Upgrade CD & Amp whilst retaining MA Bronze 5 speakers

[rjfp1962]

Hi everyone.

I'm considering upgrading my Marantz PM6004 amp and CD6004 CD player. They've been great, but have had them for a decade now and fancy a change.

I'm going to keep my Monitor Audio Bronze 5 floorstander speakers and will have a budget of around £1200 to replace both of the above.

Looking at the usual brands like Arcam, Cambridge Audio and Marantz. I like the Marantz CD60 but they don't seem to do a similarly priced amp, Cambridge Audio CX61 amp and CXC CD Transport. Then again, some of the new Arcam Radia range looks nice too.

Opinions welcome, even some that may just say keep what I've got....

[outnumbered]

rjfp1962 said:

Hi everyone.

I'm considering upgrading my Marantz PM6004 amp and CD6004 CD player. They've been great, but have had them for a decade now and fancy a change.

I'm going to keep my Monitor Audio Bronze 5 floorstander speakers and will have a budget of around £1200 to replace both of the above.

Looking at the usual brands like Arcam, Cambridge Audio and Marantz. I like the Marantz CD60 but they don't seem to do a similarly priced amp, Cambridge Audio CX61 amp and CXC CD Transport. Then again, some of the new Arcam Radia range looks nice too.

Opinions welcome, even some that may just say keep what I've got....

Certainly keep your existing CD player as changing this will achieve nothing, and perhaps invest in one of the new low cost streaming devices (eg WiiM) and a sub to Spotify, Tidal, whoever, to give you access to more music that you will ever listen to.

[rjfp1962]

outnumbered said:

rjfp1962 said:

Hi everyone.

I'm considering upgrading my Marantz PM6004 amp and CD6004 CD player. They've been great, but have had them for a decade now and fancy a change.

I'm going to keep my Monitor Audio Bronze 5 floorstander speakers and will have a budget of around £1200 to replace both of the above.

Looking at the usual brands like Arcam, Cambridge Audio and Marantz. I like the Marantz CD60 but they don't seem to do a similarly priced amp, Cambridge Audio CX61 amp and CXC CD Transport. Then again, some of the new Arcam Radia range looks nice too.

Opinions welcome, even some that may just say keep what I've got....

Certainly keep your existing CD player as changing this will achieve nothing, and perhaps invest in one of the new low cost streaming devices (eg WiiM) and a sub to Spotify, Tidal, whoever, to give you access to more music that you will ever listen to.

Thank you for your reply. I should have been clearer. I'm not looking to add streaming to my system, but just to acheive better sound quality when listening to CD. I understand improvement is subjective and posibly the weakest link in any hi-fi system is the listener!
Basically I'd like to take the sound quality to the next level...!

[TonyRPH]

If the CD player is still working reliably, just keep it and buy a DAC (not USB DAC - you need one with coax input).

The DAC can also be used for other sources such as streaming should you wish to do so in the future.

[legzr1]

rjfp1962 said:

Thank you for your reply. I should have been clearer. I'm not looking to add streaming to my system, but just to acheive better sound quality when listening to CD. I understand improvement is subjective and posibly the weakest link in any hi-fi system is the listener!
Basically I'd like to take the sound quality to the next level...!

Speakers and room interaction as well as placement and relation to listener can introduce distortion and inaccuracy in frequency response 1000X times what you will ever achieve with more accurate CD replay or ‘cleaner and beefier’ amplifier.

Worth thinking about before throwing money at replacements for already pretty decent electronics.

[rjfp1962]

legzr1 said:

rjfp1962 said:

Thank you for your reply. I should have been clearer. I'm not looking to add streaming to my system, but just to acheive better sound quality when listening to CD. I understand improvement is subjective and posibly the weakest link in any hi-fi system is the listener!
Basically I'd like to take the sound quality to the next level...!

Speakers and room interaction as well as placement and relation to listener can introduce distortion and inaccuracy in frequency response 1000X times what you will ever achieve with more accurate CD replay or ‘cleaner and beefier’ amplifier.

Worth thinking about before throwing money at replacements for already pretty decent electronics.

Thanks for that. Speakers are set away from the wall behind and those to the side. Speakers are slightly turned in towards the listening position which is like the top part of a triangle, where the speakers form the other two parts of it.. If that makes sense!!

Using decent interconnects and speaker cables.

I imagine like other listeners, I don't have the "Perfect Listening Room"....!

I'm mindful of throwing money away at what may be an incremental improvement, or just a good old placebo effect.....!

[3454.5]

OP, to go somewhat at odds with your view, I'd suggest you book a demo session with Richer Sounds and take your cd player and amp to listen to some other speakers.
You might be surprised.

[PT1984]

https://www.audiolab.co.uk/6000a/

https://www.bkelec.com/HiFi/Sub_Woofers/XLS200-DF....

You are welcome.

[Tony1963]

My advice would be to start with the CD player, and find out which CDPs were regarded as ‘better’ when yours was new, and were at least 50% more expensive when new. Learn about them, then scan the used market, and try to find out more about them, especially if they’re still repairable. Look to spend roughly half your budget on this, more if something special turns up. Keep your current player.

Then, live with that new CDP for a while, get to know the sound. Is it better, to you? Be honest, and if it’s no better, move it on. Keep an eye out for something else.

Once you’ve found a player you really like, then think about an amp. Try the same approach.

Just keep in mind a couple of things.
Your speakers might already be a good match for your room, and your amp might already be a good match for your speakers. If that is the case, you might struggle to achieve an improvement within budget.
And, many companies abandoned making CD players quite a long time ago. They’re getting old, and for some there are few if any spare lasers and transport mechs. You can easily end up with an expensive door stop.

[rjfp1962]

Tony1963 said:

My advice would be to start with the CD player, and find out which CDPs were regarded as ‘better’ when yours was new, and were at least 50% more expensive when new. Learn about them, then scan the used market, and try to find out more about them, especially if they’re still repairable. Look to spend roughly half your budget on this, more if something special turns up. Keep your current player.
Then, live with that new CDP for a while, get to know the sound. Is it better, to you? Be honest, and if it’s no better, move it on. Keep an eye out for something else.
Once you’ve found a player you really like, then think about an amp. Try the same approach.
Just keep in mind a couple of things.
Your speakers might already be a good match for your room, and your amp might already be a good match for your speakers. If that is the case, you might struggle to achieve an improvement within budget.
And, many companies abandoned making CD players quite a long time ago. They’re getting old, and for some there are few if any spare lasers and transport mechs. You can easily end up with an expensive door stop.

Thank you for that.. I've literally just spun 3 discs I haven't had in the player for ages - Mercury Rev's Deserter's Songs, Kate Bush's The Sensual World, concluding with Sting's Ten Summoner's Tales, and to my ears they all just sounded great.
I think any "issue" I might have is more down to how an album is mixed and produced, and that some don't suit these old ears quite like they used to.
So am going to save the cash and buy more CD's

Thanks for all the replies - System be left as is...