My Denon Ceol N8 is being a ****. Is it time to change?

[Grumplestiltskin]

Hi there,
I bought a Denon Ceol N8 about 5 years ago. It intermittently drops the airplay when listening to podcasts and streaming from my phone, and often when it is connected there is no sound at all.
Add to the that the internet radio now requires a subscription, and it does not have DAB, it's pretty much useless to me. I currently use it as a rather expensive bluetooth speaker. It's a real shame as the sound through it to my monitor audio stand-speakers is perfect for the room size.
I'm looking for recommendations for a replacement that meets the following criteria:

Budget: £500ish
Decent sized display
DAB
WiFi
Streaming
Bluetooth
Comes with a decent remote (range and ease of use)
Airplay
CD player a bonus but not really bothered.

Thanks in advance.,

Col.

 

[manicm]

Denon Ceol N11? Marantz NR1200? Marantz Melody X?

I know I’ve stated the rather easy and obvious, but these really do represent good value.

 

[matthewpiano]

Having previously owned the Marantz MCR-611, I can happily recommend looking at its replacement - the Melody X/MCR-612. Sound quality is very good for this sort of unit and they are very nice to use.

 

[Grumplestiltskin]

Thanks for the replies. My understanding is that Marantz also uses Vtuner and requires a subscription. It’s only 3 dollars a year but both brands being caught out like that due to the software/systems they use seems a tad... underhand. This is why I’m thinking of a move away from Denon and probably avoiding Marantz. I’ll have a look at the models suggested however so thanks again.
G.
PS: on a side note, the dealership I bought the unit from has quoted me £55.00 simply to provide an estimate for repairing the issue with streaming/AirPlay! Is this the norm?

 

[Gray]

PS: on a side note, the dealership I bought the unit from has quoted me £55.00 simply to provide an estimate for repairing the issue with streaming/AirPlay! Is this the norm?

No doubt they'd deduct that from any repair bill.
But if I were you, it would be a case of "Thanks but no thanks".

 

[Grumplestiltskin]

I know right? Cheek.

 

[TomC]

With CEOL and Melody X you get HEOS which uses TuneIn. Maybe vtuner was used on older models.

 

[Deleted member 116933]

Hi there,
I bought a Denon Ceol N8 about 5 years ago. It intermittently drops the airplay when listening to podcasts and streaming from my phone, and often when it is connected there is no sound at all.
Add to the that the internet radio now requires a subscription, and it does not have DAB, it's pretty much useless to me. I currently use it as a rather expensive bluetooth speaker. It's a real shame as the sound through it to my monitor audio stand-speakers is perfect for the room size.
I'm looking for recommendations for a replacement that meets the following criteria:

Budget: £500ish
Decent sized display
DAB
WiFi
Streaming
Bluetooth
Comes with a decent remote (range and ease of use)
Airplay
CD player a bonus but not really bothered.

Thanks in advance.,

Col.

Its why i like to keep things separate, a function stops working or become incompatible then you really loose what you have paid for.

BUT having said that it sounds like a job for a pair of smart speakers such as apple home pods the home of airplay (which I believe are on sale for a little of 500) I have a pair in the office and works great. Remote! come on! you don't need one when you can talk to it LOL (plus you have your phone or iPad) they'll wireless connect to your apple tv for tv sound and will soon be able to decode Dolby atmos