Disappointed with Marantz CD

Brief history. Had a Rotel RA 01 with Rotel RCD 02 running B & W 601 S3s in the living room and a pair of Sonys in the kitchen .Quite happy, it was background  music. Moved to a bigger house and that set up does not work so I started buying Hifi mags to fill in the gaps.  Bought a Marantz PM 6004 on the strength of reviews and MA RX1s as they were going for the same price as BX2s. Very happy ,sounded great but I  thought the CDs were  not as punchy and incisive as I thought they could and should be so yesterday I  bought the much heralded, best in class CD6004. And blow me; I cannot separate the Rotel from the Marantz. Either the Marantz has been overhyped or the Rotel is a lot better than it was given credit for.

So, just a warning really, don’t believe the hype, go out and audition for yourself. I thought I could not go wrong.  It was lazy and has cost me dearly. 

Any thoughts on the set up would be welcome.

Regards ,    Tim

Well hope u have learnt your lesson. I always say use reviews as a guide never ever buy on reviews..  No matter how cheap or expensive a produce is, always use your ears.. I have never had a listen to the rotel or Marantz so cannot comment on their performances

You probably don't want to hear but done of the older Rotel players were on par with marantz, the CD6004 is a great player but think you need to double the budget for any marked improvement - and yes you have learnt the hard way!

The hifi industry at large is almost entirely about the hype. There is an element of better or worse in terms of sound quality, but finding it in amongst reviews is not possible, for most of these are subjective. There are merely items of equipment that you like the sound of, or you don't.

The upgrade path is mainly one of change in sound presentation and as you have just found out, it is also a fools errand unless you can actually hear the equipment before you buy.

I would say though, that your amp is underpowered for your speakers, particulary as you have now moved to a larger house, so something with a bit more poke behind it should work well. Ultimately though, it is the speakers that will have the largest effect on sound quality.

For amps, I'd look at a Rotel power amp for biwiring, some of the more powerful NAD range as used buys or maybe an Arcam Alpha 10. Digital sources are not the place to be looking for leaps in sound quality, regardless of what anyone might tell you.

Not sure what you mean when you say your old system 'didn't work' in your new house. Your Rotel stuff was (is) every bit as good as the newer Marantz stuff. Certainly the Amp, when it comes to volume and 'room filling' should be about the same as the Marantz. And the RCD-02 was a £450 player in its day, so I doubt it could be bettered by a newer £250 player.

Like you say tho, you found this out the hard way. Oh well...

If you have only just bought the CD6004, and presumably you bought it untested by mail-order, maybe you could call upon the Distance Selling Regulations to claim a refund.

Hi 

WHF gave a lousy review to the ROTEL RCD-1520 I borrow it to my home from my dealer and found out that it is an excellent CDP ,

much better than the ROKSAN KANDY CD that cost 100.00 more , also found 2 lab reports confirming that it as a superior performer .

My advise is to listen and to decide by yourself what is the best option for you don't let other to take decisions for you !

Thanks for the replies. Firstly it  is just the layout of the house which means my old system canot work. I can't run 2 sets of speakers from one amp so the old system is in the study running off the computer and all new shiny stuff in the living room. And no it was not bought on the internet. I went in a T audio, just to kill some time really, with the thought of the CD 6004 in the back of my mind and was seduced by a sale offer. If I had gone back to the place I bought the original Rotel gear this would never have happened. The RA 01 , RCD 02 and B&Ws were all end of line and the dealer unloaded them on me for about £600 I think. I had little interest or knowledge then so just took the dealers word . Had never heard of What hi fi then. I just knew |I wanted an upgrade from a Technics system or similar. That is why I said it was lazy not to audition. 

 This is for another time but what is the process / etiquette of  auditoning? How many different combos can you try before the assistants start getting fed up? How long can you listen to your favourite tracks on each combo? Not being sure probably contributed to me not auditioning. I hate wasting other peoples' time.

Tim

It's your money, take as long as is needed. The dealer is not worth dealing with if he doesn't have time for you.

I don't really buy that and I can see where the OP is coming from.  Chebby pointed out the other day that the combinations you can run up to, purely in practicallity terms, makes listening to a wide range of gear a problem.  Plus you have the issues of swapping gear around, all of which takes time.  

For two CD players though, an hour's demo should be enough and you'd probably work it out in much less time.  Most good dealers will let you have this time.

A modicum of common sense should prevail. I didn't think that I'd need to add that though.

Sorry to hear about your troubles TIm, well it is often the case that digital sources in the same price range sound similar. I for one have a dacmagic and an hrt streamer and they sould a lot alike. Its only when you spend a significant amount more that you actually get a viable upgrade. I for one think that spending money on your amp would yield the punch that you are looking for and it will give you better value for money than upgrading the cdp as you have a good rotel cdp already. Alternatively you could get speakers.

You didn't.

Same thing applies then. If you only bought it two days ago, a reputable dealer should let you exchange it. Also, don't walk out of a shop with equipment you haven't heard based on the merit of someone else's recommendations. What HiFi is a guide. Use it to compile a list of 3-star-and-up products that your dealer stocks and you like the look and specs of, then decide with your own ears. Would you buy a new car blind that you've never driven, purely based on the opinions of What Car testers? You really can't blame What HiFi here for what actually is partly - no mostly - a consequence of your own indifference to the selection-process.

None the less, I really do hope you get it sorted. Worst case scenario, you can always sell it!

Reviews are only a guide. When I demo'ed cd players it was between the Arcam and Marantz, really thought I was going to buy the Arcam but when I heard it I did not like it at all, tHe Marantz was far better to my ears, this was some years ago and it was a SE version of Marantz.

How many can you try it is up to you and the dealer, I would book 1 -1.5 hours, try some out, some will be out fairly quickly maybe. I found amps and cds players fairly easy to choose but speakers I tried loads before deciding. Take a wide range of music with you.

In a large room I would say the amp is probably more of the problem than the cd player, the 6004 amp has a rep. for being rather weak for its rating. I would take it back and tell its not working at home and try to exchange for something better, or get a home demo if possible.