New CD player, but can't really hear an improvement!

[Revs_Addiction]

Hi All,

So as the title says, I've recently purchased a new CD player as my old one was jumping and skipping. However the thing is, after plugging in the new kit and comparing it with my old player, I'm really struggling to hear a significant improvement in sound quality!

This is not a post to say that I'm unhappy with the sound of my system, quite the opposite. It's just a general muse as to why I'm struggling to hear the expected improvement.

My system is as follows:

Marantz CD63SE

Arcam Diva A85 Amp

Tannoy DC6T Speaker (biwired).

I purchased a Cyrus CD8X as a replacement, (ebay bargain!), and whilst I still thoroughly enjoy my system, I was a little disappointed not to hear a significant improvement.

Question is,

a) Should I give up on looking to improve my system any further as my ears are obviously duff!
b) Is the rest of my system not letting the new CD player, 'sing', to its full potential?
C) Or lastly was the Marantz a bit of a gem that punched above its weight back in the mid 90's?!

Thanks in advance for any thoughts!

[B17NNS]

You've moved up a definite level in quality with your source but not the other components. Perhaps the amp and speakers are holding you back? I seem to remember the matching Cyrus amp was very highly regarded as a partner to your CD player.

[castex]

That Marantz was very highly regarded at the time, I seem to recall. Ken Ishiwata, dontcha know.

[ASK1974]

How is the system setup? Speakers set away from the wall and toed in correctly etc. Also what are you looking for in terms of improvement? The CD63 was an extremely popular player, once What Hi-Fi gave it a ***** review we were literally handing them out over the counter. It was (is) a bit bright for my liking but your system sounds well balanced, however whilst the Cyrus is technically a superior player it's very similar in tonal presentation, so improvements will be subtle; timing, soundstage, imaging etc. but these are all dependant on a well setup system - hence the question.

[RobDickinson]

IMO CD players by then were a done deal, getting the bits off them and turning them to analogue signal has to be about 99.99999999% accurate already.

The source cd player is the easy and should be cheap option, amp and speakers is where it is at.

[Revs_Addiction]

Thanks for the replies.

The speakers are set up correctly, much to my wife's dismay. She'd much rather have them tucked into the corners against the wall!

I wasn't particularly looking for any improvement as such, just expecting to hear one. Hope that makes sense. The new player was bought to replace a malfunctioning old one, not because I was unhappy with the sound before.

I just assumed considering the list price of the Cyrus was 4 times the old one, and there has been well over a decade of technical advancement since then, that I'd plug it in and be blown away.

Don't get me wrong, the more I listen, the more subtle improvements come to light, but it's not night and day.

I'm just going to start listening to the music instead of the hi-fi. That's what it's all about at the end of the day, eh!

[TonyRPH]

Is it this CD63SE? There appears to be quite a few variants of the "CD63".

I have one of these, and it's not *that* good IMHO (it spends it's life in storage unused..).

But you should notice some difference with the Cyrus - although IMHO the Cyrus players were way over hyped by What HiFi in their day.

However you will (should?) most likely begin noticing subtle nuances such as decaying cymbals, better imaging and just an overall improvement in treble quality.

What cables are you using between the CD player and amp?

[Revs_Addiction]

That's the baby!

I'm not sure on cables. I bought them with the Marantz, they're bright blue and were £50 back in the day.

[Funk]

castex said:

That Marantz was very highly *1regarded at the time, I seem to recall. Ken Ishiwata, dontcha know.

I don't think he had a hand in the 63SE; the CD63 KI-Signature (and PM66 KI-Signature amp) were his handiwork. Also the CD17 KI and PM17 KI too, they were much higher end though and lower volumes.

[qube_TA]

I would have thought the Cyrus would sound better but IMO the only newer players that really make a difference are the ones that use HD DAC's and incorporate some kind of anti-aliasing technology to smooth out the top end so something like that Cyrus wouldn't be that different to that old Marantz, I had one of those and it was very good for the time. If you had the 8SE model then it should be a decent step up.

[hman]

Marantz Cyrus tannoy are all richer sounds type stuff and in my humble opinion are very mediocre.

