Marantz CD6003 CD-player

The legendary Japanese brand Marantz is represented in the test by a relatively inexpensive CD6003 player. In the hierarchy of the company, this model takes place in a relatively "budget" sector and is positioned as a good solution for reasonable money. The player is assembled on a rigid metal chassis with a central location of the drive. The playback is provided by not only traditional CDs, but also compressed mp3 and WMA media files. For easy listening to compressed audio there is a separate USB port on the front panel with the ability to connect portable iPod players. The digital part here is built on the time-tested CS4398 chip from Cirrus Logic. It is popular with many manufacturers, since it is a classic delta/sigma converter with very good sound characteristics. In the analog part of CD6003, the branded low-noise HDAM-S2 modules are installed, which are used in many expensive Marantz models.

CD6003 plays CDs in the characteristic Marantz style, with the most comfortable middle and somewhat smoothed edges of the range. The sound is almost devoid of digital nature and literally envelops and caresses the ear. It seems that the developers deliberately did not chase after ultra-high sound resolution, focusing on the transfer of the main musical idea. The most interesting thing is that compressed files are not much different from a CD by the degree of perception. The inevitable loss of information when coding affects mainly the sound stage - the space in this case becomes noticeably fragmented.