Audio Equipment and Home Theater Audio : Marantz CD players

Marantz CD players

I was wondering if anyone out there has had or owns one of this make of CD player? I've been extremely dissatisfied for years with the way music sounds on any of the fairly inexpensive portable CD players I've had or when listening to music on my laptop or online eg YouTube/ITunes - it all sounds unbearably harsh and distorted . I'm now in the position where I could afford to buy a much more expensive music playing device and I've read various online and magazine reviews raving about how great the Marantz brand CD players are. I would only be able to get one of these CD players from Amazon or somewhere so couldn't hear ir before I got it so I'm hoping someone else could tell me how good the sound is on one of their players, whether there's the kind of harshness I've described being able to hear on other players - I can't bear the thought odf shelling out a lot for a player, then it sounding no better than I can hear now on a cheaper CD player or on my computer

A Distorted Reality Is Now A Necessity To Be Free

Re: Marantz CD players

There's no reason why a computer can't deliver as good or better sound than a CD player, with the right sound card and software. Or, get a good portable media player that supports lossless formats like flac. Perhaps you should also look closely at the rest of the playback chain, like the amplifier and speakers, or headphones.

Re: Marantz CD players

Dangus is partially right, you might need start looking at something else in the signal chain.

I use high power RCA tube movie theater 100 watt tube amps made in 1963 in system. The system is so sensitive that anything under 256 mp3 sounds horrible.

I use just a regular Sony Blu Ray player for CD and DVD. Details in movies that are generally missing on lower end systems can be heard clearly with this system.

My first suggestion is to go back up the signal chain, take a closer look at the speakers, amp.

If you are doing mostly two channel anyway, if possible, start looking an older (late 70's) Pioneer receiver, with higher quality speakers. You'll be amazed at the difference in quality. A 35 watt per channel high quality Pioneer receiver from the 70's, will literally shake stuff off the walls with the right speakers.

The ratings for most of the speakers and amps today are complete bullshiat and this is not an exaggeration.

That being said, here's a much higher CD

http://www.independentaudiovideo.com/store/item_view.asp?estore_itemid=1000176&gclid=CJWXiI_4rrsCFUMV7AodTzQAtA

But again, before shelling out money on a CD player, look further up the chain.

Re: Marantz CD players

I'm pretty ignorant about these things and to be honest I don't even understand what people mean when they talk about ' amps ' or ' receivers '! Also I've always had barely any disposable money so have only ever had the kind of portable CD players you'd get in your high street Argos store costing around £50 or so. So talking about playback chains and such is kind of lost on me - are amps and receivers not built into the larger CD players ? I know the response could be you can't expect good sound unless you buy more complicated audio equipment that's expensive but I was always satisfied with the sound on those fairly cheap portable Sony/Panasonic CD players I had in the 90s - for some reason though similar players I've got in the last several years by the same manufacturers sound much, much worse and even listening to CDs on my laptop or on websites doesn't sound that good.
Like I said, I'm now in the position where I could afford to spend a lot on something but as I explained I'm completely ignorant of what people mean when they talk about two channel, receivers etc. If possible, I just want a machine with everything ' builtin ' that sounds good or that the only additional thing I'd need to buy would be good headphones

When I typed in the link, it wouldn't work, what was it for?

A Distorted Reality Is Now A Necessity To Be Free

Re: Marantz CD players

You don't have to spend a lot of money to get good sound. There's all kinds of hifi stuff showing up in thrift stores, rummage sales, even recycling bins. I'd suggest going to a public library and skimming through any books you can find on hifi systems. That should give you a better idea of what to look for. Or, find a shop that specializes in used vintage hi-fi gear. They should be delighted to give you a guided tour and suggest a system that will meet your needs.

Having owned a couple of classic 1970s Pioneer receivers, the switches and knobs are prone to becoming intermittent or noisy. Spraying "contact cleaner" into said controls and switches should fix them... for a while.
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