Best sounding SACD/CD/DVD audio machine

pwood

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I would like a new cd player but am wonder what the best sounding universal layer is between £400-£600 just so I can give some a try before settling on a CD player. Is the new 2910 better on the Audio side than the previous 2200/2900. I have not heard much about Marantz players such as the DV6400 and wondered why it always come sdown to the denons in all the mags. I'm slightly wary of Denon given the hit or miss will it play properly etc feedback on this forum. Especially the fact that the player will be in a rack with approx 2 inch clearance and Denons seem to get very hot.
Really want an ARCAM DV79 but then I'd miss out on Peter Gabriel on SACD even if finances would allow.
 
I have a Marantz DV6400 and I would rate it just about equal to the Denon 2900 for audio, notably better than the 2200. As to why the Denons score so well, in part it is the video section (I use something else for video, so that didn't matter to me). Here in Canada, the Marantz retailed for 799$, Denon 2200 for 1195$ and the 2900 for 1895$. Don't know about the UK, but if the difference is like here in Canada, the Marantz is a bargain. The new 2910 is the successor to the 2200, just with DVI capability. It is not the audio equal to the 2900 or the Marantz, so unless you need DVI, the 2900 and the Marantz are the better audio players. Another thing that often tips the scales to favour the Denons is their bass management. It is a bit more flexible than the norm (including the Marantz).

My Marantz is always cool to the touch, even after several hours of hi-res playback. It is also a rather small unit (something I initially considered a negative, but it has posed no problems--it is a very lightweight unit, but the money seems to have gone into getting the audio right).
 
I changed my Panasonic RP-82 over for something better on the Audio side a while ago and went with a 2900, but after trying one in my system I really didn't rate it, and with cd's it was really not good, in fact I took it back and changed it for another as I thought there might have been a problem, but the same with the replacement.
In the end after trying loads out I went with an Arcam DV89, which is OK for music playback, far better than the Denon but still only OK.

We had a play about with a Meridian 506.20 cd player vs the Denon in DVD-A mode and we both thought the CD was better, this was into a Lexicon MC8 which isn't the greatest thing for music but is more than good enough for me. (we were using Panorama Mode on the Lex for 2 channel cd).

I too would like to hear the Marantz players as I loved some of their top end cd players a few years back, having said that I really didn't like their cheaper ones though and I would have thought their dvd range would be closer to these than anything.
 

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