CA DVD99 v. Marantz CD5001 v. Marantz CD6002 v. CA 540C V2

I know you guys are tired of seeing these various X v. Y posts, but I've finally got a (very) little bit of money to spend on something, and my heart wants to get a CD player to feed my Audioengine 2 speakers. It's a small 10' X 10' square room, so the Audioengine 2s actually sounds quite wonderful in that space. Am planning to do some amateur acoustic damping also somewhere along the way.

I started out thinking of the DVD99. It costs 13k and has an excelllent reputation for audio and video, and although i can't hook it up to my plasma just now, maybe somewhere down the line when i move to another house, i could have used it, but for the foreseeable future the use would have been CD playback.

Then Gobble mentioned the CD6002 being available for 15-18k and i contacted Bass Treble with regard to that. They said stock will take 2-3 weeks to come, and they're not sure if they can offer the same price. But they said they do have a few CD5001s for 10,500. That piqued my interest again, as that sounds like a good deal, and I would be getting a plain simple CD player and saving 2,500 compared to the DVD99.

the CA 540C V2 i just put in there, it costs about 17k, and that's also an option if i am considering the 6002 at 18k, and i've heard it and it sounds quite good.

Just want inputs from anyone who has compared or extensively listened to any one or more of my options to see what I should go for. If I buy the CD5001, i could maybe splash out and get a decent pair of stands for the audioengine 2s....so many thoughts swirling around. Would appreciate all the advice that I can get.

Marantz CD 6002 is a very good player for the Price.For some reasons i didn't like the CA sound.It sounded lifeless to me.Don't go for the DV99 if you prefer to play CDs , standalone CDP sounds far better then the DVD players. Marantz CD5001 is very hard to beat at that price.My son in law is using the Marantz 5001 with the PM 4001 amplifier and the sound is very decent.

Good luck
david.

I have a marantz cd 6002 and it is very immediate and musical

Hi psychotropic,
it has to be the marantz cd 6002 for you. I bought it for Rs. 16,000/- grey market 8 months. No regrets, and`better than competition you mention

Thanks for the inputs guys.

Would anyone here know anyone who can get me a grey market piece of the CD6002, at 16k i am thinking (subject to audition) that it'll be a no contest. Of course I am planning to be patient and wait till they get stock of the CD6002 and see what price they can offer me in "white".

Another question that's been bothering me is, would a CD6002 (or a CA 540C) be overkill for the audioengine 2. It's a lovely pair of powered speakers (and stupendous at the price) but not "high end". Considering my amplification and speakers together cost 10k, wouldn't it then make sense to spend only 10k on the CDP, rather than say 16k or 18k?

Don't worry I am planning to audition all of these, and it's easy for me to carry my audioengine 2s around to do it, and i have my chosen and well listened reference discs, so i should be able to do an effective comparison even if i am not doing it side by side, but still, i'd like to know your views.

Hi psychotropic,

Except for the CA DVD99 I've heard others quite extensively.

I agree with others that the Marantz CD6002 is the best CDP in this lot. I think it's an unbelievable CDP for the price.

I have not liked the CA CDPs in the budget range up to 640c v2. Somebody above called them lifeless, to some extent I have to agree. I ended up buying a CA 740c CDP and that's very very good but in a different price range (now 50K). I have not liked the CA Dacmagic either.

The Marantz CD5001 is also a tremendous value around 10K. Just last Sunday I happened to listen to it with an Arcam A65 amp and some MS bookshelves. It was a decent sound.

You have not considered the Nad CDPs at all. They are also quite good, very smooth sounding and musical. Have heard the older C521 and the C525, but have not heard the less pricey C515.

Upto 25 K these are my ratings (only my personal opinion, yours obviously can differ): Marantz > Nad > CA (in ordder of decreasing preference).

I cannot say anything about your thought on whether your AudioEngine 2 speakers are good enough for which of these CDPs. Can you not audition the CDPs with your powered speakers in smallish rooms with a few and varied kinds of good quality CDs that you know very well?

Thanks for your inputs Asit, I do hope I manage to snag a CD6002 at an attractive price. Now that you mention I might as well consider the C515 and C525 as well, would anyone have the idea of the street price of these models. Although I started with a buget of 13k i can probably stretch it up to 18k, but definitely not a paisa more, would either of these come within this price? How would they compare the CD6002? or the CD5001?

You tenshun about spending money the best way will only be resolved by auditioning the NADs CAs and the Marantz.

Why don't you fix appointments with the local dealers for the weekend and enjoy the auditions then decide? :


Regards

@psychotropic - The fact that you have Audioengine A2 powered speakers it also makes a perfect case for a PC/HDD based system. For 18K you would have a very good system, suprateep I believe assembled a HTPC for 12K. Like I said in another thread 15-18K seems a tad high for something that only plays Audio CDs, MP3s, and WMAs. A PC will be a very good option and something you should consider. Why not if possible audition Venkat sir's PC/HDD based transport/system along with the rest of your auditions?

My main concern with a PC based system is the effort involved. I'll have to rip the CDs firstly. Every time I use it i'll have to boot up (unless of course i get one of those mobos with splashtop linux pre-installed). if i am getting an HTPC i'd like to get one with an asus xonar soundcard which is at least 8-9k, which doesn't leave too much for the rest of the components. I doubt an HTPC based on the asus xonar can be made under 20k, but my knowledge of component prices is zilch, perhaps you can guide me there?

I won't want any video processing at all, so a basic mobo (with splashtop?) with onboard graphics, a basic (AMD?) processor, a 500 GB HDD, 2 GB (dual channel) RAM, asus xonar sound card, a cheap but quiet cabinet and power supply.....how much do you think this would cost? And would a basic low-power processor and 2 gigs of RAM be sufficient for quality audio playback with a good sound card?

Has anyone compared the Asus Xonar to any of the dedicated CDPs?

Hi
Am biased against CA so wont recommend.
The Marantz 6002 is the best sounding player upto 20K IMO. Have heard it in various set ups and its always a pleasant listen. If the budget is not too tight please go for this over the 5001.
The Nad cdps that i have heard were pretty good and a used C542 would be a good bet too. I sold mine for about 14/15K to a forum member and am sure u can find similar.
Rgds