It's a good reason to fork out and by some nice high end stuff

[TonyRPH]

hman said:

Marantz Cyrus tannoy are all richer sounds type stuff and in my humble opinion are very mediocre.

It's a good reason to fork out and by some nice high end stuff

Wow harsh words.

None of the aforementioned items are "richer sounds type stuff"... (not really - and are far from "mediocre"!)

The OP has a decent pair of speakers and a decent amp (in their own right) and perhaps has a lack of system synergy maybe?

[qube_TA]

hman said:

Marantz Cyrus tannoy are all richer sounds type stuff and in my humble opinion are very mediocre.

It's a good reason to fork out and by some nice high end stuff

It is a bit, not terrible but certainly that sort of ilk.

[varsas]

RobDickinson said:

IMO CD players by then were a done deal, getting the bits off them and turning them to analogue signal has to be about 99.99999999% accurate already.

The source cd player is the easy and should be cheap option, amp and speakers is where it is at.

Perfect reproduction of CD's is easy, the fact you can't hear a difference just means both are working well (in that regard) and are not deliberately colouring the sound.

[probedb]

hman said:

Marantz Cyrus tannoy are all richer sounds type stuff and in my humble opinion are very mediocre.

It's a good reason to fork out and by some nice high end stuff

A man who listens with his eyes and wallet. Specialist esoteric audiophile shops love your sort.

[Funk]

probedb said:

hman said:

Marantz Cyrus tannoy are all richer sounds type stuff and in my humble opinion are very mediocre.

It's a good reason to fork out and by some nice high end stuff

A man who listens with his eyes and wallet. Specialist esoteric audiophile shops love your sort.

I must admit I found that a little pretentious as well...

****Contentious post alert****

Several years ago I went from a Naim 102/250/HICAP2/NAPSC combo to a Cyrus 8vs2. I realised I was listening to CDs less and less and more with FLAC files from a reasonable soundcard (CD player was a Naim CDX). Back-to-back, the Cyrus was pretty much on par with the Naim. FWIW, the 102 was about £1200, the 250 around £2k, the HICAP2 was £1k and the NAPSC another £300 so about £4.5k total. The Cyrus was £900 (although I picked it up for £600) and to be honest, I couldn't hear nearly £4k's worth of difference between the two.

I originally only intended to sell the CDX but the guy who came to buy it made me an offer on the whole system that I decided to take. The Cyrus was only ever intended to be a stop-gap but was so good it never left. It's running into the same speakers I've had for over a decade now (Celestion A2s) and overall I love the sound of my system.

I've stepped off the slippery slope and no longer chasing audiophile dragons.

[hman]

probedb said:

hman said:

Marantz Cyrus tannoy are all richer sounds type stuff and in my humble opinion are very mediocre.

It's a good reason to fork out and by some nice high end stuff

A man who listens with his eyes and wallet. Specialist esoteric audiophile shops love your sort.

Ok know it all - what system do I have?

You cant answer because you dont know, so take your assumptions and put them up your ringpiece please.

For the record, richer sounds sell all those brands detailed earlier - whereas Quad, Rogers and B&W arent sold in those shops - that said you could probably buy the same kit as me for less than £3k secondhand so hardly a huge amount to drop on having a nice system eh.

Edited by hman on Wednesday 15th October 16:00

[Foliage]

I have a Marantz cd63se and its one of the best cd players ever made or something, its very highly regarded and the skipping is pretty easy to fix by cleaning the internals and re-lubricating it.

[varsas]

hman said:

probedb said:

hman said:

Marantz Cyrus tannoy are all richer sounds type stuff and in my humble opinion are very mediocre.

It's a good reason to fork out and by some nice high end stuff

A man who listens with his eyes and wallet. Specialist esoteric audiophile shops love your sort.

Ok know it all - what system do I have?

You cant answer because you dont know, so take your assumptions and put them up your ringpiece please.

Please see:
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/rules.htm

Your post contravenes rule number 1. We're talking about CD players, there's no need.

[outnumbered]

CD players sound a lot more alike than magazines/review sites/delusional audiophiles on internet forums/ would have you believe.