Hi-end CD 5-disk Changers?

Another thought - why would Denon cheapen the Marantz line? What exactly has been done to cause them to loose sound quality? Gotta be careful about what dealers say. Also, the 3-4 year old CC4000SE I have is very quiet and I usually don't hear it changing discs. I paid $450.00 ($500.00 list) new.

Kevin,

Just an idea but I have a 3-4 yr old Marantz CC4000SE 5 disc changer that is used for same purpose - bakcground and parties. It was the fastest deck on the market then with disc changes, drawer openings, disc payback time literally twice as fast as anything else. I found the Sonys to be slowest. The Marantz will change discs in 4 secs, so fast at social functions that one one ever notices a disc is being changed. I'll hit the 'shuffle' button and music starts in 5 seconds and discs change in this function in 4-5 seconds. However, if you are playing 5 discs in a row it only takes 4 secs between discs. This is about far better than the Sonys and Onkyos I tried.

Of course this is mid-fi which is perfectly acceptable for background and especially parties. I use my Marantz as a transport with a DAC and also have a C.E.C. single disc transport. Marantz sounds pretty damn good that way and the C.E.C. is only a little better - more solid, better bass, and a little quieter.

I don't think Adcom makes a multi-disc player anymore and I, for one, would not buy a used CD player like this - too mechanical to be worth purchasing used.

Kevin - if you think there's enough SACD software to make it worthwhile, a Sony might be good idea but I still personally wouldn't buy a used multi-disc player. The last Sony SACD player I checked was still too slow for my tastes but I'm spoiled by the Marantz speed and quietness.

Also, if the player is just going to be used for background and social gatherings, I wouldn't worry about SACD - just makes things more complicated.

By the way - I checked with my local Sony ES dealer who said the C2000ES has not been shipped to them yet and doesn't know when it'll come in. But 400.00 bucks for a good multi-disc SACD player? I'll take one!

Kevin - I have actually come to same conclusion and have bought 5 SACDs in anticipation of getting the Sony C2000 which appears to be an damn good bargin. You know, I got the idea for a multi-disc changer when, about 6 years ago, we were at a Christmas party and the homeowner had Spica TC60s in a bedroom system which used an Onkyo 6 disc changer for background music in the rear hall and bathroom area. I went in, sat down, and heard very warm musical sounds and enjoyed it quite a bit. That got me thinking and looking for a multi-disc changer even though every 'audiophile' buddy I talked to poo-poo'd it.