My Music Hall CD 25 just died

"Just died". Can you be more specific? Dead, as in no power, no display, no drawer, nothing? If so, it's the power supply, and any competent technician should be able to repair the switch mode supply used in this type of device for $30 or so (time included). Seems sad to toss a piece of gear because of a 30 cent capacitor.

As for the Mac Mini...you can run it headless quite easily (no monitor), and there are free apps available for both Apple and Android phones/devices that will manage the music playback. If you cant afford Pure Music(which runs Mac only), there are others free or nearly free that do a great job as well.

I wont go into a long list of DACS here, but there are many stand alone DACS under $500 that beat the pants off most CD players when fed uncompressed files from a Mac Mini or a PC.

I urge you to strongly consider a move to computer audio..it delivers great digital fidelity, return on investment, and ease of use.

Thanks for the responses so far.

Died: It powers up but it won't read the disc. Minimal interest in rolling the dice on repair, but I might try the scruffy fix-it shop that's nearby.

I've been wanting to plug an Ipod into my system for years. So I'm thinking about getting the Marantz cd6004. It has a USB port up front.

Also, I occasionally find my wife listening to Pandora using her Macbook and pukey Logitech speakers in the same room with our Gradient/Musical Fidelity system. With the Marantz- I can get ipad mini/ipod touch with Pandora app and plug it in for her enjoyment and my relief.

And the Ipad/Ipod route appeals to me because my system is stuffed tight into a cabinet. It won't fit a standard sized component to access interent radio.

Thanks again.

If it won't read the disc, I'd obviously suspect something in the optical/laser head assembly. At this point given its age, I wouldn't sink any crazy money into it - if you can have it evaluated cheaply, maybe clean the lens then I'd give it a whirl. If not, to the great recycling center in the sky (most likely China).

I agree with Rar1. The Marantz 6004 is an excellent cdp for the money and carries a 3 year warranty.