What CD player to replace Rotel? £300 budget

D

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Hi all,
My much loved Rotel RCD-951 needs to be replaced due to a rapidly deteriorating drawer mechanism.

I love its detailed and expansive sound and it was a highly regarded player. I paid £350 for it new in 1999.

I'm looking at a replacement for a player of equal quality. Needless to say, Marantz players are all the rage and I'm wondering if anybody has any recommendations, either new or second hand. Budget is £300. Speakers are Q acoustics 3020s.

Thanks is advance
 
Getting harder to find but for the price the Marantz cd6006 is hard to beat. Well built, silent in operation, good quality DAC and a very usable headphone section. I own one as well as a Marantz SACD player.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0764FV72W/ref=dp_cerb_3
 
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Thanks for the reply.

Marantz seems to dominate the market at this price-point. Is the UK version considerably better than the previous CD6006 or CD6005?
 
I think that the biggest difference between the 6005 and 6006 is that the headphone section power was upped from 24mW to 27mW. That's about it. I don't have a UK version just the standard as when I purchased my 6006 the UK version was considerably more expensive. I just didn't see (hear) the point.

Even harder to find a 6005, some a more expensive than the 6006. The cd5005 is still available but there were significant upgrades to the 6005 when that model came out. Richer Sounds has the 5005 for £199 which would probably make an audition between the 5005 and 6006 quite easy as they sell both.
 
It will make no difference if you are using a dac on your amp (possibly not, but just saying)
 
Current amp is NAD C320BEE. Bought as a stop-gap but am very impressed with it so far.
 
Probably the nearest equivalent to what you originally had is this -

Rotel CD14 CD Player - £499 -

Rotel CD14 CD Player

But ...as you can see... above your budget. Though probably worth it.

The Marantz is about the best you can get near your budget, but the price has risen recently. Currently £329, but still probably close enough -

Marantz CD 6006UK CD Player - £329 -

Marantz CD6006 UK EDITION (Black)

Marantz CD6006 UK Edition

Marantz CD6006 UK Edition CD Player

At that price point, it seems that the Marantz is about the only choice.

The Denon DCD800 is a bit more and has 24b/192k DACs and can play that and DSD from the USB Port using memory sticks.

Denon DCD800NE CD Player - £349 -

Denon Dcd800 Black

Audiolab 6000CDT CD Player - £379 -

Audiolab 6000cdt Black

But the price is starting to creep up there now.

Equally, the Yamaha CDS700 -

Yamaha CDS700 CD Player - £389 - (£499 retail) -

Yamaha CDS700 CD Player

Still pretty significant budget creep.

Probably the closest to your budget is the Marantz. It would seem that budget has made the decision for you. Though best to give a listen before you buy.

Steve/bluewizard
 
Sony ES CD players are brilliant if you can find a S/H one. I have the XA2ES which has been perfect for many a year.. However an alternative might be an early Panny Freeview recorder with Graceland s/w which will read the track info, too, on-screen. Current Panny boxes don't have this s/w, btw, but earlier ones do.
 
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Thanks for ideas. I’ll check them out. Budget could go higher for right player. Inflation calculator tells me £350 in 1999 is nearly £600 today.
 
Thanks for ideas. I’ll check them out. Budget could go higher for right player. Inflation calculator tells me £350 in 1999 is nearly £600 today.

Component quality, dacs and manufacturing capability have also increased impressively in that time too, so I’d not be too concerned about the inflation thing. A good current CD player at around 300 quid should be as good.
 
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Thanks for this. It seems that I have two choices at this price point:
1. A new Marantz CD6006UK or
2. A quality used player.

I’ve looked at Musical Fidelity XRay, Cyrus CD6S and Arcam CD82 but can’t listen to them before purchase.

Which of these two options is best in other’s opinion? Are there any other used options?

Option 3 would be a CD transport and Marantz PM6006 as an amp and a DAC.

Any thoughts gratefully received.

Thanks
 
The cd6006 is a fine player, I have one. Good DAC and very well built. It also has a passable, if not powerful headphone circuit which I have used with Oppo PM1 planars. Personally I would buy new with the piece of mind of a warranty.
 
There is always that plus, and it’s a player I could actually listen to before buying. Am I right in thinking that I can play music from an iPhone via the usb input?
 
There is always that plus, and it’s a player I could actually listen to before buying. Am I right in thinking that I can play music from an iPhone via the usb input?
Yes.

''You can enjoy music stored on an iPod/iPhone or USB memory device.
To connect an iPod/iPhone to this unit use the USB adapter cable that was supplied with the iPod/iPhone.
For operating instructions see 'Playing an iPod' (page 37).''
 
Thanks very much for this. I was thinking about streaming so that really helps. There’s some awesome kit out there at great prices but this route makes more sense and seems more future-proof. Well, at least for a little while....
 
As mentioned if you buy a CD player blind you have 2 sound options as long as it has a digital out.

Try it with it's own rca outs and then through the amps dac, use the one you prefer
 
If you're going to use a DAC then technically you can buy a much cheaper CD player. Say 100 on the cd player then 200 on a dac.

I'm looking at the Arcam cd73 myself. Seem to be readily available around the 200 mark. Got rave reviews in it's day too.
 

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