Marantz CD-17 mkIII CD-player

Marantz CD-17 appeared in 1995. However, the manufacturer continues to improve this already cool model with enviable persistence. Is the release of its third modification caused by just a desire to keep up with fashionable technologies that are indirectly related to sound quality?

MkIII version, according to the advertising brochure, works with the most advanced digital conversion system - with two Burr-Brown PCM1716 chips, which already include 24-bit delta-sigma DACs and the digital filters preceding them. A feature of the filters is two signal processing modes. When Sharp Roll-Off is turned on, the filter accurately conveys the amplitude of the peak signal, but leaves its harmonic vibrations (unavoidable in a digital system) intact. And in Slow Roll-Off mode, it cleans them.

As for the rest, Marantz CD-17 mkIII is the same chic device (in golden or silver finish) as its predecessors. The playing mechanism is Philips VAM-1201. In the output stages we see the perfected HDAM micro-assemblies on discrete elements. Optical, coaxial and linear adjustable outputs are available. With an elegant remote control, you can control all the functions, including adjusting the brightness of the mirror display and switching the filter or showing CD-Text.

The third reincarnation of Marantz CD-17 gives an enlightened and tasty sound. The voices are frank and conveyed with expression, the instrumental palette is harmonious and pure. I can't complain about the resolution in the upper band - some of the details are formalized, but they still give a feeling of a transparent and natural sound atmosphere. Only the soundstage confused - for a device of this level, slight blurring cannot be recognized as the norm. The sharpness of localization becomes better, when you switch to Slow Roll-Off, but with it, due to the worse dynamics in HF, the sound becomes gloomy.