Marantz CD5001 CD Player

Jagat,
I have recently got myself a hi-fi setup and the process of acquiring it has certainly been an amazing experience full of FUD(fear/uncertainity/doubt) and excitement. I would try and highlight a few learnings I had in the process, they are not something new, but it is always important to bear in mind.

Know what you want: You should analyse what kind of music you listen to, at what volume-level and for what duration. Are you more of a party animal or a consider music to be very private and personal. The other very important aspect is to know what kind of sound you prefer: analytical or warm or bright.
At the end of the exercise you must have clarity on your priorities.

Research: There ain't any substitute for detailed homework. Even if someone were to state that old cliche of analysis-to-paralysis; I absolutely would recommend a long and detailed phase of analysis. My research went on for 6 months before I finalized the order. The dealers in Bangalore, I'm sure would have hated me whenever I showed up.

Reviews / Recommendations: They should be guidelines and not deciders. Use them to find out if there are any technical gliches in the product. Also use them to shortlist the products for audition.

Audition them: Trust your own ears. Listen to the tracks that you know inside out. Listen to each equipment for atleast 15-20 minutes. Only you will know what is the set that you would want.

Lay emphasis on acoustics: there are quite a few websites that should help you do that

My Preference:
I like a very warm sound that envelops me. The bass should be tight and the highs should be crisp but not piercing. The vocals should be pristine.

I have raised my budget to 100K so would appreciate if you all can help me with suitable speakers (around 50K)
In the order of preference:

1. ARCAM A90 / CD192; this is out of your budget but would eliminate your upgrade woes for quite sometime
2. Cambridge Audio Azur 640(around 70% of ARCAM)
3. NAD or MARANTZ

Thanks Sandeep on your recommendation.

Can you recommend me some speakers in the 50-75K range? The speakers can be either floorstanders or bookshelf but they will need to have a front port as they will be placed close to the wall (don't have too much space). The room size is 5x5 metres.
Thanks

In the order of preference:

1. ProAc Studio 110 (must listen)
2. EPOS M22
3. Monitor Audio RS-6

______________________________________________________
My HT Setup:

ELECTRONICS: ARCAM: DV 137 / AVR 350
SPEAKERS: ProAC Studio 140 (Front) / ProAc CC1 (Center) / ProAc Studio 110 (Surrounds)
SUB-WOOFER: ProAc ER1
CABLES:
Front: QED Genesis Silver & QED X-Tube (Bi-Amped)
Center: QED X-Tube (Bi-Wired)
Surrounds: QED Silver Anniversary XT (Bi-Wired)
SubWoofer: QED Quenex SE-SW
INTERCONNECTS:
Audio:Merlin Choppin (both Analog & Digital)
Video: QED HDMi
PROJECTOR: Not-decided (The New Optoma HD81 looks enticing)
 
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Thank you avexplorer for your kind suggestions.

keeping my budget in mind I have considered the following (after hearing and reviewing many products):

Cambridge Audio Azur 640c v2.0
Creek Amp A50iR integrated amp.
Epos 12.2 speakers.

I find that the creek amp mates well with the epos speakers (since they belong to the same group, they probably voice them together).
 
______________________________________________________
My HT Setup:

ELECTRONICS: ARCAM: DV 137 / AVR 350
SPEAKERS: ProAC Studio 140 (Front) / ProAc CC1 (Center) / ProAc Studio 110 (Surrounds)
SUB-WOOFER: ProAc ER1
CABLES:
Front: QED Genesis Silver & QED X-Tube (Bi-Amped)
Center: QED X-Tube (Bi-Wired)
Surrounds: QED Silver Anniversary XT (Bi-Wired)
SubWoofer: QED Quenex SE-SW
INTERCONNECTS:
Audio:Merlin Choppin (both Analog & Digital)
Video: QED HDMi
PROJECTOR: Not-decided (The New Optoma HD81 looks enticing)

I would love to hear the ProAc speakers but unfortunately cannot get to hear them in Mumbai.

Hey avexplorer, you seem to have a very exciting setup. Would love to read a detail review of your setup or individual components. if possible please post them in the review forum.

Thanks.
 
I would love to hear the ProAc speakers but unfortunately cannot get to hear them in Mumbai.

Hey avexplorer, you seem to have a very exciting setup. Would love to read a detail review of your setup or individual components. if possible please post them in the review forum.

Thanks.



I'm planning to do that soon but very quickly I respond to that question as:

5 months into my speaker research I thought I had heard the best of the best in speakers....and then I heard ProAc...
A week later I got my ARCAM (DV137/AVR350) and the ProAcs were reborn...




P.S.
I had heard them on a Primare in ABSOLUTE PHASE and honestly I beleive the ARCAMs are way ahead in what matters most SOUND & SIGHT
 
I agrree... the ARCAM's are definately better sounding to the cold and uninvolving Primare integrated amp. I have heard.
 
