Have owned the CD60 for about 10 months now and it’s never disappointed me in the detail and smoothness of its presentation . It also looks and feels like a quality player/ transport. What a beautiful player to gaze upon as you relax and listen to your music. Keep up the great reviews Mike.
How is its bass? Heavy and strong or just satisfactory? Its treble is soft, normal, sharp like in the marantz cd 6007? How are its mid frequencies? Why did you sell it?Made in?
Just wanted to say as a long time viewer, your channel has really become one of my YT favorites. It has really matured content wise and your overall presentation is solid. Keep up the great work, it shows.
@MikeOnAudio, please do so. Thanks so much in advance Mike. I love cd players, I've owned many cd players and transports ranging from $500-3500 but I haven't had any cd players more than $4000; therefore, I'm so happy to hear your professional opinions in comparison against higher price models.
@@audioarkitekts I’ve listened to expensive players costing from £1800 to well over £12000 & there is a difference with a top end setup but it’s a law of diminishing returns as a £9000 Mcintosh MCD player isn’t going to sound over 10 times better than a budget £600 CD player such as the Marantz CD 60 (Uk prices) in a direct comparison.
VERY Well done !!! I have the Marantz SACD30n with the same design / look but is also a network streamer(although HEOS app definitely needs work), SACD player and an outstanding DAC... and have never looked back. For some reason, the 2 year old SACD30n did not get much attention in the 'reviewer' community though but Darko just recently dedicated a whole episode on the Model30 + SACD30n. Could not be happier !!!
@@audioarkitekts Sure does.. it also plays DSD files up to DSD256 I believe. For what it can do, I think it is 'reasonably' priced and is probably my forever player ! (Famous last words)....
The cd-60 is supposed to be evolved over the Cd-6007, or at least a more "statement" version. IIRC the 6007 uses AKM DAC chips. It is, at any price, the most vivid and detailed player you could ask for. It's not for a "vintage" sound, rather a modern crystal clear and dynamic presentation.
It is a great machine, its presentation is very natural, dynamic, musical and voluminous, the stage is also fascinating... I switched from CD 6006 and I recommend it...
Took a hard look at the CD60 but ended up with a DCD-900ne. Not sure if the CD60 is worth almost twice the price. DCD-900ne dac has waaayyyy to much bass. I prefer coax out to my dac, by far. I really wanted something made in Japan but the price jumps up quite a bit. Might pick up a CD60 to try out. Thanks for the video.
@Mike On Audio Have you listened to the latest Denon CD players? Asthetics aside, would you consider the Denon DCD-900ne to be half as good as the Marantz CD60? Looks like they use the same exact CD tray.
Just curious if you've ever tried the Jay's audio cd transport connected via I2s? I am also a bit obsessed with cd players/transports my fav so far has been the cary Audio 306 SACD player (pretty old at this point). I'm currently using the Jays but miss my Cary, for some reason the Cary produced timing errors when connected to my Venus II 15 so the player went into storage 😞. Oh, also have you ever heard a CEC belt drive player? def on my short list. Love the cd focused content!
If you own both a CD player and you stream music, then personally, I would only buy a CD player that has an excellent DAC *and* you can run a digital stream into it. Otherwise, I would own a CD transport - and a DAC that I can use for both CDs and streaming. Owning two different DACs doesn't make financial sense. Maybe you can review the Audiolab CDT6000? It has a very similar remote and it sounds great with my Geshelli J2S (with LPS and Sparkos SS2590 output op-amp).
