URGENT: Marantz CD63 SE

psychotropic

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As some of you might have been aware i was hoping to pick up a used NAD C542, but because of my lack of organisation I let that slip, someone else picked it up. But now I have been offerred a Marantz CD63SE for 9,000 bucks. Again I've tested it thoroughly, it's working perfectly.

The sound is very detailed and the level of detail it extracted in the highs and mids i thought was superior to the NAD C542, but I did find it a bit bright and while the bass was lean and tight, it didn't have the 'body' of the NAD C542. The soundstaging was as precise as the NAD C542, and for a 'budget' player i was quite impressed with the dynamic range as well. My only concern was the brightness.

I need your feedback on this player ASAP. Would careful matching say with the tubes of the miniwatt take care of the brightness? Is 9,000 a good price for this unit? Has anyone had experience with this?
 
As some of you might have been aware i was hoping to pick up a used NAD C542, but because of my lack of organisation I let that slip, someone else picked it up. But now I have been offerred a Marantz CD63SE for 9,000 bucks. Again I've tested it thoroughly, it's working perfectly.

The sound is very detailed and the level of detail it extracted in the highs and mids i thought was superior to the NAD C542, but I did find it a bit bright and while the bass was lean and tight, it didn't have the 'body' of the NAD C542. The soundstaging was as precise as the NAD C542, and for a 'budget' player i was quite impressed with the dynamic range as well. My only concern was the brightness.

I need your feedback on this player ASAP. Would careful matching say with the tubes of the miniwatt take care of the brightness? Is 9,000 a good price for this unit? Has anyone had experience with this?

you have the ms 902 i presume?

Marantz 63SE is good but with certain speakers may appear bright - ms may be one of them. Soundstaging IMHO is not as good as the NAD but pretty good and very detailed wrt highs particularly Coupled with the wrong speakers again you have the problem).

9k is a okay price - for a used try to get it reduced by 1-1.5k.

I have listened to it at my ex-boss's place with wharfdale - pretty good match.

BTW as per most mniniwatt reviews - the miniwatt has less of the tue sound that say the cadence or the lyritas - i dunno how it will hold up with you ms 902's.

PS: The miniwatt is still stuck with the customs:mad:
 
psychotropic,

you're going down a dangerous road with having one component's qualities try to cover up another components shortcomings. you'd do well to have a slightly longer term vision of what you want your ultimate system to be. if the player matches the miniwatt and tomorrow you want to change your miniwatt, you'd probably have to change your cd player too! :)

in my experience tube amps are warm compared to solid state however they pretty much let the sound signature of the cd player through so if you dont like the player on its own you probably wont like it with the miniwatt. also you'd have to know for yourself what the miniwatt sounds like to conclude whether it would match the marantz. ;)

my two cents is dont go for it if you dont like the marantz sound. i've also heard a marantz and a nad and preferred the nad's 'body'.

then of course you have speakers to choose which is another 'matching' ball game altogether!


regards
 
i don't have anything right now :) so i am starting with a clean slate. So I have some flexibility. Yes, the CD63Se and the 902i would be a poor match and would be exceedingly fatiguing.

But since I am saving 6k over what i was planning to spend on the CDP, perhaps i can put that into better speakers, (keeping the price of the miniwatt constant at 11k). But even increasing my budget for speakers to 16-18k may not give me that much more of a choice of speakers that the miniwatt would be able to pair well with.

Or of course I can forget the miniwatt and speakers and maybe go for the A5s.
 
hmmm yes

maybe i should sit around patiently and wait for another CD player to be available. I am quite heartbroken to have lost that CD542, that was really love at first sight. It made me happy in every regard. It really feels like when you're infatuated with someone and she decides to go off with some else.

But i am going to give the CD63SE a bit more of a listen to see if i can 'learn to love it' :)

damn damn damn, i'll compose an ode to the 542 when i get some free time.

psychotropic,

you're going down a dangerous road with having one component's qualities try to cover up another components shortcomings. you'd do well to have a slightly longer term vision of what you want your ultimate system to be. if the player matches the miniwatt and tomorrow you want to change your miniwatt, you'd probably have to change your cd player too! :)

in my experience tube amps are warm compared to solid state however they pretty much let the sound signature of the cd player through so if you dont like the player on its own you probably wont like it with the miniwatt. also you'd have to know for yourself what the miniwatt sounds like to conclude whether it would match the marantz. ;)

my two cents is dont go for it if you dont like the marantz sound. i've also heard a marantz and a nad and preferred the nad's 'body'.

then of course you have speakers to choose which is another 'matching' ball game altogether!


regards
 
here's a haiku for you:
that 542 had slam
i hestitated
damn damn damn

:D

on a serious note i made do with a dvd player till a second hand nad came my way for quite a while. so i could spend more money on the amp and speakers cos i was sure that was the direction i wanted to go. it's not ideal but a dvd player isnt too bad!
 
