my journey into Hi-Fi and a CD player question
Discussion
This year, and I hadn’t really planned it, I have started to get the Hi-Fi bug a bit. Well, more mid-fi than really as my budget won’t allow the good stuff.
It started off when the wife wanted a turntable to play her old 80’s records. We bought a budget Sony one, got a bit more interested and the plan was to upgrade to a Pro-Ject turntable down the road.
Anyway, a Rega RP1 came up for sale locally on facebook marketplace that turned out being a bit of a bargain. Turntable had a Nagaoka MP-110 cartiridge on it and chucked in the box was a Rega Phono MM pre-amp.
I got this for £100, as the girl selling it didn’t know what it was (left behind by an ex-botfriend), and need the cash.
And this is what set me off in my new direction. Since I have bought some new Dali floorstander speakers and gone a bit mad buying second hand vinyl at fairs and local shops.
I am coming to a question though. I have purchased 2 CD players cheap off of Facebook Marketplace over the last few months and I now wonder which one to stick with.
My first purchase was a Marantz CD52. Not the SE model. Good condition. Works well.
The other I bought last night, which is a Arcam CD72. Again very good condition, It was bought with a disc skipping issue but I have yet to replicate the problem. I’m going to run it a bit to see if it does play up as advertised.
My question is which is the best one to stick with? Financially I’m not into a lot of cash on either of them. Which should I stick with?
Thanks for your advice.
It started off when the wife wanted a turntable to play her old 80’s records. We bought a budget Sony one, got a bit more interested and the plan was to upgrade to a Pro-Ject turntable down the road.
Anyway, a Rega RP1 came up for sale locally on facebook marketplace that turned out being a bit of a bargain. Turntable had a Nagaoka MP-110 cartiridge on it and chucked in the box was a Rega Phono MM pre-amp.
I got this for £100, as the girl selling it didn’t know what it was (left behind by an ex-botfriend), and need the cash.
And this is what set me off in my new direction. Since I have bought some new Dali floorstander speakers and gone a bit mad buying second hand vinyl at fairs and local shops.
I am coming to a question though. I have purchased 2 CD players cheap off of Facebook Marketplace over the last few months and I now wonder which one to stick with.
My first purchase was a Marantz CD52. Not the SE model. Good condition. Works well.
The other I bought last night, which is a Arcam CD72. Again very good condition, It was bought with a disc skipping issue but I have yet to replicate the problem. I’m going to run it a bit to see if it does play up as advertised.
My question is which is the best one to stick with? Financially I’m not into a lot of cash on either of them. Which should I stick with?
Thanks for your advice.
I'm not that impressed with my old Marantz CD player to be honest. I got it from eBay as a cheap option but it doesn't sound as good to my ears as I was expecting.
I bought a Yamaha RN602 amp and I've ripped my CD collection and put the FLAC files on a thumbnail USB which is permanently plugged into the amp. The ripped FLAC files sound better than when I play the CD's direct.
I'm not too concerned as all my listening is done via Spotifty connect or on my USB stick via the MusicCast app. I also bought a Project Debut 3 SE for my old record collection but I'll be honest, with music being so convenient now (I can power on my amp without walking over to it using the app) I can't be bothered to play records or CD's anymore.
I can't comment on the Arcam but they have a good reputation. I'd just watch out for the skipping issue as that will drive you mental.
I bought a Yamaha RN602 amp and I've ripped my CD collection and put the FLAC files on a thumbnail USB which is permanently plugged into the amp. The ripped FLAC files sound better than when I play the CD's direct.
I'm not too concerned as all my listening is done via Spotifty connect or on my USB stick via the MusicCast app. I also bought a Project Debut 3 SE for my old record collection but I'll be honest, with music being so convenient now (I can power on my amp without walking over to it using the app) I can't be bothered to play records or CD's anymore.
I can't comment on the Arcam but they have a good reputation. I'd just watch out for the skipping issue as that will drive you mental.
rednotdead said:
What amp are you using?
From memory the marantz players of that era were more upfront than the arcams, which always had a reputation for smoothness. I had a 52SE which was an awesome player in its day despite the 'challenging' looks.
Stick with whichever one you prefer the sound of.
my amp is an AV reciever that I use for the surround sound. Its a Denon AVR-X2400. I'm genuinely impressed with how it sounds given how much it cost and it's not really its primary function.From memory the marantz players of that era were more upfront than the arcams, which always had a reputation for smoothness. I had a 52SE which was an awesome player in its day despite the 'challenging' looks.
Stick with whichever one you prefer the sound of.
The CD player did skip last night, so I took the cover off and cleaned up the laser lens, silicon greased up the carriage and drive gears and all seems good now.
I will wait unti lthe neighbours are away next and try the two side by side to see which I prefer. Early days but I think the Arcam may edge it at the minute.
I had a Marantz CD 52 when it was new.
Bought my first DVD player when you could only really get imported DVDs in the UK and It's sound quality was streets ahead so sold the CD 52 on, must be 25 years ago.
