Suggestions on CDP

Hi guys first post here(and anywhere for that matter).My 4yr old nad cd 521i gave up the ghost a few days ago and i need to replace it.will be able to spend around 3 to 400 quid on a replacement next month.I currently use Monitor Audio gr10s and a Roksan Kandy mkIII amp.Any help would be appreciated.Cheers
also wanted to add that i listen to many diffrent genres from classical to indie with a bit of drum & bass thrown in from time to time! i prefer a lively detailed and fast sound rather than on the warm and mushy side but the mon.audios are quite bright already so dont want anything glassy/harsh at the top end.

 

If you like the NAD players, then a C542 would be a good step up - about £330 IIRC. What about the Marantz CD7300? They tend to err on the bright side, as opposed to warm. Again, available for about £350ish. You may even be able to pick up a used or ex-dem matching Roksan Kaspian CDP for about that much - I'm not sure on the RRP of those.

 

There are some nice mods for the 7000 series marantz cdps ....to loose the over bright presentation. For just a few pounds and a bit of soldering you can get a very good sound !

that goes for the cheap one that richer have too............

 

yes i can vouch for what zanash is saying
my marantz cd 5001 ose was £250 (x dem i got for £200) now it was a smooth sounding player to start with not at all bright but lacking in bass, me and zanash swapped a few bit's n bob's inside and wow it now sounds terrific a match almost for the quad cd player we demmed it against. highly recommended

 

Cheers guys i've seen a few Marantz cd63II KI sigs on ebay for not too much and i've heard some good things about them.Anyone here familiar?Also Zanash which components do you recommend changing?i've been given an old Marantz CD50 and wondering if its worth operating on.

 

"The CD50 is a multibit dac equipped (16 bit) cdp, with a variant of the Philips CDM4 transport mechanism. IIRC, the CD50 was one of the very last 16bit-multibit based cd players produced by Marantz, prior to venturing into Bitstream dac technology. The CD50's vintage is around the '89-'90 period. Recalling from memory, it was a popular cdp at that time, and sonically, it competes quite well with the likes of Rotel RCD855, and the more expensive Arcam Alpha 16 bit cdp. Marantz also released a CD50SE, basically a souped-up version of the normal CD50. The CD50SE was an even more popular cdp at that time, and frequently praised by UK hifi press for its overall "musicality".

http://www.audioenz.co.nz/forums/showthread.php?threadid=851

found this


Also this suggests to me that you should hold off buying another cdp and see if you can ge the 50 to sing [should not be too hard !]

 

I'd need to ferrit some info out on the cd 50 ...but off thye top of my head I think its a paired down 63 [?] ......

the best thing would be to pm me and we can chat about it.

I've managed to get these in the wrong order ?

 

The CD50 is totally different from the 63. It resembles the CD-80 more than the CD-63.

 

yep ...I've done some checking .......I was thinking of the 43 / 53 /63 series ...........even so its not hard to do some good things to these older machines.

 

Try and find an Arcam Alpha 9 CD player. I had one with MA GR10's and a Cyrus 3 amp, it was one of the most enjoyable systems I have had! The Alpha 9 used the DCS 'ring DAC' which is also implemented in the VERY high-end DCS gear. You should be able to get a second-hand one for about £400.

An alternative if you like tweaking is the Behringer DEQ2496 and a cheap transport. With a very easy mod it can take on the likes of the Chord DAC64 (I did a side by side home demo) and then it also has digital room correction on top of all that (basically like TACT room correction stuff). https://www.audio-forums.com/as-rediect/showthread.php?t=11540

 

I'd agree with the deq2496 ......just outstanding !

Not certain about the arcam ..never could get on with them after the A5 [and that need modding make it sing].

 

I have a cd 50 se and it is pretty nice sounding, but then I probably spent about £300 on it so it should

I like it due to the tda 1541a dac.
I think it beats the 63 hands down, much less harsh on the treble, (don't know about the ki never heard it) one thing you have to watch though is the transport is obsolete so repairs are a case of buying another one and nicking bits. (I have 3 now) so if you like soldering and butchering have a mess with it.

get rid of the variable output board, and headphones change all the sockets and damp the case, (see zanash's post on the subject)

I put a clock 4 in, made a psu for the clock and did some other small mods here and there with silver wire etc. (also see zanash)

not sure if the clock made a massive difference but seemed to help the bass a bit.

oh and cut the muting transistor asap, this helps. (again see zanash)

 

Cheers guys.Zanash thanks for the E-mail i'm definitely interested in those i/cs i'll be in touch after this post.Tenson i"m glad you liked the GR10s.In my limited experience they're the best i've heard for the price and i've just had news that WM's finished some x-over mods for me and can't wait to hear them.Also with regards to the cd player,i've just discovered a Meridian 206 for sale and i'm very tempted as i love the look of them and i've heard great things just wish funds were better! anyone here have any experience of these?Dean,thaks for the ideas.unfortunately my electronics knowledge is pretty basic.Solderings no problem but module/curcuit locations are a bit of a mystery to me.Zanash is kindly helping me out and once i've sent him a pcb picture he'll be in more of a position to do so.locating the headphone module shouldn"t be a problem(duh,follow the headphone socket!)but the variable output board i have no idea about.Not sure the standard cd50 has one as the volume control on the remote does diddly squat.

 

Oh, another nice player is the Meridian 206 https://www.audio-forums.com/as-rediect/showthread.php?t=13300

I can't recommend the Behringer DEQ2496 highly enough though, especially with the simple mod I can show you.

 

Been looking up the behringer.Looks intriguing but i really like the look of the Meridian which would cost about the same 2nd hand.can i use any cd player with digital out as a transport or am i barking up the wrong tree?
maybe i could look to the deq2496 as a future upgrade.
What kind of simple tweak's involved Tenson?I read the thread you posted when you a/b'd it with the dac64 but you and Th completely lost me

 

You can use any device with a digital out. The Meridian may look nice but the DEQ2496 has room correction, so you won't ever need to listen to lumpy boomy bass again and you can also tailor the sound any way you like.

The mod I would suggest for using with your system is you cut four of the wires in the ribbon cable and connect on 4 resistors, 2 caps (across each pair) and then 4 nice quality caps (caps = capacitors), Rob has some nice Russian 'paper in oil' ones which sounded good at his place.

The Meridian looks smart but a bit boring to me, but it does sound nice. It has good pace and timing but it does also lack soundstage and imaging as well as being a little light in the bass (not always a bad thing).

You might also like to glance over this - http://www.pinkfishmedia.net/forum/showthread.php?t=16710

 

Sounds pretty straightforward Si.Reckon even i could do that.Gonna have a think about it til payday but you think i could use the marantz as a transport with good results?All i'd need to connect the cdp to the behringer is a co-ax to xlr lead,right?Also,seen the Behr online for 260 notes. Know of anywhere cheaper?Cheers

 

try this chap ...got mine for £125 plus shipping in 5 days

buy_it_here_cheap on fleabay

also........ millenium music derby rd. Nottingham tel 0115 955 2200 £199

 

Thanks for all the input guys think i'll go with the behringer as i can always upgrade to a better transport in future.Tenson i'll be in touch when i get it.may need a picture of how you've done the ribbon cable on yours.

Ta everyone

Andy

 

£260 is too much to pay. Try the guy Zanash mentioned or try www.studiospares.co.uk
Remember to get the ECM8000 microphone as well and an XLR-XLR lead for it.

You can use a coax to XLR for the digital but not a usual RCA/phono coax to XLR. It needs to have pins 1&2 to ground and pin 3 on the XLR to the centre pin of the RCA.