Anyone have any recommendations on a CD Player that will be a good audio match for the RR2150? I don’t want to go over board as I want the most bang for my buck, but I also don’t want to short change the RR2150. I don’t have my RR2150 yet so I don’t know what it sounds like. I don’t listen to a lot of CD’s and my 52 year old ears aren’t as good as they used to be, but maybe this will change with some better components. Below are some players I am interested in. Thanks Rob


Carousel Changers
1. Marantz CC4001 5 Disc - $349.00
2. Onkyo DX-C390 6 Disc - $199.00

Single CD Players
1. Marantz CD5001 - $299.00
2. NAD C541 - $499.00
3. Cambridge Audio Azur 540C v2 - $449.00
4. Cambridge Audio Azur 640C v2 - $599.00

Hey Rob, I hear ya about things not sounding as they used to be ..... one thing we never know is how things change in the future .... the way we listen included.

I'm still using speakers that I've used on and off for 24 years now, and I can't remember how they used to sound with LP's and all, but clean as they be , CD's are just missing something to me. I'm getting a new CD player soon also, and was looking at the same single CD players.I'll never own another carousel player after having several of carousel mechanisms go wacky on me. I'm sticking to the single players, I've not had one problem with them.... but then again the one I'm using was built in 1992, and they sure don't make them this good mechanically anymore, at least not for a modest price.

I'm leaning towards the Marantz CD5001 at this time for a very simple reason, CD players like the ones we're looking at are more or less throwaways, and the extra cost is not worth it, to me. I also like the fact that the Marantz has a headphone jack. I do still use mine on my current CD player sometimes, and I see no reason why every CD player should not come with one. I've also read the NAD's do not tell you how much time you have left on the track, just how much has elapsed. Duh ! .... but that's my preference. Feedback about Cambridge CD players has been mixed, it seems the durability is in question. I've read similar things about the NAD, but I doubt any of them will last as my current one has .

The feedback I've read about the Marantz has been all positive, and has a little better 3 year warranty, if that matters to you.

I'm still waiting for my 2150 also, but frankly, I don't believe all the stuff about big differences in the sound of various CD players with various amps. It depends on if you simply want to enjoy the music or dissect it ....and you don't appear to be an audio analyst. I've not heard a NAD CD player, and have no desire to do so after hearing the mediocrity of of one of their top amps.

Wether you want the variety of the carousel or the simplicity and speed of changing discs the single offers you, I'd recommend a Marantz, but that's based on my thoughts, your results will vary

Oh yes, whatever you buy, make sure you know the retailer's policies on returns. The best trial is in your home. The Marantz's are easy to get online, many with free shipping. Good luck !

I have a Marantz also, the carousel CC4300, though. Had it for a while. I've found everything, from its sound to its display and feature-set, to be superlative. (The headphone jack even has a volume control.) Really great value for the price.

I must admit to some hesitation in responding, mostly for being new to the audiophile sickness... I mean hobby... however, I have owned an onkyo C350 for 10 years and I have been impressed time and again by it. The 350 is an earlier model of the 390, also a 6 disk carousel, and an extremely solid piece of equipment. All that being said, I think you should look into the 390 a little more, or perhaps look to its 'brother' the integra CDC3.4... Good luck, and of course, have fun...

I have had the 2150 now almost 6 months. Really like it. I bought a new Sony Super audio CD player, SCD-CE595 about four months ago. I wanted to be able to play the sacd format if needed. I have used it now for several hundred hours.

I have owned many CD players over the years made by several companies. This one is close to the top in terms of performance. Cost about $165 at Amazon. It is a 5 disc changer. This player has gotten some good reviews. It fits my needs very well.

My 6-year-old Sony 5-disc carousel, no longer sold, has worked flawlessly for me after one repair while it was in warranty, and it has a headphone jack with volume control. I also have a Pioneer DV-578A which does a good job with all the different video and audio formats, which was what I got it for. Quite an audio overachiever at its very low price, but no headphone jack. The Oppo units are also supposed to be fantastic values according to reviewers and several 990 owners who've posted here. But for use with the 2150 I think the main thing a disc player needs besides mechanical reliability is digital outputs. Let the player work as a transport and the DACs in the 2150 take care of the rest; they're at least as good as anything available in players in your price range - or mine - and better than most. One exception: I understand SACD output is analog only, so IF you have any SACDs or intend to buy any it would be important to learn how well the candidate player handles them.
Last point: as you probably know there's a struggle going on right now in the HT field between two competing systems for HD video recording. Until that mess gets sorted out (if it ever does), if high-definition video is part of your home entertainment experience and you want to record it on some portable medium, I think spending more than $200 on any player would be wasting $$.

Thanks for everyone's help, I bought the NAD C-542 this week and I love the sound. I went to my Local Dealer all set to buy one of the Marantz players to find out they no longer carried them. I was really bummed, but after doing some listening tests between the Denions and the Nads they carried I was shocked how much of a difference my old ears could hear by just switching out CD players.The sound on the NADs sounded less muddy and they were just clearer and more airy with better instrument and vocal sounds.

Now I need to buy speakers and have some questions on which I put in another post in the RR-2150 thread. Speaking of the RR-2150 has anyone received theirs in the past week? I'm still waiting- Please hurry Thanks Rob

I, too, was wondering how SACD would work with the RR-2150. I bough a SACD CD a few months back, not realizing that none of my players could play it. So, they do have relatively inexpensive DVD/CD players out there that also play SACDs, but how teh 2150 will handle the SACD's analog output (which I didn't realize either) will be something to look out for.

I listen to all my music in two channel. The 2150 handles the two channel SACD analog output just fine. The majority of the Super Audio CDs have two layers (Hybrid disc). There is a CD layer (for playing on regular CD players and then there is the SA-CD layer for playing on the SACD players. This SA-CD layer is composed of two areas. The two channel area and the Multi-channel area. The multi-channel area contains the 5.1 channel information. The two channel area combines all the information into the two channels and this is the information area which is fed into the 2150.

The SACD players have a setup option to select depending on whether you want the SACD layer information output in two channels or 5.1. The player will automatically detect whether you are playing a regular CD or a SACD. (You can of course force the player to output only the CD layer. In this way you can really compare the difference between the CD sound and the SACD sound. In some recordings it makes a big difference and in some it's not very noticeable)

So I guess the bottom line is if you are happy with the RR-2150 with a regular CD player you would certainly be happy with it with a SACD player. I have some

Hmmmm. So I must have a SACD CD which does not play on a regular CD player, then. It must have been an early version of SACD? That is to say, that even though I may not have been able to take advantage of the extended output of SACD, but still should have heard normal output? Maybe I just didn't quite understand your explanation as well as I should have!