That being said it was a solid unit and it was only the DACs that let it down. If you're using the digital co-ax output into an AV amp or separate DAC ie as a transport only then jobsagoodun. If it;'s the SE you've got then it does feature in What Hi-Fis best 24 CD players of all time.
Bought my first DVD player when you could only really get imported DVDs in the UK and It's sound quality was streets ahead so sold the CD 52 on, must be 25 years ago.
That being said it was a solid unit and it was only the DACs that let it down. If you're using the digital co-ax output into an AV amp or separate DAC ie as a transport only then jobsagoodun. If it;'s the SE you've got then it does feature in What Hi-Fis best 24 CD players of all time.
Edited by hornmeister on Thursday 27th June 16:24
Edited by hornmeister on Thursday 27th June 16:24
Thank you all for taking the time to respond. Not an CD52 SE, I'm afraid. Just an ordinary one.
On an extended listen, the Arcam does sound better. I do wonder about the build quality though. When I got it, other than dirty laser lens, the cd tray was very offset in the front housing, biased very much closer to the bottom than the top. I have now shimmed the whole CD mechanism up to make it look centre about. I just need to play it some more to make sure it's properly fixed. It's amazing what you can pick up for little money. It set me back £30 and all it has cost me is an hour of my time.
On an extended listen, the Arcam does sound better. I do wonder about the build quality though. When I got it, other than dirty laser lens, the cd tray was very offset in the front housing, biased very much closer to the bottom than the top. I have now shimmed the whole CD mechanism up to make it look centre about. I just need to play it some more to make sure it's properly fixed. It's amazing what you can pick up for little money. It set me back £30 and all it has cost me is an hour of my time.
For the sake of a £3 toslink cable from eBay I’d be tempted to try them with the digital out to a digital input on your AV receiver.
It will have a far newer DAC implementation and there’s a chance you’ll prefer the sound too depending on your tastes.
If it pans out that way I’d keep the more reliable, smoother operating player.
ETA: looks like the CD52 only has co-ax digital output - a single rca lead should work fine to give it a try.
It will have a far newer DAC implementation and there’s a chance you’ll prefer the sound too depending on your tastes.
If it pans out that way I’d keep the more reliable, smoother operating player.
ETA: looks like the CD52 only has co-ax digital output - a single rca lead should work fine to give it a try.
Edited by legzr1 on Sunday 30th June 11:08
legzr1 said:
For the sake of a £3 toslink cable from eBay I’d be tempted to try them with the digital out to a digital input on your AV receiver.
It will have a far newer DAC implementation and there’s a chance you’ll prefer the sound too depending on your tastes.
If it pans out that way I’d keep the more reliable, smoother operating player.
ETA: looks like the CD52 only has co-ax digital output - a single rca lead should work fine to give it a try.
I have a toslink link cable here already so could give that a try. I don't think the my Denon has a co-ax digital input so I can't connect up the Marantz that way. It will have a far newer DAC implementation and there’s a chance you’ll prefer the sound too depending on your tastes.
If it pans out that way I’d keep the more reliable, smoother operating player.
ETA: looks like the CD52 only has co-ax digital output - a single rca lead should work fine to give it a try.
Edited by legzr1 on Sunday 30th June 11:08
That would kind of take things full circle. One of the reasons I got a separate CD player is because I tried our blu ray player to play CDs, inputting into the amp over HDMI. They sounded truly terrible, I can't say exactly what was bad about the sound, but they sounded worse than our vinyl collection and that didn't seem right. I might give it a go on the Arcam though.
Quite a few AV amps convert any inbound analogue signal to digital anyway, so even playing your Arcam through the AV amp may result in you hearing the DACs in the AV amp as well.
If the amp has a "pure direct" mode (or similar), that will send the analogue signal directly to the speakers (bypassing the internal ADC / DAC in the amp) you should try that, and see if you hear any difference.
If the amp has a "pure direct" mode (or similar), that will send the analogue signal directly to the speakers (bypassing the internal ADC / DAC in the amp) you should try that, and see if you hear any difference.
Hello Tony, I had a bit of a play this morning and found the "pure direct" setting. I have tried vinyl and CD's with this setting and the jury is out.
The biggest difficulty in judging the to is the volume level differences. On pure direct it is much quieter, so each time you flick from one to the other it involves a volume change.
Vinyl wise, to my ears, it sounds better going through the standard stereo setting, but i'm guessing this is being altered in some way. CD's are a much harder decision. But its easy to try both options, so will fiddle some more.
Thanks very much for the suggestion and putting me on to it.
The biggest difficulty in judging the to is the volume level differences. On pure direct it is much quieter, so each time you flick from one to the other it involves a volume change.
Vinyl wise, to my ears, it sounds better going through the standard stereo setting, but i'm guessing this is being altered in some way. CD's are a much harder decision. But its easy to try both options, so will fiddle some more.
Thanks very much for the suggestion and putting me on to it.
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