Interesting -- I am stuck between The Marantz CD60 or the Audiolab CDT 7000 with an Audiolab M-DAC+ - feeding my class A Sugden amp -- big difference in price and I dont want to regret making the wrong choice - I am kinda edging towards the Audiolab CDT 7000 -- Regards from Ireland
I have been through enough CD players to know that all CD players do NOT sound the same. There are audible differences, but those lie mostly in the internal DAC and implementation of said internal DAC along with the transport module and read abilities. Many players can sound very similar as well, but comparing "like to like" one would be hard pressed to hear much if any difference. Marantz has made solid CD players for some time. My two Marantz players are just as solid as the CD60, no difference. No difference in sound either. The Marantz CD players are one of the better sounding players, hands down. I have had others that were just ok at best, but my experience with Marantz gives me the conclusion that they tend to be just a bit more refined. (I have not tried Rotel or Audiolab or any of the boutique players). I'm not surprised about the weight of the CD60, Marantz makes their players out of bricks or something, both my players are not light by any means (around 15 to 20 pounds). Quite heavy for a CD player. What bothers me is that the headphone amp on both my players is better than the one on my preamp! (I need a separate headphone amp anyway to smooth things out and will be getting a Geshelli Labs). My only gripe about the Marantz CD players is the remotes. They are awful. They are not backlit, which I think should be standard and they have far too many unusable and unconnected buttons. I don't need buttons for a receiver, TV, DVD player, HT, etc. on my remote for my CD player. Nor do I need that mess on any other remote for a specific product. On a universal remote, it makes sense, but otherwise, no. The remote that comes with the CD60 is no different, it is essentially garbage. Is the CD60 worth $1000? In my opinion, no, it is not, but neither are the many other audio gear items worth the price tag these days. Not necessarily for lack of quality, but because if the unexplained drastic increase in prices over a very short time. The gear in my rig now went up $100 about a year after I bought them. Ok, makes sense. However, only months after that each piece I have (still made mind you) went up by $600 to $700!!!!!! Makes me and my insurance company crazy! Thankfully, my insurance company are fair players and even offered to cover my record and CD collections to a fair value without appraisal requirement for the small increase in premium, but there is no explanation to date for the sudden insane price hikes. I literally had to raise my insurance coverage because of it. My system is more than anything else in my place, literally. I'm so glad I got it completed when I did three years ago or so. There is no way I could replace any piece of it now on my own. It upsets me, I hate that. I know it sounds crazy to be upset about something one has that goes up in value, but from my point of view that is not always a good thing. It can cause more stress. In my opinion, the CD60 would be a far price if it was around $400 to $500. $1000 by real standards is overly ambitious. However, we no longer live in a real standards world so at the same time the $1000 tag on the CD60 is not surprising either. That said, the CD6007 is essentially the same player as the CD60, but comes in at $800, which is still too high. The biggest difference though is that it doesn't play WAV or ALAC, which makes the $800 tag far too high for it. The cheapest Walmart players since time and memorial can play WAV and ALAC, so I don't know what the thought was behind taking away that built-in ability and raising the price. My older Marantz (can't recall the model) CD player has all the abilities the CD60 has except USB. My Marantz ND8006, just discontinued 30 days ago was the same price as the CD60 when I got it, but about two years ago the price went to $1800. Now it is zero because it is discontinued. Maybe I can lower my insurance now.
Guys, not trying to be funny but, what hasn't gone up in price over the last 2 yrs. All this covid crap ( supply chain issues, cost of doing business, lack of employes, ect.) Most companies had no choice. About 12-14 yrs ago I bought a CD5003 for $350. I believe the $800 CD6007 is it's 3ed or 4th generation replacement. I'm looking to upgrade to either another Marantz, or a Rotel. Something tells me that I won't hear much, if any improvement in sound quality. All my stuff is 14-15yrs old. Still sounds good. Trying to make sure that the $ I spend will improve the sound. Any thoughts ?
@@blackdawg7778 I think Marantz is overrated myself but that's just my opinion. Rotel gives you more bang for your buck! as in less on the outside and more of what matters on the inside, but you keep paying for that name, it's all good bro.
Was torn between cd-60 and the Roksan Attessa transport. Chose the Roksan since I have a nice Dac. So far I very much like my choice but would love to here you do a review of the Roksan.
