[daltonlanny]

Hi Guys,
I received a brand new Marantz CD5001 CD player yesterday.
First of all the fit, finish, and functionality of this player is great.
The sound is also very impressive for the money.
Keep in mind that I only have about 12 hours of burn-in on this unit, so the sound is probably subject to change.
I hooked it up to my HeadAmp GS-1, along with my "well seasoned" Onkyo DX-7555 CD player which has about 300 hours of play time on it.
I hooked the Marantz to "Input 1" on the GS-1 and the Onkyo to the "Input 2" on the GS-1, and used the same tracks on CD-R's, played nearly in sync, for quick comparions
I used Sennheiser HD650/Equinox and AKG K701's for serious comparisons of the two CD players.
First of all, the Onkyo plays slightly louder than the Marantz, so I had to adjust the volume level slightly on the Marantz.
The sonic differences between the two units is subtle at best.
I had to listen very, very closely to make out any real differences between the two units.
The Onkyo has just a tad better bass than the Marantz. It is slightly more powerful and extended on the Onkyo, but not by much.
The Onkyo is also slightly more forward sounding than the Marantz.
The Marantz also sounds just a wee bit thinner than the Onkyo.
Soundstaging is very similar. The perspective on the Marantz is just alittle more recessed in the mids than the Onkyo.
The Marantz seems to be slightly more extended on top than the Onkyo, however.
The Marantz sounds alittle more natural and organic than the Onkyo, but it is very close.
The Marantz also sounds very close to my Music Hall CD25.2, and is more than competitive with it.
The Music Hall is slightly warmer than the Marantz and has alittle more body to the sound, but the Marantz actually sounds just a bit more extended on top, and slightly more natural on voices and instruments.
Keep in mind that the sound of the Marantz may improve even more after a few more hours of play time?
Both of these units have excellent headphone jack outputs for the Sennheiser HD650's.
Using the 650/Equinox:
The headphone jack output on the Onkyo is slightly bassier, just a tiny bit darker, and alittle more laid back than the jack on the Marantz.
The output on the Marantz jack is slightly clearer, alittle more extended in the highs, and alittle thinner in the bass than the jack on the Onkyo.
Except for slightly less bass, the jack on the Marantz sounds closer to the output from the GS-1 amp jack.
The Marantz jack actually makes the 650's sound very balanced.
It reduces the slight bass heaviness of the 650's, and makes the mids and highs sound alittle more lively.
Both the Onkyo and Marantz jacks drive the 650's to very loud levels with authority!
Using the AKG K701's:
Neither jack sounds that great using the AKG's, however.
Using the Onkyo jack, the AKG's sound sort of distant and muffled, and the relatively low volume level is undesirable, IMHO.
Using the Marantz jack, the sound is louder, but, it sounds thin, lacking body and bass.
Using the Beyerdynamic DT880/990's:
The sound of the Onkyo jack sounds best. Actually a little better than the GS-1 jack, but not as loud.
The sound of the Beyers is actually pretty darn good using the Onkyo jack!
[Driving the Beyers is not a GS-1 strong suit, IMHO].
The jack on the Marantz and the GS-1 sound very similar driving the Beyers.
Using the Marantz jack or the GS-1 jack, the Beyer 880's sound alittle thin, lack any real authority, and sound alittle on the bright side.
Using the 990's with the Marantz or GS-1 jacks, the sound is better, but still alittle unrefined, slightly bright, and sort of thin.
Overall, I am very pleased with the sound of the Marantz, and I feel that it is a true bargain at its asking price.
If I had to choose between any of my CD players that would be a very tough decision!

 

[daltonlanny]

After a week of burn-in, I actually believe that I prefer the sound of the less expensive Marantz CD5001.
Even though it is not anywhere near the build quality of the Onkyo, there is something "right" about its sound.
It is alittle crisper sounding than the Onkyo, and sounds slightly less congested than the Onkyo.
The Onkyo has a slight forwardness in the upper mids/lower treble, and a slight congestion of the sound that I don't really care alot for. The soundstage is also slightly wider, it is alittle punchier, especially in the bass, and sounds louder, but, the Marantz simply sounds more realistic and alive to me, especially on live and acoustic recordings.
The Marantz has a very "organic" sound IMHO.
Now I am wondering how the Marantz CD5001 compares sonically to the redbook CD performance of the Marantz SA8001!

 

[sejarzo]

Impressive, given that new CD5001's can be found for $239, and the lowest price on the DX7555 I can find is $449.

And interesting that you find the Marantz (with Cirrus DAC) less congested than the Onkyo (with Wolfson DAC.) I recall thinking that my Cambridge Azur 640Cv1 suffered from a bit of that, too.....I think it was one of the first mid-priced players to use Wolfson.

 

[GANESHA]

I hope this isn't a double post, the first one didn't seem to go through. Thanks for your comparison. I should be getting my CD5001 next week. Are you using the coaxial cable that comes in the box for your comparison with the Onkyo or analog cables?

