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Old Rotel RCD971 vs. Marantz cd5003

Hello all,

I happened to notice the paradigms my friend was audioning were being driven by Marantz gear- Entry level integrated (399 CAD) and CD5003 single disk player. I liked the way the Marantz gear drove the Paradigms (note that i never particularly cared for either brand in the past) and became interested in the CD5003 as a potential change from my old Rotel 971.

Anyone happen to have compared the two cd players? thoughts? opinions? (I know the Marantz is actually LESS expensive than the Rotel was when i bought it, but figure advancements in technology may mean that the Marantz still sounds better, despite its lower price bracket)
loose
loose OP
239 posts
 
Hey Layman,

Thanks for your words...Yes, i agree - that damned carpet in my place sucks the life out of everything. I already have the speakers set up optimally (i've been fiddling w/ placement forever), so placement is not the issue.

Regarding the Rotel - imo, it IS a little uninvolving (even at my former residence, where the sound was very, very good). I'm not saying it's bad...it's just kind of bland (although quite accurate and with good bass).

I wonder if i should contact the owner of the place i'm renting and ask him if i can change the flooring... Maybe i'll get on that.

All i know is I would rather have a bright, bouncy room that i have to tone down instead of a dead room that i have to liven up.
loose OP
239 posts
 
by the way, Layman...

Despite the room 'actually' being large, it's more like a small room - trust me on that. The speakers are sized appropriately. I feel the carpet is the biggest culprit.

I put my speaker stands on a 12x12 tile, which just rest on the carpet. It seems to have helped the sound already, but not by much.
layman
34 posts
 
"All i know is I would rather have a bright, bouncy room that i have to tone down instead of a dead room that i have to liven up."

I agree and nothing deadens a room like synthetic carpet.

Maybe the Rotel sounds different from system to system and room to room, because in mine it sounds very involving. I will say though, that the CD medium itself is slightly uninvolving (and compressed formats like Mp3 even less involving) and that might be a reason to switch to vinyl.

I think SACD offers a definite improvement and is probably as involving as digital gets, but analog media are still more involving.
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