As much as I like my CD-80 players, I would be surprised if the CD60 does not sound more refined, especially since the digital noise shaping technology has improved _a_ _lot_ since the mid 90's. If you are going to compare this new Marantz CD60 vs the old CD-80, one immediate difference you may notice is that the analogue amplifier section of the CD-80 is entirely built up around the venerable but fairly ancient _integrated_ (IC) NE5534 op-amps; the new CD60 uses Marantz HDAM circuitry (in a nutshell, an amplification stage built around op-amps constructed of _discrete_ components.) The NE5534 was very good in its heyday, but now it can't really keep up with modern equivalents or indeed discreet op-amp alternatives. Also any CD-80 will need re-capping by now; without fresh caps it will not sound nearly as good as when it was new. I re-capped mine some 10 years ago and the difference was quite stark. I re-capped them one at a time (I own 2), so I could A/B compare the difference the re-capping made. It also solved a tracking issue one of the two players was developing.
Wouldn't mind comparing the CD60 to what i'm running now, a Marantz SA-14S1 into a Luxman L-55OAXII. Would just be for fun and to see how close the CD60 comes to the SA-14S1.
Hi Michael! Few questions if you can please answer: I have RT85 connected with Klipsch The Fives. I'm looking to upgrade my stereo system, and first I was thinking about Klipsch The Sevens, but I would like to listen to CDs too and also to be able to connect to the TV . 1. What you recommend to buy between Marantz Cinema 70 and Marantz 40n? which one has a better phono stage and works better with a CD player? Is the $1500 difference between them worth to go with 40n? I'm ok spending $2500 for the 40n if it makes more sense. (I'm not watching a lot of movies or playing games). 2. Is Marantz CD 60 the best match with 40n, or works ok with Cinema 70? 3. What bookshelf speakers you recommend up to $2000 ($2500) per pair? (I have a Klipsch Reference R-10SW 10" 300w Powered Subwoofer and I was hinking about Klipsch 600M II to match the subwoofer, but I'm ok spending more for better quality or better match with Marantz). 4. Can I replace (after 1000 hours) the 2 M Blue with the 2m Bronze cartridge on my RT 85? Thank you very much! Reply
Another good video. Thank you. I have a soft spot for Marantz. Back in the late 80's I had a Ken Ishiwata designed two box CD combo: the CD-94 transport and the CDA-94 DAC. There are times I really miss that combo. I also had amps designed by Ken.
I have this cd60 I replaced a more expensive cd8007 that I (my fault) hit the loading tray and it split in two also I find the sound is brighter and not as muffled as the one I had before and the remote control control I better not as overloaded wit too much inputs and functions you'll never need really.
Looks like a very nice unit. Time for another question: I know you said you use it as a transport into a high end Pontus DAC from denafrips. If you were more in the price range of a denafrips ares unit, would it be better to run it into the ARES as a transport, or better to use it as a CD PLAYER?
Good review, especially the comparison between the full player and just the transport. I'm in the market so to speak, because my 20 year old Marantz DV8300 has some problems. Maybe the end of it's life is coming. So now I'm comparing a Teac PD-505T CD transport with the Marantz CD60 player. Comes at about the same price for me. Btw, I'm a Marantz man (SR14) and a Teac man too ... So, which would be a better choice? As a transport or player ... The DV8300 I play with an SMSL DO300 DAC, optical, and it sounds much better than with the DV8300 internal DAC. The Teac is a better transport than the DV8300 I assume, and possibly the SMSL DAC is better than the CD60 internal DAC. Any opinions?
I expected a more detailed presentation. How is its bass? Heavy and strong or just satisfactory? Its treble is soft, normal, sharp like in the marantz cd 6007? How are its mid frequencies? And I of course a detailed comparison with the rotel cd 11!!
@Yiannis2112 I like Rotel sound signature, quality much more than Marantz sound.... Rotel sound is extremely revealing, airy, open and doesn't hide anything..Marantz is warm, thick, and doesn't reveal all the details. So Marantz isn't my cup of tea!
I had my heart set on the CD6007. The guy at Music Direct said they've been discontinued. Which is better? The 6007 or 60? I have an old JVC amp and speakers.
