I am looking for a good CD player that would fit my SR-8200 marantz. Should i buy a CD player with digital output ? How do i go about finding the right one ? Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Most, if not all cd players nowadays have a digital out. If you're wanting to get a dedicated cd player and not opt for one of the newer multi-talented players then I'd recommend the Nad C521BEE as the best 'budget' player. It outperforms just about every player in the lower bracket and will go well with your Marantz. The C542 is the next rung up in the Nad range and is better still, more detailed and with more bass clout. The Cambridge Audio Azur 640C is another good player. I'd say that even without an audition you'd not go far wrong with any of these players and these are the few that I'd recommend 'blind' - other than these just go out there and listen!
Mohan Parthasarathy
Unregistered guest
Posted on
Thanks for your response. I checked my local shops here. They don't seem to carry Nad brand. I had another basic question.
Marantz has a 192Khz/24 bit DAC. Does it mean that it would work well if i feed the digital output directly or let the CD player that has a equivalent DAC convert to analog and then feed the analog input to the receiver ?
Dear brother and sisters! I don't understand one thing. Why people are looking for "good" cd players?
In my opinion all that cd player does is to read DIGITAL representation of cd disk and transmit it via DIGITAL to the AV receiver. Operating in DIGITAL is extremelly easy for every CD player. So what is the differnce between them?
I understand that AV receiver have to be good because it converts Digital into Analog signal. That's why amplituner should be the central unit of the sound system.
release....Go have a listen and then you will be able to tell the rest. While I understand why you think there would not be a difference, I can assure you it's like night and day. Prepare yourself for the shock of knowing what these better cd player give you, it's very enlightening
Mohan..Cambridge Audio makes excellent products including cd players, also I would agree with the Nad recommendation. I am considering the Cambridge 640c versus the Nad 541i currently. Both are great cd players and I am sure you would be happy with either brand
vols... In my country it is rather difficult to listen before buy, because for many of the equipement you have to pay for and then wait for it to come ;), so I have rather to read forum instead of having a listen ;).
Can I just buy DVD to watch films and listen to my CDs? What is the best way to connect AV receiver (e.g. Denon AVR 1905) with CD/DVD. Is it good to connect it via optical output?
release...I prefer using the the analog connection on my cd player as I am sure most people do. The DACs in a cd player such as the ones that were mentioned earlier are going to be far superior to the receivers DACs in most cases. The price of upper end cd players is a direct response to the better power source, DACs, build quality.
You can use a dvd to watch films and also play CDs, however you would not get the same result in quality. There are good DVD players that will also perfom pretty well on CDs, I would take a look at the Toshiba 4960 (I believe). I read a review in a recent magazine (unsure which) that compared a few DVD players on their performance for both CDs and DVDs. I think the magazine was Sound and Vision but I am not sure, if I find it at home I will advise on which one it is. There was also a Samsung model that performed well but once again the model number does not come to mind since I am not looking to purchase this combo.
For more than 2 years, I used a Pioneer Elite DVD player for both my DVD and CD needs. It's connected to a Marantz SR7200 AVR which I feel did a very good job in being a musical receiver.
After 2 years, I bought a NAD C542 cd player and the improvement in my music listening was substantial that I started to spend more on CDs (and HDCDs) than DVDs.
I sold my C542 to my sister since I upgraded my amps. I don't enjoy CD listening that much anymore with my DVD player. I'm now going to buy another C542 next week. I've been considering to get an Arcam CD73T or Rotel RCD-1072 but I haven't heard them yet so I just plan to stick with something I've already heard and enjoyed.
And recently, I now believe that with quality components, even wires, interconnects, and even vibration isolators do make a difference in the sound.
Gadzooks
Unregistered guest
Posted on
Release - the quality of the CD player makes a big difference if you are using quality amplifiers and speakers. If you are using cheap stuff, you may not hear a difference.
Gadzooks
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Posted on
As far as a recommendation goes, I think the Arcam CD73 is an excellent player for the money. ($699).