marantz cd 63 mkII ??anyone about it ?

[boodi]

I'd like to get info about this redbook player as i'm planning to get it used from ebay...
how does it compare to others mid-budget cdplayers ?

thanks a lot to anyone giving info

[mikeliao]

Quite good actually except for the some digital harshness in the upper end. Very very sweet mids and good solid bass with lots of power and air. Fairly fast and detailed. I had about 3 hours with the player and used HD650/Cardas, and Ety4S through a Cosmic w/reference module. In its day, I can see how it was a very good player, but that slight digital shrill in the upper end, acceptable then, are better controlled with newer players.

IMO. Compared with other mid-priced players though, the mids definitly are sweeter than any other mid-price players out there. The bass is very comparable with good mid-priced players. Highs are below average.

[Canman]

Originally Posted by mikeliao

Highs are below average.

Agreed. Bright and harsh. This used to be a well reviewed player in the 90's but I never liked it.

[boodi]

should i look elsewhere ?
i have 100$ on the go to spend for a decent source

[Canman]

Originally Posted by boodi

should i look elsewhere ?
i have 100$ on the go to spend for a decent source

If you only have $100 then you don't have much choice. If you can get a Pioneer DVD player like the DV-414 it will sound better the old Marantz. The Pioneer should be around $100 too. The Pioneer still isn't that good though.

How do you expect to get good sound out a high end system with a piece of crap source? If you really can't spend more on the source, I would recommend selling at least the Zu Mobius to get a better cd player.

[boodi]

let's say i'd spend also a bit more if it permits a bigger step up..
i just noticed there are some quite good sources for bargain ( toshiba and pioneer have decent player that cost around 150$ new ) and didn't want to make a big step because it's what I've done with amps and zu and it caused me "urgent upgradities wanted"

as for the zu cable , it's a keeper for me even on low budget sources

[marios_mar]

I currently have a 53 MKII at home and in comparison to my SONY QS-770 it sounds dull and harsh and less musical. The 63 shouldnt be very much better. I wouldnt go for it.

[ismelllikepoop]

If you can find one, the Marantz 6000's are supposed to be excellent for the price, much better than the 5000 or the 63mkII. That is what I originally wanted, but had a hard time locating one and ended up finding a sony es80 for 60 bucks. I personally would not want a chintzy budget dvd player has my source, and spend an extra few bucks to get something actually worthwhile.
I agree that having the zu mobius and the 650's seems like overkill when coupled with a very low budget source (the local shop calls the $500 Rotel RCD-02 a budget player). If i were in your shoes, I would sell the cable, use the extra ~200 plus the 100 you already have, and you can get a nice used Rotel. If you must keep the cable, I'd just wait until you have more money to spend, going from a sub $100 player to a $100 player probably wouldn't make too much of a difference.
btw i am no audiophile, just offering my opinion (however uninformed it may be).

[mikeliao]

For $100 you're not going to get far...unless you're shopping in China. The Shanling CD S100 is $122 here. Plus shipping, you're getting a great bargain. Its 220V so you're set. 110V folks will have to get that transformer replaced.

When the funds allow, drop in some BB627 and play with the caps. Its a decent, cheap place to start.

PM me if you're interested.

Another route that I took is PCDP with optical out to a DAC-in-the-box. Cost me a total of $160. For $160, I think the sound quality an excellent bargin. Also PCDP and the DITB have good resale prices.

[lini]

mikeliao: How much is the CD-S100 MkII in China, btw?

Greetings from Hannover!

Manfred / lini