 

[daltonlanny]

Ganesha,
I am using the RCA analog IC cable ouputs on both units.
I haven't tried the coaxial cable outputs, since I don't have a DAC, or a receiver with these inputs.
Also give the Marantz about 5 full days of playing time to sound its best.
When flipping back and forth between the Onkyo and the Marantz quickly with the input 1 and 2 switch on the GS-1 headphone amp, and playing the exact same tracks on CD-R's in both players at the same time, the differences are pretty darn subtle.
But, on extended listening to different tracks, using both players, the Marantz sounds more realistic to my ears, and its not my imagination.
I wanted the Onkyo to win due to its higher price, punchier bass, superior build quality, low jitter clock, and outstanding Wolfson DAC, but it does not to me.
The Marantz, again, has a certain "air" and "life" to it that the Onkyo does not to my ears. It sounds more organic and natural.
Even though it is slightly more laid back in the mids than the Onkyo, to my ears, it sounds more "live".
The Onkyo is not bad at all. It is a punchy, slightly forward, dynamic player with no real weaknesses except a slightly congested sound, and a slight emphasis to the upper mids region.
Others out there might well prefer the Onkyo, however.

 

[GANESHA]

Thanks daltonlanny. Is there a way to keep repeating the same disc automatically without having to manually push play while you sleep to burn it in? Also, not sure if you have read audioreview.com but they have some great reviews on this unit.

 

[daltonlanny]

Ganesha,
Yes. Simply put in a CD push play and hit REPEAT on the remote control. The CD will play every track all the way from beginning to end over and over...
RPT will appear on the display on the player.
If you hit REPEAT twice, it will repeat only the current track you are playing over and over... RPT1 will appear on the display.
Hope this helps.

 

[headphonejunkie]

Did you try the head out with grados? I am interested.

 

[daltonlanny]

Are you refering to using the Grados with the HeadAmp GS-1?
If so, not much yet, but I am going to in a few days.

 

[headphonejunkie]

I mean grados straight out of the marantz. I am curious how the headphone out is by itself.It would be nice if it sounds great and there always is the possibilty of mods down the road to make it sound even better than that.Also, you have a harmon kardon too. How do these two compare? I am a team grado fan so anything that makes a grado sound great is interesting to me.

Thanks

 

[Tact]

strange things happening regarding Onkyo DX-7555. nobody, and i mean nobody, have been talking about some very interesting features in it. namely, Onkyo DX-7555 has 2 digital filters, and also you could change clock parameters by remote in some small steps ( it is very high end feature). why nobody has been using it? or try and tell us if it makes sense and how it alters the sound of player?

i think this part is missing from this comparasion ( or any others). the sound of Marantz 5001 is just the way it is, you either like it or not, but you can't do it much about it. but thats not the case with Onkyo, if those features makes any sense, you can change its sound to a greater degree. i'd like to hear more about it.

 

[daltonlanny]

I will check out the Grado/Harman Kardon, Grado/Marantz, and Grado/Onkyo combos today and write back.
I will also try the different clock settings and the other digital filter on the Onkyo and see if there is much difference.
I completely forgot about these settings.

 

[daltonlanny]

Ok, headphonejunkie,
Heres what I discovered:
Grado SR60/HeadAmp GS-1: Great combo. Great balance, transparent, detailed, good bass and highs, plenty of power.
Grado SR60/Marantz CD5001 headphone jack: Goes pretty darn loud, but the sound is thin and lacking bass. I did not care much for it.
Grado SR60/Onkyo DX-7555 headphone jack: Sounds close to the HeadAmp GS-1 driving the SR-60's, but the volume level is inadequate, IMHO.
Grado SR60/Harman Kardon CDR30 CD player: Not enough power. Good sound, but low volume.
Grado SR60/Harman Kardon HK 3480 Receiver: Blow me away...again!
Great combination! Sounds almost neck-and-neck with the HeadAmp GS-1!
Detailed, transparent, good bass, balanced, plenty of power and punch.
Very, very slightly less refined than the GS-1, but damn close!
If the headphone circuit and/or power supply, etc., were slightly modified on the Harman/Kardon HK3480 receiver, there is no telling how good the headphone jack could sound on this unit...driving any headphone!
I tried the filter settings on the Onkyo:
Factory set is SHARP
Optional is SLOW
Very subtle differences.
Slow is slightly more mellow in the highs than SHARP, but not much at all.
I also tried different clock settings and could not really perceive any audible differences at all. Factory is set to 0. You can adjust to +40 or -40.
-40 may have sounded alittle harsher than 0 or +40, but it was really, really, hard to tell.
I still slightly prefered the Marantz CD5001 regardless of the setting on the Onkyo.

 

[headphonejunkie]

It looks like I should get a harmon kardon.

 

[daltonlanny]

Headphonejunkie,
Thats what I would recommend.
And maybe down the road get it modded by Stereo Daves.
The headphone jack on the HK receiver is very impressive driving any headphone that I have.
Its only slight down fall, on certain headphones, is a very slight brightness and a slight thinness. But my Grado's did not sound that way with the HK.
I may wind up selling all of my headphones amps and get my Harman Kardon HK3480 modded. A headphone jack with a remote volume control is very tempting indeed!