Hehe...Jagat....I have auditioned all Marantz line of CDPs. CD5001, CD5400, CD7300 and the CC4300!!!! And also the cambridge audio 640C and 540C v2 and a couple of Denon high ends too. However, it is difficult to say as to which one is better unless u get to see all of them at one place.

Needless to say, CD7300 had been the best n the most robust of all i have seen so far. Its build quality is rock solid and uses n excellant DAC. It can play MP3s as well as unfinalized disks too. The best part i noticed on all Marantz players was that their grip on the CD is so well, that even if u keep drop the player few inches above the ground, the cds wont skip at all! The only player that goes near to its performance (as per the review) is Cambridge's new dual differntial 640C v2 which i m waiting to see at Prithvi's place. Ofcourse Arcam & Primare are supposed to be better but only if Veeru n his pals decide to drop some grands on its price tag!

However, the source has to be extremely important, as i have seen the difference in sound by switching between these marantz machines. The better the DAC, the better the quality of sound, smoothness and the detailing gets.

The NAD has some disc compatibility issues, and build quality is an issue. i m eager to see that. and ofcourse if u happen to go to mumbai, plz dont miss on the rotels. All these come about similar price with the CD7300 slightly expensive. Not as much as it used to be as this model is now getting manufactured at China too, for we not so luck indian dudes or shud i say audiophiles??? if u want the Jap made, then get somebdy to get one for u from UK and one for me too!!! never mind.

Conclusion - I would rate the CDPs as 7300>5400>5001>4300. I will not comapare them with Cambridge and NAD unless i get the same platform to audition all of them one by one. Pretty hard naa? What to do!!!

Cheers!!!

Hello there - well said about the marantz cd player. Though, i have question. I recently upgraded to Cd7300 from CD 4000 (quite old model). The cd 4000 had high treble and sounded very digital. The thing is it seems like the volume or sound has dropped in cd7300? is it possible or is it just me (or my ears) although the sound seems more neutral and sweet.

opinion would help :)

cheers
Ananth
 
Hello there - well said about the marantz cd player. Though, i have question. I recently upgraded to Cd7300 from CD 4000 (quite old model). The cd 4000 had high treble and sounded very digital. The thing is it seems like the volume or sound has dropped in cd7300? is it possible or is it just me (or my ears) although the sound seems more neutral and sweet.

opinion would help :)

cheers
Ananth

Hello Ananth,

Sorry for such a delayed response. I got it clear what you meant by the volume or sound dropping in CD7300. The CD4000 was more upfront and was made to show the details and dynamics by forward presentation...which would impress anyone the first time, but a prolonged listening session would have concluded that it indeed do not really qualify as an audiophile player. For that time..may be there weren't that good players for its price...but definitely not now. As you said, CD7300 is smooth, sweet and I add non-tiring. I own this player for an year now myself. I had a great opportunity to have the Arcam CD73T at my place for 2 days. I had an one-on-one comparision with CD7300. Ofcourse CD73T outshines CD7300 with pace and timing and it is slightly sweeter than CD7300 too, but that has never brought down my respect for this player. There was no differnce on the detailing front which means i never missed a single note on my favorite CD ever. Just that for the price i paid for this player i am slightly compromising on the pace/timing sector which is okay for the moment. I will never trade this player for anything for its ultimate flexibility in terms of disc format playability and quality/build and the sex appeal.

But i will buy the Arcam too!!! Very soon!!! Because being an audiophile...i am always hard bent on dicovering the scope of betterment in my system..CD73T demostrated that...and i am very excited about this upgrade. But CD7300 will still have its place in the system.

The best part about these players are that they sound the real high-end unlike the more cheapo models from denon/nad/cambridge stable. In the gospel of High End - i sincerely advice whoever is reading this - make sure you spend a gr8 amount on the CD player. It makes a hell lot of a difference.

You should stop worrying about what you heard earlier in CD4000 and what you are hearing now in the 7300. As long as you are not tired listening to your favorite music in "today"..your player and the system is the best! Period
 
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Quote:
Originally Posted by MonitorTheAudio
Hello there - well said about the marantz cd player. Though, i have question. I recently upgraded to Cd7300 from CD 4000 (quite old model). The cd 4000 had high treble and sounded very digital. The thing is it seems like the volume or sound has dropped in cd7300? is it possible or is it just me (or my ears) although the sound seems more neutral and sweet.

