If you're happy with the sound quality of the CD6005 then you should consider a vintage Sony because I used to have a CD6005 then quickly went back to a Sony. The Marantz has a frustratingly slow tray and build quality is a little flimsy for the price.
If you want a super-fast CD tray then the Marantz is definitely not the player for you. Not sure if all Sony CD players are created equal. Sony has made some really super gear in their time, but the good stuff didn't come cheap - I had the loans to prove it.
All my Sony cd players are inexpensive.. most expensive one cost me £100 (still in use) and even my cheapest one, which cost me £40, is very good, smooth cd tray, great sound quality, very fast at loading, quiet, better than my marantz cd6005, better than anything up to £500 imo.
Interesting. I have a Cambridge Audio cxc and a Rega DAC. If you can suggest a CD player that sounds better than that combo for under £100 I'll try it. Expensive is not always good (not that my 2nd-hand stuff was super expensive).
Still using my 20 year old Sony CDP- XB920E as a Transport, sounds fantastic into a modern DAC, Only player I heard that sounded better was a Cyrus CDi. Tried a Marantz CD6005 a few years ago and it went straight back to the dealer. The Sony has much better build quality and sounded better, I had the Laser assy replaced about 6 years ago and it's been running sweet as a nut.
What DAC are you using and are you using coax or toslink/sp dif cable?
New doesn't mean more reliable. In fact my vintage Sony from the 80's still works flawlessly and the display looks new. It has outlasted several much newer brand new cd players. It will probably work for another 40 years.
True. Cambridge Audio had an awful track record for a while, and some old players never die. But the odds of a fault are higher in an older player.
Still a good contender at £700. Does it really need a DAC as the shortest route to analogue is perhaps better. One glaring omission though, even with the excruciatingly expensive Saturn, no SACD playback. Agree with you about slot loaders, they can be a real pain in the arris.
Does it need the DAC? Possibly not; it’s a fine player. Do I prefer it with the DAC? Yes, I do. I’ve never got into SACD. I once had a Rotel with HDCD compatibility, but I couldn’t find any HDCD discs
. Mind you, that was in 1999. I stream, I have vinyl, but I can’t give up on the silver disc.
With having a standalone DAC or integrated stereo amp with it's own you do have the luxury of trying both and ending up with a favourite. As for HDCD I've several in my collection although my Denon doesn't decode it and just drops those extra four bits. SACD is a different ball game and producing a much wider and deeper soundstage. There's also the new UHQCDs, again I have several and these are very good although I think that may very well be down to better re-mastering as most come from Japan.Does it need the DAC? Possibly not; it’s a fine player. Do I prefer it with the DAC? Yes, I do. I’ve never got into SACD. I once had a Rotel with HDCD compatibility, but I couldn’t find any HDCD discs
I was using the Wolfson DAC in my Cambridge CX60, then a Topping E30, for a while but the sound was so good using the Ti DAC in my Denon PMA1600NE amp I now use that most of the time.
Google Marantz CD7300.
I might revisit Marantz CD players in the future if the Sony packs up, I was looking forward to trying the CD6005 after all the great reviews it was getting at the time but was quite disappointed with it tbh, just sounded too gentle for me and was getting lispy treble with certain vocals.
