Your Opinion Pls, Marantz CD5001 or CA 640C v2?

[xela]

Hi All!

I'm plannning to buy dedicated CDP. The choice is between Marantz CD5001 (Php16K) or CA 640C v2(18K)? We have 1:1 exchange rate. . .Which is best?

My AVR is Marantz sr301; Speakers: Tannoy Fusion 2 (main) and Tannoy TS8 for sub.

Or do you have other CDPs in mind?

Anticipating for your suggestions. Thanks in advance!

xela

 

[SuhasG]

Between these two CDP I would prefer CA640 V 2 . The 5001 is just an enrtry level CD player from Marantz, while 640C is much more refined player from CA (in terms of DAc, PSU, CD transport). However these two players do have quite different sound signatures so if possible try them both in your set up and then decide.

 

[soundsgreat]

Hi,

Xela I second Suhas's opinion ! if you can afford CA then no point in looking at 5001 ! even in the marantz itself you have 6002 which is the equivalent to 640 and the next is 7001 !

To put things into perspective this is how it is,The CA 340 and Marantz 5001 is of the same range (not in the sound but in price) and the CA has 540 after which the 640 comes ! so since you have opted for 640 the 5001 does not come into picture !!

Please do let Us know the price range for Us to comment on alternative products ! for one I can suggest the MHZ coz its a Tube CDP and damn good ! but the local pricing since Am not aware I suggest you to do some digging on this front !

Hope this helps !

Regards.

 

[xela]

Aside from the forum "Thank You", again, thanks SuhasG and SoundsGreat!

That was a great analogy SoundsGreat!

I'll settle for the CA 640c V2. .. .I'll just treat the 2K diff in price as wise investment!

Regards!

xela

 

[soundsgreat]

Hi,

You are most welcome Xela ! always a pleasure to be of some assistance !

What 2K difference between CA640 and Marantz CD5001 ? is that what you implying here?? whats the price we are talking here ??

Also do have a look at the MHZ player and check the pricing ! like I said its tube player and will be better then 640 !

Am not saying that you shouldn't buy the 640 ! in all its glory I like the 640 and thats why I recommended it over the CD5001 which I had reviewed recently had posted with full details !! but since the price you gave is so killer that I think even the MHZ will be cheap !

Regards.

 

[psychotropic]

dude....18k for the CA 640C V2? where you getting this price man? it sounds like a good price ......and the 640C has won a raft of awards......like seomeone else said this is 3rd in line after the 340 and the 540 for cambridge.....whereas the 5001 is the 340-equivalent from marantz.....not that you'd go wrong with any of these players, but a 640C V2 for 18k sounds like it would be a very satisfying buy. Of course, please please listen to them yourself before buying, at the end of the day it is your ears and not the so called "golden ears" of the "experts" who are going to be consuming and evaluating the product.....

 

[dinyaar]

Hi,
The price for the CA seems really good and i would opt for it over the Marantz 5001. The 7001 and above are very musical cdp s but the 5001(heard it a while ago) sounded a bit harsh to me.
Regards

 

[xela]

Yes SoundsGreat, the price diff is a small amount compared to the benefits/satisfaction the CA640 will offer vs CD5001. . . What is MHZ player?

Psychotropic, that's the price quoted by the audio shop situated in our capital city - Manila, Philippines. . .

Dinyaar. . . thanks for the info!


Regards!

 

[psychotropic]

ohhhhh i didn't notice your location i thought you were in India!! But since our currencies have comparable value vis-a-vis USD.......18k PHP is still a good deal!

 

[soundsgreat]

Hi,


So what saying is the CA 640 costs 18k PHP ?

Anyway the MHZ is a tube (valve) based CD player which is much better then a solid state CDP ! so thats what I want you to check before buying the 640 ! if the price is similar then there is no reason why should not buy that instead of the CA !

This is what the MHZ CDP is ! The model is CD88 it costs about 298 Euros so Roughly around 20K PHP or the upsampling model CD88F @ 338 Euros ! this a phenomenal price for a tube CDP !! so please give it a try before anything else !! besides it has balanced out ! so in future if you wish to partner it with a proper Audiophile amp this will greatly help!!

So just checkout and let Us know the findings !

Regards.

 

[SuhasG]

Well, I came across an interesting web site regarding MHZ CD66 (88) !!!!!


MHZS-CD66F_MHZS CD88


Direct from the web site:



MHZS CD 66 & CD88
Are we really looking at the new KING OF HIGH-END ????!

