Need help on a CD player

kiteflyer45

Keep us posted as you massage this spinner into your room/system.

Happy Listening!

Congrats. It is a great player and I can tell you it will improve with a proper power cord for digital components and I use at the time the latest Synergetic Black fuses which hard to believe, but they did bring the 851C to another level. The 851C has two fuses. I use Nordost Vishnu PC which are discontinued and can be had cheap if you hold out. Paid $100 for one and $150 for the other. Definitely do the PC first and don’t throw a big amp PC on it but something well shielded or very quiet. Before I used a Kimber PK 10 Gold PC which is a fine cord but it was too laid back and soft, which was holding the Cambridge back. The stock cord will definitely hold it back. Enjoy your 851C.

Many thinks to all that gave me advice . I settled on the Cambridge 851c player and its AWESOME . I have only played it a few hours and can't wait to hear it once broken it . Thanks again fellow audiophiles !!!! 

OP, I had a similar issue about 1.5 years ago. My trusty Pioneer PD 65 with level 3 Musical Concept mods died. I used it as a transport connected to my then Audio Alchemy DDP-1 + PS 5.

I also have an Oppo 105 that I use exclusively for SACD/DVD-As (it also has VVC) so I employed it while I went in search of. After many weeks I settled on a Marantz HD CD-1, which is built like a tank and quite handsome

While listening to it, I was scrolling Ebay and came across plug n play linear power modules ($200-$400). It is commonly known that the Oppo Achilles Heel is the power supply. The product page has a bunch of easy to follow photos. Im handy enough to make the swap at the same time I also upgraded the IEC wire loom that connects to the PS board and ground, also bypassing the variable voltage switch.


After having a good handle on the HD CD 1 as a transport, I listened through the Oppo using the VVC. Since hearing the upgraded 105, I don't use either my preamp or the HD CD 1

hth

There is a CEC TL-5 transport on usaudiomart for $1,250 or best offer. I would highly recommend this belt drive transport. I owned one and then moved up to the TL-1. 

@kiteflyer45 - since you did say any and all opinions I’ll go in a bit of a different direction.  Especially since you’re already streaming with the Node I’d use this opportunity to ditch the disc spinner altogether.  I’d sell the Node and get an Innuos Zen Mk.lll that is a better streamer and will let you rip all your CDs directly into it so you have access to all your music through it — make playlists, random play, etc. and never get off the couch.  And you can upgrade to Innuos’ external power supply in the future for a significant performance improvement.  Or you can just go ahead and buy another dinosaur.  Heh heh. 

@grinnell - I am looking forward to playing with the other features that this unit has. I have never owned a DAC (outside of the standard CD player which my Carver was). The only thing I am missing is a headphone jack. I will need to break out my trusty soldering iron and fab one up.

@jcipale

Glad to hear it.  loving the cd's but also love streaming hi res music using the built in DAC.   and yes built like a tank
good price. better than mine :)

@grinnell - Recived my Emotiva this afternoon. Hooked it up and proceeded to listein the the following as my quick-n-dirty reference:
Dave Grusin - Cinemagic: Lots of intricate interplay between keyboards, guitar, percussion, strings.
GoGo-Penguin - Manmade Object: Slow starting pieces that quickly build to a percussive interplay between the bass, keyboards and drums.
With both pieces, I thought I knew the music pretty well, especially 'An Actors Life' from the Grusin piece. I was a little off. Ther were some subtleties I had not picked up on before - such as the finger-picks of Ritenour, the 'ssssssssssssssssss' of the brush,
A very nice, solid unit.

kiteflyer45
I am looking forward in reading about the player purchased. Several excellent choices as above. Have fun!
Happy Listening!

Cambridge periodically offers great prices on refurbished 851C. Remember too that the reviews of the 851C were as a $1999 player when released in 2012

As mentioned I’ve heard the Marantz CD6006 and it has the traditional Marantz house sound and nothing wrong with that if that’s what one likes. The Cambridge is more revealing and open, and not as forgiving as the Marantz but that’s not the 861C’s fault, but poor recordings. Can’t speak for What HiFi as I’ve never put too much faith in that mag. I know the previous 840C as well and it was a great player too but again, it wasn’t as revealing. The 851C took a long time to settle in so if you don’t give it time then it is sterile until it gets a lot of time on it. Yep, the 851C new is more than a new CD6006 but I was suggesting buying a used one on this site which is fairly new for the price of a new CD6006. Those with the CD6006, enjoy it as it is a great player for the money and a great value,  but it’s not as good as an 851C. One of my employees owns a CD6006 which I recommended to him so I’m not bashing the Marantz.  I’ll finish by saying, because the Cambridge is very neutral and revealing it will greatly improve with the best cables you can throw at it, and likewise if you put garbage on it (better word comes to mind but I’ll watch my language) then it’s garbage you’ll get. I’m very happy with the cables I use on my 861C, which you can view my system, and no doubt it has elevated it much. 

