[MacDEF]

I got J&R to sell it to me for $525 -- just told them that Oade sold it for that much.

 

[Ctn]

i just got my cd6000 ose and WOW kudos to marantz for making such a smooth sounding cd player

i was going to buy the dcd-755ar for around the same price.
jeese i was lucky the sales dude was being a jerk.

 

[blr]

I've auditioned all in he Jude's list except the Sony SACD changer (obviously a very capable player) plus Roksan Caspian and Sony SCD XB940.
My impressions are that there are many great machines in this pric class. The competition is tough and the manufacturers are pressed hard to squeeze every last bit of performance.
Frankly, the differences in sound are not that great. There is no bad sounding player here. It all depends on your sound preferences, ie. things like ultimate detail vs warmth etc.
I can comment on Marantz CD6000OSE since I've been using it for about 8 months now. It has a very well balanced sound musical but without loosing detail. marvelous midrange and smooth treble. Perhaps not the best when it comes to bass slam. Arcam did a bit better but lost in the midrange and treble.
The Marantz is also bullet proof built with high quality components and everything one needs in a CDP (digital outputs, remote etc). In one word recommended.

 

[MikeR17]

I was very interested in the Marantz CD 6000 OSE and the NAD C541 before, but now Jude has definitely sparked my interest for the Sony SCD 333 ES. At around $550 shipped, that is do-able, so i'm thinking i might shoot for that instead. Thanks again for all of your help. Also, MacDEF, did you tell J & R that Oade sold it for $550 or $525?

 

[MacDEF]

Quote:

Also, MacDEF, did you tell J & R that Oade sold it for $550 or $525?

I told them $525, hoping they'd go down to $550. They went down to $525

 

[MikeR17]

Bad news...

I wrote an e-mail to Oade Brothers and they don't carry the Sony SCD 333 ES anymore. Also, I didn't see that player on J & R either, but I wrote them an e-mail asking them if they had it. We'll see what happens...

 

[hpl]

A local dealer has Maranzt 6000 OSE, Rotel RCD 971 and RCD 991 AE on sale, one third below old list prices! These used to be the "best buys" in various magazines one or two years ago.

Even if there has been some progress in making DACs, at the greatly reduced prices these still should be very competitive. The only problem of course is that differences in CD players' sound are subtile. And this discount shop hardly offers the opportunity for lengthy auditions to actually find out, whether e.g. the RCD 991 is really worth
three times the 6000 OSE.

hpl

 

[Pat]

Save up for something around $1000 like the Rega Planet, Arcam Alpha 9 or even something from Rotel (RCD-1080?). I've found that most budget players around $500 sound the same. Of course they do sound much better than your conventional portable.

NAD, Cambridge Audio and Rotel make decent budget players. I got the Cambridge Audio D500 myself. Can't go wrong with British made stuff. I'd personally stay away from even the semi-mass market players from Marantz and Denon. Personal bias perhaps. There's no logic in it. I'm pretty sure they make fine CDPs.

As for interconnects, you can't go wrong with a good ol' pair of Silversonics.

 

[MacDEF]

Quote:

Save up for something around $1000 like the Rega Planet, Arcam Alpha 9 or even something from Rotel (RCD-1080?). I've found that most budget players around $500 sound the same. Of course they do sound much better than your conventional portable.

Jude found the 333ES to be comparable to (better than?) the Rega Planet. I've read reviews comparing it favorably to the Planet 2000 and MF A3CD. Remember, it used to retail for $1200.

 

[MikeR17]

Sorry, but I really don't have the money to purchase anything above $600. I'm only 16, so I don't have the spending money that some of you might. From the sounds of it, I think I'll like the Sony SCD 333-ES quite a bit. Thanks for all your comments guys, I really appreciate it.

Mike

 

[Ctn]

wow u sure have alot of money for a 17 yr old

 

[MikeR17]

Umm.....16!

 

[Ctn]

omg my eyesight is failing me
boy do i feel old

me 21

 

[hpl]

What puzzles me is that every month hifi mags laureate new "absolutely best" and new "best buys" CD players, and all that even with a ranking for sound quality in absolute terms.

What I see is that the mags' "best buys" from one or two years ago now sell for street price one third below the old list price.
Older ones disappear from their ranking lists since there is no commercial market for them any more.

So I wonder how older cd players would stand againts current offerings, in absolute terms and in value for money.

hpl