Wow, this looks mighty cool. Vacuum Tube Player. That's what we have been asking all the time. Tube player and high-end audiophile. It seems like this is it.
I am not so sure what HDCD TUBE CD stands for, but I trust them it is a hell of a feature. But thank God for the Accurate Optimized Output !!!!

WHAT IS MOST EXCITING that they have a new, unknown, proprietary DAC chip !!!

To the non-believers - I will repeat their claim:



SUPER 24 BIT 192 KHZ DAC BY MHZS "WHICH IS BETTER THAN CS OR BB DAC

Do you get it folks? no more domination of Burr Brown, Crystal Semiconductors, etc. Since these two companies are best, I guess that as a result of MHZS innovation - the other makers like Analog Devices, Sony, Matsushita, Philips, Wolfson - they can all start packing their bags.

Boy it had to be a big effort to make a completely new chip. It took the other industry peers 20 years to optimize their DAC circuits to arrive at wonderful DACs like CS4397, AD1855, BB1794 and Wolfson 8740. And imagine - Texas and Sony have unlimited resources, laser machinery, deep-blue computers, R&D teams of the size of a university. And yet the MHZS clever Chinese people managed to jump start ahead of all others and revolutionize the industry.



Sounds too good to be true ? Well then it is ..................................


Here is the inside story of the new invented SUPER 24 BIT 192 KHZ DAC Chip ?????

and

Interesting isn't it?

 

[xela]

It's ok Psychotropic . . .

Thanks SoundsGreat . . . I will do that.

 

[xela]

It's ok Psychotropic . . .

Thanks SoundsGreat . . . I will do that.

Thanks SuhasG . . . very interesting indeed!

 

[venkatcr]

Well, I came across an interesting web site regarding MHZ CD66 (88) !!!!!

Interesting isn't it?

Suhas, took a cursory glance at the link. Feeling sleepy and have to get up at 0400 tomorrow. But, the whole article sounded very sarcastic to me !!!

Cheers

 

[venkatcr]

Back in 2002, a lot of the industry guys including TNT, AudioEnz, 6Moons, and Stereophile went apes over a small European company called AH!. What these guys did was to take a standard Marantz player, rip the electronics and replace it with a tube based output system. They would then sell the system fro about 800$ to a 1000$

It will be interesting to see if they are yet alive.

AH! Njoe Tjoeb 4000 CD Player [English]
ah! njoe tjoeb 4000home-en
Stereophile: AH! Njoe Tjoeb 4000 CD player

The company URL

ah!1-en

Cheers

 

[reignofchaos]

Irrespective of what converter it uses and the sly way of disguising a cheap converter, I can vouch for that CD player. It sounds very very good... nice organic sound with a very beautiful extended top end. Its slightly bass shy but nothing substantially bad and at that price, it really has no competition other than the standalone chinese dacs.

 

[soundsgreat]

Hi,

Suhas thanks for the link ! though it was a pure insult based insight into the player ! but the Author does however has some good things to say overall (infact too many ) !!

Yeah its very sad that these companies drive us nuts with these products ! This makes the popular belief that all Chinese products are junk even more truer and stronger then ever !! but for a regular person its not easy to get these info and the result is ? well we all know !

Anyway I have heard the player in question and honestly it sounded ok to me (If not exceptional or over the edge ) Hence my recommendation ! I did this with the somewhat top of the line equipment ! Am not alone who think like this ! as there many and in this very forum itself (please dig a bit to read the comments on this player here in the forum by other members).

So I don't know but as the Author of that write-up himself admits that it sounded good, then what else can I add ?

Once again thanks for the post as otherwise many people including me would've got convinced bout the player !

Xela after this eventful read of the player's qualities, I'd say better pickup CA and close the deal !!

Regards.

 

[xela]

I will do that on Saturday, SoundsGreat!

 

[odyssey]

Just a quick note on the Ah!, I have one at home , this product comes from Europe and when it was launched in the US, it was available for less than $400, for that price it was a no brainer. However, if you dont consider the cost the player has enhanced mids and no where the detail that most players give, not to mention low bass. All in all though for that price it was a good player. The USD to EUR was close to half of what it is now, with the price of the EUR doubling wrt to the USD, the price has also doubled. At $800 its not such a good buy any more, the Eastern Minimax is a very nice player for about a $100 more.
Overall between the MHZS and the Ah!, no comparision in whatsoever way.

cheers

 

[cha_indian]

I have bought this CD player after doing a lot of internet research. I plan to change some of the components in it with 'better' ones as suggested in various forums....Can you guys suggest me how to start the work...One guy suggested i change the Diodes, Opamp and Caps.... I can change Diode and Caps because they are available , but cannot get opamp....help!