opinion would help :)

cheers
Ananth

Hello Ananth,

Sorry for such a delayed response. I got it clear what you meant by the volume or sound dropping in CD7300. The CD4000 was more upfront and was made to show the details and dynamics by forward presentation...which would impress anyone the first time, but a prolonged listening session would have concluded that it indeed do not really qualify as an audiophile player. For that time..may be there weren't that good players for its price...but definitely not now. As you said, CD7300 is smooth, sweet and I add non-tiring. I own this player for an year now myself. I had a great opportunity to have the Arcam CD73T at my place for 2 days. I had an one-on-one comparision with CD7300. Ofcourse CD73T outshines CD7300 with pace and timing and it is slightly sweeter than CD7300 too, but that has never brought down my respect for this player. There was no differnce on the detailing front which means i never missed a single note on my favorite CD ever. Just that for the price i paid for this player i am slightly compromising on the pace/timing sector which is okay for the moment. I will never trade this player for anything for its ultimate flexibility in terms of disc format playability and quality/build and the sex appeal.

But i will buy the Arcam too!!! Very soon!!! Because being an audiophile...i am always hard bent on dicovering the scope of betterment in my system..CD73T demostrated that...and i am very excited about this upgrade. But CD7300 will still have its place in the system.

The best part about these players are that they sound the real high-end unlike the more cheapo models from denon/nad/cambridge stable. In the gospel of High End - i sincerely advice whoever is reading this - make sure you spend a gr8 amount on the CD player. It makes a hell lot of a difference.

You should stop worrying about what you heard earlier in CD4000 and what you are hearing now in the 7300. As long as you are not tired listening to your favorite music in "today"..your player and the system is the best! Period
 
Hello there...thanks for your views. I guess i figured out the problem couple of weeks ago. Its coz of burned cd's and not original ones, seems like they dont sit correctly. n e way, i have given arnd 40-50 hrs use and looks like its stablized and sounds more mellow and sweet making it perfect for listening sessions. i am not sure of ARCAM or Cambridge CD players but will be auditioning them soon. heard the CA 540 V2 series are good, but again they are warm sounded just like the marantz or denon amps. CA although lacks in a little imaging but maintains the pace and timing.

i use a pretty mediocre amp - Denon PMA 700AE (has some decent reviews though) but sounds good to me and thats what matters end of the day. lacks a little bit imaging and headroom but i am saving for NAIM Nait 5 or something similar...

thanks again...

cheers
P

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Quote:
Originally Posted by MonitorTheAudio
Hello there - well said about the marantz cd player. Though, i have question. I recently upgraded to Cd7300 from CD 4000 (quite old model). The cd 4000 had high treble and sounded very digital. The thing is it seems like the volume or sound has dropped in cd7300? is it possible or is it just me (or my ears) although the sound seems more neutral and sweet.

opinion would help :)

cheers
Ananth

Hello Ananth,

Sorry for such a delayed response. I got it clear what you meant by the volume or sound dropping in CD7300. The CD4000 was more upfront and was made to show the details and dynamics by forward presentation...which would impress anyone the first time, but a prolonged listening session would have concluded that it indeed do not really qualify as an audiophile player. For that time..may be there weren't that good players for its price...but definitely not now. As you said, CD7300 is smooth, sweet and I add non-tiring. I own this player for an year now myself. I had a great opportunity to have the Arcam CD73T at my place for 2 days. I had an one-on-one comparision with CD7300. Ofcourse CD73T outshines CD7300 with pace and timing and it is slightly sweeter than CD7300 too, but that has never brought down my respect for this player. There was no differnce on the detailing front which means i never missed a single note on my favorite CD ever. Just that for the price i paid for this player i am slightly compromising on the pace/timing sector which is okay for the moment. I will never trade this player for anything for its ultimate flexibility in terms of disc format playability and quality/build and the sex appeal.

But i will buy the Arcam too!!! Very soon!!! Because being an audiophile...i am always hard bent on dicovering the scope of betterment in my system..CD73T demostrated that...and i am very excited about this upgrade. But CD7300 will still have its place in the system.

The best part about these players are that they sound the real high-end unlike the more cheapo models from denon/nad/cambridge stable. In the gospel of High End - i sincerely advice whoever is reading this - make sure you spend a gr8 amount on the CD player. It makes a hell lot of a difference.

You should stop worrying about what you heard earlier in CD4000 and what you are hearing now in the 7300. As long as you are not tired listening to your favorite music in "today"..your player and the system is the best! Period
 
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Jagat,
Hi! If u are a pure music listener then the combo of the Cambridge Audio's 540Av2 & 540Cv2 or the much better combo of the 640Av2 & 640Cv2 is better than going in for the Onkyo.

I was the GM -India for Onkyo way back in 1996 and know that they make good HT. Period. Music- forget it.

Do let me know what spks you are using. Recently a client of mine went in for a 540Rv2/DVD89 & a full Dali Concept HT and I too was shocked at the sound quality both for music as well as HT.