CD63SE is an iconic player. In that series the best one is CD63 Mk2 KI. In the nintees this was the dream cdp of many. Few of my audiophile friends still use it in their rather hi-end setups. It is one of the best players in its category with an excellent full bodied mid range. It never let you miss the subtle nuances of music yet give you an excellent dynamic range. Am sure this player would have made many enjoy music with out fatigue for long sessions.

I never got around the idea of people criticizing marantz as bright. In my long experience with marantz, i find them the cleanest players with a sweet fluid delivery. Of all the gears that came and went in my rig, i had always liked marantz the best.

Picking it up or not is up to you and your likes and dislikes! An audition sure helps.

Cheers.
 
I never got around the idea of people criticizing marantz as bright. In my long experience with marantz, i find them the cleanest players with a sweet fluid delivery. Of all the gears that came and went in my rig, i had always liked marantz the best.

Neither is my Marantz cd6002 bright in any way. I love its fluid delivery and midrange "body" too. If something else like the NAD CDP has better "body" than the Marantz, well I dont know about it and am certainly not crying over it :)

Listen and decide.

cheers
 
hey unleash_me thanks a ton for that response. I auditioned it extensively (for about 2.5 hours) with a wide range of music and i'll have an opportunity to audition it even more before i put money down. Perhaps it was the fault of the speakers (small JPW 201 bookshelves), but then I tried the same speakers and amp with a Denon 1500AE and it didn't have that level of brightness.

the mid-range is indeed lovely, and the i liked the lean, tight bass. Like I said it dug out a bit more detail in the highs than the C542 could, and the initial half an hour I was loving the sound, and revelling in the crystalline treble and the detailed presentation....but as time wore on, the brightness started to cause a bit of fatigue, and i had a mild headache by the end of the 2.5 hours.

CD63SE is an iconic player. In that series the best one is CD63 Mk2 KI. In the nintees this was the dream cdp of many. Few of my audiophile friends still use it in their rather hi-end setups. It is one of the best players in its category with an excellent full bodied mid range. It never let you miss the subtle nuances of music yet give you an excellent dynamic range. Am sure this player would have made many enjoy music with out fatigue for long sessions.

I never got around the idea of people criticizing marantz as bright. In my long experience with marantz, i find them the cleanest players with a sweet fluid delivery. Of all the gears that came and went in my rig, i had always liked marantz the best.

Picking it up or not is up to you and your likes and dislikes! An audition sure helps.

Cheers.
 
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The CD63 was the basis for the CD6000, which is the predecessor of your CD6002, i am presuming that they've refined the sound a fair bit in the years.

Neither is my Marantz cd6002 bright in any way. I love its fluid delivery and midrange "body" too. If something else like the NAD CDP has better "body" than the Marantz, well I dont know about it and am certainly not crying over it :)

Listen and decide.

cheers
 
....but as time wore on, the brightness started to cause a bit of fatigue, and i had a mild headache by the end of the 2.5 hours.

I think you've answered your question. I play the cd6002 for hours and never get fatigued. Not with the Wharfedale, nor with the Audire Callistos. I wouldn't buy it if I were you.

Cheers
 
....but as time wore on, the brightness started to cause a bit of fatigue, and i had a mild headache by the end of the 2.5 hours.

Guess this is not the ideal player for your taste afterall. Try out different speakers if thats possible. End of the day, its your hard earned money and invest only in the best machine you like.

Happy auditions.
 
actually, i think i'll go today and listen to it paired with the AE2s and see if the brightness still stands out. The AE2 is pretty neutral and i'm very familiar with (and fond of) its sound, so let's see how the CD63 pairs with that. If I like it then i'll pick it up and figure out the amp and speakers later. If I don't i won't pick it up and i'll wait patiently for some other good used deal to come along.

btw if anyone else wants to sell their C542, please tell me!
 
Hi psychotropic,

i also have philips 900 series cd930 cd player, i compared with both marantz models cd67se and cd53 i have(all these three models were used ones), initially i used philips cd930 for stereo music, i noticed a very good amount of detail in every section of the music i heard previously in my DVDp. After get these maratnz cd players, those magical moments muciacal output delivered from these used marantz cd players were outstanding compared to the philips cd930.


i used these marantz setup with yamaha AX-396, yamaha AX-496, now i am using it with Torvin stereo amplifiers and speakers.

i liked this marantz sound till now. if you want to audition the marantz, you are always wlecome sir.

cheers
 
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The player is nice, but what you can do is buy a set of vibrapods (available in india for about 1500 or less) and use them as feet for the cd player.

Not only do they help in making the sound less bright, but also do a lot to add resolution and detail..

I highly recommend these for any cd player in fact, or even dvd players.. try it and see, you will NOT be disappointed.

best wishes,
samir.
 
For excellent sound that won't break the bank, the 5 Star Award Winning Wharfedale Diamond 12.1 Bookshelf Speakers is the one to consider!
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