Customer Reviews

Marantz CC4003 5 Disc CD Changer (Black)

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I've always had mass-market cd players before, figured digital is digital, and never realized the difference that a higher quality player can make. This Marantz is a revelation. It brings my cds alive with a depth, vibrance, and clarity that I've never heard before. It's also quite stylish, with the trademark Marantz curved edges. The buttons on the front of the unit are a bit small and obscure, but I like the remote. It's got excellent functionality and the buttons are nicely sized. So far, my only quibble is that when you stop a cd in the middle it does not start back up at the same place, but goes all the way back to the beginning. And the changer tray seems potentially delicate. I'll keep my fingers crossed on that one. Overall, I am very happy with this purchase.

fantastic it is like have a complete new cd collection
it was time to change an old technics (95).
i was surprised asking for a cd changer, the sales men in many electronic stores answered : get a dvd player no more cd players are manufactured
and this one has been made in january 2010.
cons
slow motion of the changer when loading the cd`s and noisy

pros
friendly remote control
great sound
you are getting new techno at very good price
i recommend this cd player

I just got this a month ago. Good So far.
Looks really good. Sounds good, I have attached to a Carver Preamp and it sounds just fine (not a big believer that there is much of a difference once you get above $250 units). The carousel is a bit clunky in movement but not a problem. the diameter is tighter than my last Panasonic, you can only remove CDs one at a time. the buttons on the front are poorly marked (can barely identify buttons if lighting isn't really bright)and most of then are covered up when the drawer is open, this just means it helps to have the remote with you when changing CDs.

It's getting hard to find a decent multi CD player with good sound. My old Denon sounded very good, and I really liked the loading system which allowed me to change 4 discs at once and to change discs while one was playing, but after 10 years it started to go and needed replacing. New Denon's still sound good but people always complain about the bad quality, problems with loading mechanism breaking down, etc. Yamaha's multi-CD player works very well but the sound quality doesn't match the Denon and I don't want to go backwards in terms of sound quality.

I read MANY reviews and ratings, and Marantz seemed like a good step up from my old player. The same parent company owns Marantz and Denon so the sound is at least as good... it's most likely the same converters and sound in both units, but don't quote me on that. Marantz has a 3 year warranty, while most companies only give a 1 year warranty.

I didn't read any bad reviews of either the cc4003 or cc5004 CD players, and people liked them both. They were very well rated and recommended, especially the cc5004. People seem to think these are single vs. multi versions of the same level player. I found out the hard way this is NOT TRUE!

Based on all I read, I bought the cc4003, in order to play several CD's. At first all was good and I was happy with my purchase. The loading tray seems better than that of most other brands, but it's annoying that you can only load 1 CD at a time, and the tray never opens to CD1 so you have to constantly press "Disc skip" button after loading each CD.

However, I soon came across 2 burned CD's that did not play properly. The first of these took a long time to load, skipped tracks and sounded VERY distorted; the second disc would not even load ("no disc" message appeared). These 2 CD's were in mint shape, they had always played before, they still played on every other device I tried, they were burned the same way I burn all my CD's --- using Nero software and copying from original CD sources --- so it makes no sense that these were unplayable. This meant that I probably had MANY CD's that would not play for some reason... who has time to test out all their CD's???

I thought I had a faulty unit, so I returned to the store along with the CD's, to try another cc4003 and found the same problem. However, the cc5004 played these CD's fine (to be safe, I tried 2 cc5004 players).

In the end I exchanged the cc4003 for a cc5004 and would recommend people avoid the cc4003. It's too early to tell whether I'll have any issues with the cc5004, but I tend to believe it will work fine. Marantz is a well reputed company and the construction seems sturdy. The sound is the same on both units.

The remote works well, far better than my Denon remote ever worked. However, it's very big and somewhat awkward for one hand. The Denon remote was easier to hold. Also the "door" on the back which hides the batteries is flimsy and can fall off.