Do call me on 9844094669 for a demo appointment, my friend.
Rgds

Prithvi.

hi Prithvi i am aslo lookin for good audio cd player could you please tell me what's the price of 640Cv2 and 540C (Version 2)
anyway i heard your name quite a lot from one of my friend vinny. please pm me regarding price
regards
jang
 
hi Prithvi i am aslo lookin for good audio cd player could you please tell me what's the price of 640Cv2 and 540C (Version 2)
anyway i heard your name quite a lot from one of my friend vinny. please pm me regarding price
regards
jang

Jang, the 540C V2 and 640C V2 cd players should cost Rs. 18,000 and 22,000 respectively.
 
I own both 640C and CD5001. Both use the same Sony transport KSC213. But it is the sound quality where they differ by yards.

I find that 5001 beats 640C in every meaningful way in terms of sound quality. In particularly, 640C is unable to reproduce the quality of authentic lows and highs which 5001 produces easily. 640C only performs good in mids. Overall, 5001 is much better to listen and sounds very lively.

The additional advantage with 5001 is the high-quality headphone amp which comes free. If I have to buy a similar quality headphone amp (most probably outside India) it would not cost less than Rs. 8000-10000.

So I am very much satisfied with 5001.
 
By the way, CD5001 headphone amp is driven by an NJM4556, the same OpAmp used in the US$450 Grado RA-1 Headphone Amplifier...
 
I own both 640C and CD5001. Both use the same Sony transport KSC213. But it is the sound quality where they differ by yards.

I find that 5001 beats 640C in every meaningful way in terms of sound quality. In particularly, 640C is unable to reproduce the quality of authentic lows and highs which 5001 produces easily. 640C only performs good in mids. Overall, 5001 is much better to listen and sounds very lively.

The additional advantage with 5001 is the high-quality headphone amp which comes free. If I have to buy a similar quality headphone amp (most probably outside India) it would not cost less than Rs. 8000-10000.

So I am very much satisfied with 5001.

I have a friend who uses the 640c with the top of the line Green mountain audio EOS2 speakers with some high quality associated equipment. There is absolutely no problem with the highs and lows.
We recently did an A/B comparison against the Einstein Cd player which costs upwards of 3 lakhs. Of course the Einstein player sounded better. But I was shocked at what 20k can buy these days. The 640C is a great player for the money. I like them better than any 5000/6000 series from Marantz. These are more accurate.
 
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I second SQUARE_WAVE. I had both these player at my place for a home audition. Marantz was not bad but it is just an entry level player and some what better than Pioneer DVDP , at that time. I found 640C a better product, much refined and balanced. I also auditioned NAD during those days and IMHO CA 640C is better than NAD entry level CDP. Just my 2 cents.
 
I find that 5001 beats 640C in every meaningful way in terms of sound quality. In particularly, 640C is unable to reproduce the quality of authentic lows and highs which 5001 produces easily. 640C only performs good in mids. Overall, 5001 is much better to listen and sounds very lively.

The additional advantage with 5001 is the high-quality headphone amp which comes free. If I have to buy a similar quality headphone amp (most probably outside India) it would not cost less than Rs. 8000-10000.

So I am very much satisfied with 5001.

The 640C is the player to beat at that price point. Nice detail, neutrality and drive.

I'm surprised you found it lacking in highs and lows, if anything I've heard people complain that the mid-range is too recessed for their taste.

I found the Marantz 5001 to be grainy, for the lack of a better term. Marantz have some very nice players in the higher price brackets, I'm afraid this one just does not measure up anymore.

BTW I don't think the presence of a headphone out can compensate for a shortcoming on essentials. Other factors being equal, maybe yes, it can act as a differentiator.
 
Hi guys,
Have to put my 2 cents in. The CA 640 anyday over the marantz 5001 but not sure if its better than the 6002. A friend of mine just acquired the 6002 paired with a cyrus amp/ dali speakers (not my choice of combo at all) . Grey mkt 18.5 K and it seems more than worth it.
Regards
 
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Dinyaar bhai, you mentioned 18.5k for a CA 640? generally asking.

And.. i have heard Marantz with Musical Fidelity A5.5 with Dali Ikon 5,6,7
Loved what was produced everytime.


brgs
 
No Sid 18.5 K for the Marantz 6002 without a bill. Dunno the prices of CA. Marantz has been easily available for ages in the grey mkt and even reputed dealers offer the brand without a bill but offer u the standard 1 year free repair/service if the need arises.
I believe the official price is 27/28 K and a 3 year warranty is offered.
Regards
 
Phew :D
then i aint all that bad in bargain. Picked mine @ 24k with 3yrs covered.

I have dealt with grey market for my camera gear and its fine there if you know decent vendors, but how about electronics? what if there is a flaw.. is the piece ours for the keeps still? or do the vendors replace it (in grey mkt i mean)


brgs
 
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