Marantz HD CD 1 Awesome Transport
About a month ago my decade + old Pioneer PD 65 with extensive Musical Concept mods (including outboard power supply), spit out the laser lens. I glued it in but it still would not read the discs. I called Pioneer but they are no longer stocking parts.
my Oppo 105 (with upgraded incoming power wire loom, including IEC and linear power module did not come close to the Pioneer, which put me in an intense ’in search of’.mode.
The best replacement I found was the NuPrime CDT 8, but even at $800 it was more than I was comfortable spending. I came across a Marantz HD CD 1: MSRP $600. Even that was a stretch but the specs sounded like it was a high end bargain, so I hit the used audio market. I found one for $450 out of state, and just after telling the seller I wanted it, another one came up a days shipment away. AND, it was new, box opened only for inspection. I would rather it had been broken in as all the internals can take 100-200 hours to loosen up.
Opening the box I was very pleased to see how well built it is, and being a smaller chassis means less potential for bad vibes. I connected it to my Audio Alchemy DAC/PRE via WireWorld toslink and WW series 7 power cord, plugged into a Core Power 1800, which is plugged into a 20 amp dedicated line
I let it run 12-24 hours at a time with short breaks in between. I intermittently used several different burn in discs, too. Slowly it got better, but even after ~ 100 hours it was not strutting its stuff. I kept this up for another 6 days.
Well, last night it finally loosened up (both with a silent 3D sound stage and note breathing- extending to their full decay) and rewarded me with even better sound than the Pioneer ever did! .
2 CDs I layed were the ShoutFactory reissue of Famous Blue Raincoat followed by Frank Sinatra Live at the Sands, dics I know quite well.
The remote is not without it quirks: it is not backlit, and the input selector is directly above the pause/play button, which caused some palpitations. requiring a bit of investigation to figure ou as the manual is on a disc!
Anyone searching for a great transport that happens to be very affordable, look no further.. I have no idea what it sounds like as a player, and hope I never need to, but it’s there, and stuff happens
hth
