Which CD Player to pair with my Denon AVR 2310?

[activebass]

Hi,

My 11 year old Marantz CD player can't play tracks anymore. I might still get it fixed cheaply later on, but am thinking of buying a new player.

I hear good things about the Marantz CD6003, which I can buy in my country at 190 GBP. The problem is that I have a Denon AVR 2310, which would justify a more expensive CD Player. Maybe even the Arcam Diva CD192 or Possiby the Cyrus CD6 ?

Thing is that I am also hearing / reading very good reviews about lossless music from laptops through a DAC which some say sound better than CD, so am seriously considering that option.

Would it be better to go for the solid Marantz CD6003 and used the money saved towards a DAC which can both serve the CD player and later a laptop or should I opt for a more expensive CD player/

 

[activebass]

Anybody?

 

[Andrew Everard]

Whether you buy a DAC for your laptop or a CD player is really a matter of personal preference, but if you take the former route I'd definitely rip the music to hard disc and play from that, rather than direct from the computer's CD/DVD drive.

But whichever route you take, try connecting the analogue output to the receiver via the FL/FR sockets of the external multichannel input: you may just find it sounds better.

Or of course if your computer has an S/PDIF digital output (rather than just USB), you could connect that straight to one of the receiver's digital inputs, instead of using a DAC.

 

[activebass]

Andrew Everard:
Whether you buy a DAC for your laptop or a CD player is really a matter of personal preference, but if you take the former route I'd definitely rip the music to hard disc and play from that, rather than direct from the computer's CD/DVD drive.

But whichever route you take, try connecting the analogue output to the receiver via the FL/FR sockets of the external multichannel input: you may just find it sounds better.

Or of course if your computer has an S/PDIF digital output (rather than just USB), you could connect that straight to one of the receiver's digital inputs, instead of using a DAC.

Hi Andrew,

thank you for your input. I will definitely play my lossless music from hard disc going through a CAS. Maybe Cambridge Audio's DAC Magic.

I would still like to purchase a dedicated CD player, as the performance is usually better than most Blu Ray decks. Do you think the Marantz CD 6003 is more than good enough to pair with the Denon AVR 2310 or does the AVR warrant maybe more expensive gear?

 

[Andrew Everard]

Yes, I think the Marantz will be more than good enough

 

[activebass]

Andrew Everard:Yes, I think the Marantz will be more than good enough

Thanks for taking the time to answer!

 

[Anonymous]

Hello!

Thanks to everyone for taking the time to read this.

I have a Denon 2310 paired with Rega speakers (RS5, RS1 and RS Vox). I have a Panasonic V10 and use a Mac Mini as a media center. I have found the performance of the whole system for movies outstanding, but completely disappointing when it comes to play music in stereo through the front speakers.

My Mac Mini is connected through an adapter (Display Port to HDMI with optical sound out) and using Optichord Mini Toslink and HDMI Supershield cables from The Chord Company.

I'm not an expert, I'd just say the music sounded flat, lacking bass and "artificial" (I don't know if you can describe music as that). I connected my old Denon DVD-900 that was unused through the aux input an the the same CD (Karajan's Requiem of Mozart) sounded soooo much better, fuller, deeper bass, and with much better soundstage though not something impressive.

I've also played several records ripped in lossless format directly from the Mac Mini with the same disappointing results.

These problems have raised a lot of doubts, unlucky me :-(

£ Would using a DAC improve the situation? Thinking of the Cambridge Audio DAC Magic...

£ How is it possible that movies (including the soundtrack) sound amazing an the music played in iTunes sounds flat?

£ Is the DAC of the Denon receiver that bad? I've read really good reviews of this amplifier, probably it isn't intended for this use...

Thanks very much for your time, any advice would be greatly appreciated since I've spent quite a large amount of money on this setup (at least for my standards ) and was expecting better results for music. I also have a Teac CRH-225 paired with a couple of Wharfedale Diamond 9.2 and music sounds better, how is it possible at one sixth of the cost??

I mainly bought the 2310 because of the pre-out option thinking about upgrading later to a dedicated stereo amplifier, do I have to go that way (plus the DAC obviously) straight ahead if I want to get good results?

Thanks very much again to anyone who answers and best regards

Aythami