Marantz CD52 Mk2 Vs modern Blu Ray players

[admin_exported]

I've had a Marantz CD52 Mk2 for donkey's years and am perfectly happy with it, but I'm about to buy a Blu Ray player and was hoping to kill two birds with one stone and get one that'll play CDs just as well or better without spending a fortune.

Can anyone tell me if any of the following would produce the same or better sound quality?

Pioneer BDP-450
Sony BDP-S390
Sony BDP-S790
Panasonic DMP-BDT210
Panasonic DMP-BDT220
Panasonic DMP-BDT310

 

[ReValveiT]

My Sony (S480) sounds fine, surprisingly so. But I couldn't say if it was better than your Marantz.

Only way is to audition and decide yourself.

 

[Anonymous]

I suppose it's a bit of a long shot to hope that someone on here will have made a direct comparison between my particular CD player and one of the Blu Ray players I listed

Ideally I'd do a side-by-side comparison, but that involve buying one and setting it up in my living room.

 

[Anonymous]

double post

 

[John Duncan]

What are you going to plug it into? Some of those players don't have a dedicated stereo output so would need to be going into an HDMI-equipped receiver.

EDIT - only the Pioneer doesn't have stereo out.

 

[stevebrock]

slighly off topic but I am going to try my Blu ray player through my DAC using optical and see what it sounds like

 

[Anonymous]

Good point. I was aiming to connect whatever I buy straight to the same amp that my CD player is currently connected to.

 

[John Duncan]

OK so that rules out the Pioneer (which is a shame because it's gorgeous )- all the others have stereo outs so you're fine.

As for comparing them to your CD player, could you take the Marantz to a dealer and try them out there, or find a friendly one who'll lend you a couple for a weekend?

 

[stevebrock]

What are you going to plug it into? Some of those players don't have a dedicated stereo output so would need to be going into an HDMI-equipped receiver.

EDIT - only the Pioneer doesn't have stereo out.

purely to play CDS

 

[John Duncan]

hm?

 

[stevebrock]

BDP > OPTICAL > rega DAC > rega AMP

 

[John Duncan]

Ah I see, I replied to the OP rather than you, so just confused matters. That'll work for you...

 

[Anonymous]

Hi levans

I'd be surprised if any of the Blu Ray players you've listed would be better than your current player as they're all budget players in comparism. I think a little higher up (£450 - £600) and the answer would be definitely.

Comparing current CD players v current Blu Ray players for music, the CD players obviously win hands down as they're made for music. Most reviews I've read over the last few years have indicated that a blu ray player that costs around £700 could compare musically to a CD player costing £300. I think multiplying the price of a CD player by 2.5 to find its blu ray equivalent is a good rule of thumb.

The only reason why the blu ray players you've listed potentially could sound better would be because components age, thus degrade over time and because DACs and other components (and software) have got better.

Is there anyway you can stretch to £500? The Marantz UD7006 is one of the blu ray players that is noted for its talents in playing 2 channel music. This was originally £800 - £1000.

http://www.whathifi.com/review/marantz-ud7006

 

[BigH]

I have read the opposite, get a cheap blu-ray player as transport, it can play SACDs as well, plug into a DAC and then it will be as good or better than a cd player of same price, also you can play. Just remember blu ray dvds are higher quality than cds anyway. I'm will be buying a cheap Sony blu-ray player soon.

 

[Anonymous]

I have read the opposite, get a cheap blu-ray player as transport, it can play SACDs as well, plug into a DAC and then it will be as good or better than a cd player of same price, also you can play. Just remember blu ray dvds are higher quality than cds anyway. I'm will be buying a cheap Sony blu-ray player soon.

BigH, I agree with you and it's what I did - I got an Audiolab M-DAC instead of a new CD player. However I've just realised - levans hasn't specified whether he wishes to watch films on this Blu Ray player or is it just for music?

Levans - if you are just playing music, then keep your CD player and get a DAC. Are you going to be using this blu ray player for watching films?

 

[MajorFubar]

You have to spend quite serious money to improve on those old Marantz players from years ago, like the 52mkII, 52SE and 63SE/KI, particularly if you want a multi-purpose unit. Technological advances or not, they came from an era where CD replay was "where it's at" and each generation improved on the last. It's where the lion's-share of the R&D budget was going. I wouldn't even like to hazard a guess as to how much you'd need to spend solely on an outboard DAC which clearly betters it.

 

[BigH]

I have asked a similar question on another forum and lots of people say a blu-ray will be fine and will play sacds and dvds as well, even a cheap Sony like the 490 will play them and even 3D DVDs if you want, make sure it has optical output. The Sony is only £80.

 

[MajorFubar]

A £60 LG BD player from Curry's will still play CDs but the audio won't be in the same street as the Marantz CD player without an external DAC. Also I'm pretty sure just any random blu ray player can't play SA CDs (but yes the Sony does)

 

[Inter_Voice]

DVD Players normally use switching power supply circuits while almost all CDPs use transformers (or toroidal Transformer on better ones) for power supply. The problem of using switching power supply is its noise and it will affect the qulaity of the audio and digital outputs.