What HiFi ratings are also cost related not absolute. I think many didn’t like the 851C because it was so different than, rather than an evolution, of their beloved 840C

adg101627 posts04-12-2020 7:02pm"....As far as the Marantz CD6006, it’s not as refined as the Cambridge; it’s a good player but it is not up to the task (yes I’ve listened to one) and the 851C has digital in w/various inputs, single and balanced out and can be used as preamp out with your digital sources. The CD6006, besides sound quality, can’t compete."

At 3X the price of the CD6006, the Cambridge 851C should be better. It's interesting, however, that What HiFi gave the 851C a 4-star rating and the CD6006 received 5-stars. In their words, the 851C was "too clinical for our tastes.".

I'll second the Emotiva ERC4, i got mine about 2 months ago and love it.  the built in DAC is pretty good and convenient for a small system
its built like a tank. very solid

I can highly recommend the most excellent Bryston BCD-1.
It's strictly a redbook player.  This was Bryston's original CD player.
I've had mine since 2012.  Back in the day they went for over $2500.
TMR has a used one.  They are asking $999 + shipping.
https://tmraudio.com/components/cd-sacd-players/bryston-bcd-1-cd-player-bcd1-remote/

I recently replaced a 25-year old Sony ES-series CD player with a Marantz CD6006 and I'm very happy with it. Excellent build quality and the heft (14lbs) and 3-year warranty are reassuring. Most importantly, the sound quality is much better than expected for a CD player at this price point. The 5-star review by What HiFi is well deserved.

Hi kiteflyer45

I've had both of these cd players in my system within the last year or so because I needed a "temporary" something to use as I was having a dac built in the UK.  I've had a chance to listen to them both in a system I'm very familiar with. For under $1000.00 they both sounded very nice.

The Marantz CD6006 is a very good well rounded cd player that performed better than I expected. I was surprised that they were able to give you so much sound quality for under $500.00, the technology has really come a long way.

The other player that surprised me was the Rotel model CD14, it's strength was it's bottom end was very solid. They also make a $1000.00 cd player that I would like to listen to. 

I don't know what your budget is but I can tell you that I was shocked at the sound quality from the Yamaha CDS2100 I owned for about 2 years. It was way better than I expected. Yamaha definitely knows what they're doing. They make their own transports (which seems to be the weak point of a lot of these cd players over time) they're drawer mechanism is very smooth and quiet when you open it, it's also metal, not plastic which I really liked. Another benefit of the Yamaha player is it also plays sacd's. The tonal color and timbre of this player was absolutely gorgeous. The player is built like a tank and weighs about 34 lbs. The retail is $3000.00 but you can find them for less. Message me and I'll let you know the whole story. 
Good luck with whatever you choose.

Scot 

You didn’t mention if you wish to continue to use the current DAC.  You also didn’t mention if SACD and Blu Ray are important.

if you want a Universal Player look at Sony, Pioneer, and Yamaha.
if CD only, decide if you like your current DAC, and go with a dedicated transport.

There’s a Cambridge 851C on here and pretty sure seller is motivated to sale as its listed elsewhere. I have a 851C and an Oppo UDP 205 and the Cambridge is better. I use my 851C as a DAC as well for my Bluesound Vault 2 which it’s DAC is substantially better than the DAC in the Vault. The 851C is damn good.

As far as the Marantz CD6006, it’s not as refined as the Cambridge; it’s a good player but it is not up to the task (yes I’ve listened to one) and the 851C has digital in w/various inputs, single and balanced out and can be used as preamp out with your digital sources. The CD6006, besides sound quality, can’t compete.

the CD6006 is terrific for the money...for $1000 I would (and did) get a used Cambridge CXC and a Denafrips Ares ll. Your Node will sound a lot better too...

@kiteflyer45

preface, other than being an occassional customer of Music Direct I have no other "afflilation"

Don't know if you'd be interested but MusicDirect has the Marantz CD6006 - factory refurbished - in stock https://www.musicdirect.com/disc-player/Marantz-CD6006-CD-Player-B-STOCK

They also have the Rega Apollo in stock which is a little bit above your top end for price https://www.musicdirect.com/disc-player/Rega-Apollo-2017-CD-Player

I just spent $550.00 on an Emotiva ERC-4. I too looked at the Marantz CD6006 as a replacement for my Carver TL3200 (in which the transport finally went T-up, butt-down), the problem with Marantz right now is the supply chain has been somewhat interupted due to the Virus pandemic. The Emotiva is here in the USA (Tennessee) so the ship time is 3-4 days vs 3-4 weeks, if not longer.

I bought an Arcam DV 139, which is a universal player, to replace the Esoteric DV-60 that went TU. At around $700 (used) it puts the DV-60 to shame in its ability to playback any kind of disc I throw at it. Very musical and listenable.

Regards,
Dan