On a side note, I also tried playing my CD's through my Panasonic Blu-Ray (which cost about 1/3 the cost of the Marantz CD players). The sound was the same as on the Marantz CD players, which surprised me, but they probably have the same converters. The Blu-Ray also has a digital out for the sound. However, the Blu-Ray does not allow me random play or to get to a specific track via the numbers on the remote (i.e. if I want track 15, I have to press play then >> 15 times!), so it's not practical for me.

This is clearly a case of getting what you pay for. I am very pleased with this exceptional piece of audio equipment. I'm hearing notes and asides and things I've never heard before in alot of my favorite CD's. The imaging, separation, clarity, and, depth of field is superb! Ever think all CD and DVD players are alike? Well, this fine instrument will show you otherwise. I really love the clunky remote which has a retro- seventies feel and a simple, logical style. I regret to inform everyone that the manufacturer's carton proclaimed "Made in China" but despite my reservations it performs beautifully. I only wish there was one more slot for a sixth CD. If faithful sound reproduction is important to you paying this much for a machine that does one thing exceptionally well can't help but bring you joy. This system feeds into a Marantz Model 2230 (1974) which drives two first generation Advent Speakers (1969) bringing all the clarity and power I need. The bass is especially noteworthy. Shipping and setup was not a problem and I was anxious about it but Fed- Ex got it safely to my home.

Exceptional job and thanks to both Amazon and Marantz Inc.

If you are looking for a multi disc player and really care about sound quality this is your unit. As you can see most high end cd players can only hold one disc, this unit has high end specs (same as the famed Marantz CD5004)but plays up to five discs. This player replaced a Onkyo unit I had and now I am hearing things in the music I never knew existed. Also when playing at low volumes you still hear it all. I am using a coaxial cable to connect to my receiver which I highly recommend for optimal signal transfer. The only thing on this unit that could be better is the display, the timer is a little small and some readouts are unnecessarily duplicated, but I am getting really picky here. I am very happy I can get this sound quality in a multi disc player.

I wanted a 5 disk carousel type, and there aren't a lot of those (and most of those are lower end). Based partly on reviews I got this one. I really just needed a carousel transport and I wasn't too worried about the DAC as I have a very good external one that I use for all my digital sources. However, I found the CC4003's built in DAC is actually quite a bit better than I expected. It's not equal to a high end external DAC, but I'd say it is probably good enough for use with normal consumer gear audio systems. However, there are a few issues! It is both slow and noisy to change discs (compared to several older sony changers), which is an issue on random play, and it has refused to read cd's I've burned that everything else (including my car radio) read just fine. So, lousy on the CD-R support, usable but not great on the shuffle/random, and otherwise it works fairly well. I kind of like the remote as it is easy to grip and has just the functions I need. In addition to the usual analog outputs it has both RCA and optical digital outputs (after some testing I settled on the RCA digital out with a nice Kimber AGDL).

Marantz CC4003
I just replace my Yamaha CD player Yamaha CD-C600 with the Marantz.
WOW the difference is day and night. The sound, tones, and bass are unbelievable . It's like the Moving Coil over the moving magnet for a turntable. I will only use a Moving Coil. I was a Marantz fan in the seventies and eighties but had drifted away. Well from now on I'm back to Marantz and only Marantz they have made a believer out of me. They are still at the top of their game. I have tried many brands since the CD player came out and out of all the one's I have owned this is the best ever. I highly recommend it you won't be disappointed.

I bought this cd player with the Marantz sr4023 reciever.They sound great together.Its more money than i was going to spend,but worth every cent.I dont know what the other review was talkin about,saying the tray was clunky and noisy.I can barely hear it changing discs.Its great having a stereo this nice.

Build quality is fine, but the sound is not as high quality as represented for a $400 dedicated CD player. Granted, comparison is against an Oppo83 Special Edition, but like another review I'd seen the high end is way too harsh, and the bass lacks impact. Also, program mode cleared when powered off, and steps did function as written in the manual. I rarely post reviews, unless something is explempary or of very poor design -- this one is poor for the money. I may try the Yamaha C600 with Burr Brown DACs. A changer at a lower price with the Marantz or better sound quality could be OK.