Marantz dv-8400 as an audio-only player

I own the 8400 and want to upgrade it as I feel the audio stage is just Ok. If you are using it as a transport you may be interested to know that Marantz uses a Pioneer transport in the 8400. It is the same as Pioneer used in the 47ai. So at that I would sell the 8400 and use the 59avi. Or look at maybe a Rega Jupiter transport.

I own the 8400 and their are a few points to ponder on this machine. The video is good, but so are many machines costing much less. I use an Iscan Ultra and get breathtaking video , and I dont care to knock myself out trying to get the best video DVD player because its "not for sale yet" . That will be some form of high def DVD video player. The second issue is the two 2 channel outs on the back of the machine. The first one which is used for high res , has an HDAM chip, the second one a cheap op amp, so I discovered if you play redbook Cd through CD 1 out {the one you are using for multichannel, the sound quality is much better}. the Third isssue is as a transport it can be quite good if you consider the following , it has a direct digital out mode which allows 24/96hz signals to pass digitally. Since the machine is your typical lightweight DVD player , simply adding some weight to the top of the machine, can be as simple as adding a couple of heavy books for example, yields a high quality transport sound. The 4th thing is, and I have no idea why, but it loves Cardas Power cords. I know PC's are system dependent , but I have been through two PLC's and 2 preamps and have tested it 3 seperate times and everytime The Cardas made the machine sound analog. The same PC sounds bad on my amp and only fairly good on other CDP's. Hope that is helpful.

Bailey,

If you are only using the Marantz as a redbook CD transport, I would think you would be better off selling it and purchasing a dedicated CD player or dedicated CD transport. There are lots of great CD players or transports available for well under $1000 USD.

You could get an Audio Note, Rega, CEC, Parasound, Camelot, etc.

Enjoy,

TIC