to any comments or advice, thanks in anticipation.

 

[Anonymous]

i recently had a demo of the pear lite cdp, amp and a pair of dynaudio excite x32 floorstanders, not because i was considering buying (way out of my league) but they were already set-up in my dealers demo room and he treated me to a listen.

i havn't heard many hifi systems to be honest, mostly budget amps with monitor audio, br5's bx5's and rx6's, which i used to own.. but the marantz/dynaudio x32 combo was easily better than any of them, it sounded sublime, the best ive ever heard..

probably not much help to your needing opinions on the pearl lite cdp, but i loved the sound the combined components made, absolutely beautiful...

 

[Anonymous]

Thank you for your reply maxflinn.

I'd been told that the original Pearl player and the amp are best purchased together because they are matched perfectly and it probably also applies to the Pearl Lite. Not keen to buy an amp though.

I know that there is no substitute for a demo before purchase. Trouble is, none of the Hi fi dealers nearby sell Marantz these days so it will be a road trip at some point. Good to get other opinions as well.

 

[MUSICRAFT]

Hi Paulwbm

If you like Marantz and are also prepared to consider an older model then i will highly recommend the CD-94. The CD-94 is one of the finest cd players Marantz have produced to date. I also feel the CD-94 is overall one the the finest cd players ever made. If you do decide to look for a CD-94 then i'll also suggest looking out for the equally excellent PM-94 amplifier. Individually both units are very strong however working together they are just superb. Individually or as a pair i would rather have the CD-94 and PM-94 anyday over any single unit or combination from the KI Pearl and KI Pearl Lite range.

The CD-94 and PM-94 are powerful with a presentation which is fast, potent, dynamic, with scale, depth and an overall naturalness which will give your Proac speakers a massive wake up call. This is Marantz.

All the best

Rick @ Musicraft

 

[Anonymous]

Hi Rick

Thank you for your suggestion. I don't know how rare a good example of the CD 94 might be to find.

It is interesting to note that last time I posted about changing my 6000OSE KI, a number of forum members suggested that I stay with it as it would cost a lot to find a CDP that would make the upgrade worthwhile.

What is it about old Marantz?. Innovation, continuous improvement, technology; Ken, the man etc., these all tend to suggest that a new machine should be at least as good (you would expect better than) the old.

Which way to turn.

Cheers

Paulwbm

 

[the record spot]

Not heard the 6000-KI, but having had the current SA7001-KI for a couple of years now, I have to say I love it. Partner it with the right amp (it's a tad lean in the wrong combo) and suitable speakers, you'll have a system that rewards aplenty if you get the synergy right.

Depending on your requirements, i.e., SACD, you might find the new Audiolab worth a look if you don't need hi-res playback (as the latter doesn't come with it enabled). If you do, check out the SA8003, which is effectively the "KI" for the SA7003 - the company dropped the KI suffix with the 003 range. Apparently very good, how good would for you would be best decided in direct comparison I think.

As to the CD94 (or the PM94) you'll be doing well to land a mint one. Maybe Gumtree but you'll be looking for a long time. They rarely crop up and usually go for a good price on Ebay when they do.

 

[Anonymous]

I heard the Marantz Pearl CD player the other week. The people giving the demo were feeding it into the DAC section of a Peachtree Nova (amp plus DAC) because they thought the Peachtree DAC sounded better. Bear in mind that the Nova uses a valve stage, though.

I thought the combination (with Chario speakers) one of the highlights, but possibly more because of the Peachtree than the Marantz.

 

[Mr Morph]

Paul, if you're using the old version of the Dacmagic 2, I'd advise caution on your next purchase. Would seriously listen to the Pearl in person, as other people's opinion won't make a blind bit of difference to your personal taste.

I have the old Dacmagic 2i, and have never felt the need to replace it. I doubt that the Pearl has as much drive as the DM2, just thought I'd mention it, as once you get used to the DM2 sound, more often than not, anything new comes as a dissapointment.

 

[Tim2010]

I'm very happy with my Marantz KI Pearl Lite AMP & SACD player (with B&W685 speakers).

Also the use as "dac" for pc playback is good. Tested "Band On The Run" in hi-res (hdtracks.com download 24-96 flac, without dynamic range compression) and sounded extremely good! (with Standard USB cable).

Very close or as good as the sound of Audiophile cd's and even sacd's.

 

[Anonymous]

Thank you for your reply Mr Morph.

Unfortunately, my DacMagic is the current version and so a very different sound, I'm sure, from the version you have. I guess your DAC has a much warmer sound. The current one certainly lifted the sound of the 6000 KI CDP though and well was worth the money.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the replies from everyone concerned. The need to audition any product is reinforced by the comments made. Its very personal; the choice has to be made with the ears.

 

[Anonymous]

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hmmm, I really wonder that why these things are not found in
books? well you done a great job really and its been a very handy set of
information i had from ur articles.
thanks dude. Cheers

 

[WishTree]

I heard Pearl Lite (CDP + Amp) with various speakers including Dynaudio Excite X36, X32, B&W CM7, CM9.

The CDP + Amp combo is extremely great and I liked the CDP even more as it can function as a DAC too, if needed and that is a great thing for me! From my signature, you would have understood that the Dynaudios were singing with the Pearl set up

 

[pwiles1968]

Heard it with the Amp a couple of months ago at "An Audience with Ken" they were hooked up to a Pair of Dali Ikon 6's not overly familiar with the speakers but the system sounded really nice. You will see from My Kit I like the Marantz Sound, I have a CD6000Ki but did run it through my AV amp as I thought it sounded better that way.

I am currently looking for another listen to the Pearls against the Audiolab CD/DAC and amp I heard the Audiolab DAC & Amp today hooked up to some Spendor A6's and have come away quite impressed will definitely be looking for a home demo next year.

 

[Dalesman]

Got delivery of my new Ki Pearl Lites Amp & CD yesterday and have to say that I'm really impressed by the clarity,authority and sublime sound of the system. At one point while listening to 'Inspired by desire-vol 1" by KI,I closed my eyes and felt it was a live performance and not a recording.

 

[Tim2010]

Well, I was very sceptical about "expensive" usb cables vs standard cables.

But
I couldn't resist ... So I ordered the Kimber USB cable (the blue one)
and it's more detailed than my old standard cable (using the Marantz cd
player as dac). My Marantz even sounds better now (just listened to The
Fall by Norah Jones).

But have to test it a bit more.

I'm very happy with the amp + cd player in combination with the B&W685. I didn't audition other speakers.

The Dac-functionality works fine. I was first thinking of adding an
external usb dac (Benchmark, Cambridge Audio or Northstar) but I'm
thinking of leaving it for now.

Depends on your needs ...
If
you love warm, colourful and analogue sound the Marantz is the one to
buy. If you prefer analytical sound, you'll be better of with a e.g.
Roksan.