Suggestion for CEOL by Denon or similar

[admin_exported]

Hi

I would like to buy my first "not cheap" stereo system =).

I already have an "Apple ecosystem" (Mac, iPhone, AirportExpress and obviously Airplay), and I'm planning to get also a TV (don't have one atm) and an AppleTV or similar.

But, first of all, I need a new Stereo System. My desiderata are: some analogic and digital in (for ATV, AExpress, or for amplify TV audio), iphone connector (or dock), wifi internet radio and streaming, cd player and analogic AM/FM tuner, compact or all-in-one system.

After reading a lot of reviews and news, considering my budget (800€ ~ 500£ Max), i'm orienting on CEOL System by Denon, because of complete support of my desiderata. But I would like to know if it's worth the price and if it sounds good.

Alternatives are HK MAS 110, Denon M38 (plus an internet radio revo or logitech), marantz 502 or 503...

What do you think about the choice? Thanks in advance, bye

DaVe (Italy)

 

[Andrew Everard]

Marantz M-CR603?

 

[Anonymous]

Yes Andrew, I made a typo... =)

but Marantz M-CR603 is also your suggestion?

Thanks, DaVe

 

[Anonymous]

mmmh... M-CR603 has no wifi... and optical in is optional...

 

[Andrew Everard]

DaVeTheWaVe:Marantz M-CR603 is also your suggestion?

Yes.

 

[pwiles1968]

Stereo Recievers with a Digital in are not common but I have seen this recently - http://www.harmankardon.com/EN-GB/Products/Pages/ProductDetails.aspx?PID=HK%203490/230

Looks interesting, was considering it for my dining room to hook up to my Airport express.

 

[Anonymous]

I was also looking at the Denon ceol it looks well smart!

The speakers for it look a bit cheep/tacky I would possibly swap them out for some white q acoustics.

The Marantz is more new Apple look the way there heading currently and the Ceol the old style apple but I have a smoker in the house I'm not sure how a white amp would hold up?

The CEOL differences are to the marantz CR603:

Built in dock , No bi-wired option, optical in, built in wifi, 65w but not sure in terms of sound quality would beat or equal the marantz CR603? there the same company so.....

Are what hifi going to review this product anytime before christmas?

 

[Anonymous]

asimo82:
Are what hifi going to review this product anytime before christmas?

That would be great!

as from HK 3490, I think it's a great ampli, but i would have to add a cd player and network player, thus no more a mini or integrated system... Thanks for the suggestion, I keep hearing on until I make up my mind about it...

Bye

 

[Anonymous]

Here it is! I'm very happy for this system!

Denon CEOL first impressions

http://www.davethewave.it/2010/12/24/denon-ceol-first-impressions/today or tomorrow I will post a full video review on my site!

bye!

 

[Anonymous]

DaVeTheWaVe:
Here it is! I'm very happy for this system!

Denon CEOL first impressions

http://www.davethewave.it/2010/12/24/denon-ceol-first-impressions/today or tomorrow I will post a full video review on my site!

bye!

Great. Im looking forward to your review. Im considering this system for my Dali Ikon 1 speakers but as no site has reviewed it yet im on the fence until i hear good or bad things about it.

 

[Anonymous]

I purchased this system to update another Denon Mini system (UD-M31) about 2 weeks ago. My impressions so far...

Negative

It's a bit bigger than I thought it would be, but sits in an IKEA cube bookshelf space nicely

The speakers a very good, but not as good as the one's on my old system. There's just a touch of warmth missing.

When it finds your music server (in my case an iMac) and you search for music there seems to be not alphabetical sorting, nor can you search for music so it's hard to find what you want if you have a big library

There's little in depth information about it either in the manual nor on the net. It's doing a firmware update now, but I don't know why, nor can I find anything to explain why.

POSITIVES

It was way easier to set up than I thought it would be, once it had access to my network it just worked. You don't even seem to need to have iTunes running to access the library.

Running in music server mode I haven't had any problems with interference even when pulling 600kb+ ALC. As an internet radio receiver it works well too and using their DenonRadio web site you can even add your own discovered internet radio sites so long as you know the URL and it's broadcasting in MP3. You can see playlists and also shuffle play in playlists

You can hear even when streaming the difference between 128 kB and 300+kb streams, the speakers deliver a very clear sound.

The display is bright and clear and can be turned of to so in a bedroom setting it doesn't glare across the room at you. The remote seems to cover most bases and has a good range. The iPhone applications works seamlessly as well but still doesn't give you the ability to search artists which again makes it hard going when you are running a large library.

As a first attempt, I think it's a damned good effort and a vast improvement from the clumsy setup I had previously running an Airport Express into the old Denon system and then driving iTunes from the iPad Remote App, it worked, but didn't suit for a quick listen to some Music. I am convinced that this will be another winner for Apple and any other adopters and has me thinking of a Mac Mini attached to the TV running as my dedicated music server....

If anyone has any other questions please post and I will try to answer.

 

[Anonymous]

 

[Anonymous]

Second half of the review!

Take that! http://www.davethewave.it/2011/02/09/denon-ceol-upgraded/

bye, Dave