Thank you. The CD11 Tribute is maybe better according some. But the CD14 is also nice with the Wolfson dac. The CXC V2 is also an option. I can run it on my CXN V2 or my Hegel amp.
Cd players/transports are one hair i'm not interested in splitting .fortunately i cant tell the difference between cd players so i don't care if there is a difference . my cambridge audio cd player sounds great to me and i can buy almost three players for the price of the marantz . sometimes a negative (poor hearing ) becomes a plus .
Hello, could you give a little more detail on the sound differences compared to the cd11 tribute, i have a marantz amp so i was looking at the 60 or 6007 but ive heard good things about the cd11 tribute sound, Im looking for dynamics and rythm mainly currently running a quite old but very reliable cd5003 into a recently purchased 6007 ive got the coax output into the 6007 dac which sounds ok but a little soft edged, it actually sounds more punchy through the rcas but the 5003 output is less detailed Thanks
Thanks again Mike - Quick Q, I am about to make the leap for the Audiophonics RPi DAC Streamer you recommended last month. Assuming you still think it's worth the $$, next I would look to get a CD transport and leverage the RPi DAC above. My budget for the CDP/CDT would be ~$400-500 - does this sound like a good plan? My main mode is streaming hence the RPi S/D - Appreciate any guidance, Cheers
@@audioarkitekts Thank you. Additionally, not that it will make a difference to my purchasing it, Is the Audiophonics DAC portion upgradeable? Wasn't sure if the DAC is on the main board or on the "Hat"??
My one experience with Marantz was not a good one. I don’t remember the model number now, but just a little over one year from my purchase, it would no longer read discs.
@@ptg01Not True!!! You don't get points for Bashing the USA. In fact most Customer Support you get over the Phone is from India and the Philippines. Not from the USA.
Having had two Marantz players and a receiver, I can honestly say their performance is only exceeded by their poor physical quality and longevity. None of them lasted more than five years. I thew in the towel this year when the transport of the second player bit the dust, and a channel on the receiver quit.
I have a Yamaha CD-S300 player I bought 5 years ago for less than $300, and sounds fantastic. How much better does/would the Marantz sound over the Yamaha, irrespective of cost?
This unit is for High End Speakers. This would work amazing with a $5,000 speaker set up. Your Yamaha CD player wouldn't sound half as good with High-end Speakers. There is a big market for expensive Audio Systems.
Early buyer, and I love it. But. Nothing is backlit. The buttons are tiny. It’s difficult to use in the dark. It sounds beautiful. But for the price, it would have been nice to actually see what you’re pressing.
If someone wants to spend that kinda money, have at it, but I wouldn't spend a thousand on that thing. In my experience, obtaining a good quality CD player with a really good external DAC and one can get the same results without having to spend that kinda money, but that's just me...
So you have owned a High-end CD player like this? There are CD players that cost 3 times more than this one. High-end Electronics are paired with High-end Speakers. The Entire Audio System best suited for this would cost around $10,000.00. The Difference in sound Quality is like the Difference between Going to the Latest Movie Theater with the Latest Surround Sound Speakers and then going home and Listening to your TV speakers. You have to have the entire Audio System to understand how good this CD player is.
This cd player is strange. It looks premium but for a 16 pound player it feels very cheap. When you pick it up it almost feels like it doesn’t weigh 16 pounds. There’s so much unused space inside it.
No CD player is worth 1000 bucks. they all skip after a few years. shift to a DVD player with a shuffle mode and dont look back. DVD has more accurate reading for a longer period of time. why do CD players in cars last for years when a table top model doesnt ? its a shame and a sham that its the case, but it is. the beautiful CD players from the 90's are gone forever.
No its not. no CD player is worth that. The db, the only thing that matters, like a concert, should the driving factor. When you age, 16k and above is gone. Unless you're a baby with headphones you're not going to heard a difference. The rest smoke in your eyes. Dont let it be in your A--.
