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Post by PinkFloyd on Mar 23, 2009 0:39:38 GMT
My trusty old Marantz CD52MKll decided to spit out the tray gear mechanism so I went in search of a new gear wheel.... £15 shipped from Hong Kong......
Anyways, cut to the chase..... I decided to have a look on ebay to see how much the CD52's were fetching these days and was amazed to see a CD52MKll SE for £19.99 BUY IT NOW.... so I did!
I thought to myself "hell, if the CDM4 is good then £19.99 well spent" and I may even get a good gear wheel into the bargain.
Well! This £19.99 wonder arrived in a big box and looked like shit fresh out of the box.... I think the owner must have used it as a plate to eat his / her breakfast off (or have sex on or both) absolutely manky.....
I fired her up to see if she was working and, fck' me, not only is she working.... she sounds the dog's bollocks compared to my Marantz CD52MKll..... the "SE" stands for special edition and I believe there is a sprinkling of Black Gate capacitors in this edition though I haven't yet popped the hood.
You can hear EVERYTHING that's on the recording through this puppy, it's brilliant, and it comes SO close to sounding exactly the same as my CD17 it's frightening!
This "SE" version is pulling out stuff I didn't know existed on my favourite recordings.... I keep turning my head wondering where the sound is coming from...... it's on the bloody recording!! excellent!
£19.99? The price of a meal for one in a low level Indian restaurant or a couple of CD's..... AMAZING to think I've got hold of such a classic CDP, built like a brick shithouse, for the price of dinner.
CDM4 swinging arm laser is one of philips' best ever with shit hot track access time.... these modern worm and peg jobs are pure turd on a stick...... I was worried it would get damaged in transit as these transports had "transport locking keys" which were meant to be engaged when shipping the CDP.... to find an owner who still has the transport locking keys, yet alone know what they are is a miracle in this day and age.... this one came unlocked and by god it survived the journey intact and then some if my ears are the judge.
So chuffed was I with this purchase I bought another one (just in case) and this time searched for "CD52 with transport locking keys" hell, I found one and not only did the owner have the TLK the fascia still had the protective film strip on it..... advertised as "immaculate" I won the auction and got her for £40.......
Hasn't arrived yet and I just wonder if it will sound as good as the £19.99 job.... I will report back.... thing is, it just dawned on me what a FABULOUS machine the CD52MKllSE is.... bollocks to the specifications, the sound quality is just SO musical and energentic.... bollocks to the looks, you don't look at the mantlepiece when you're poking the fire.....
Unless I have been rendered deaf this machine (through headphones) is not only "up there" with today's offerings it's "beyond".... an absolutely captivating listen.... IMO this thing should be given "classic" status it's that good.....
Anyone else here rate the CD52?
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XTRProf
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Post by XTRProf on Mar 23, 2009 4:41:42 GMT
Ha, ha, the 52 is not the bargain of the century although you had got it cheap. The 63 SE KI version is although more pricely. Don't expect BG though as even the 63 SE KI version doesn't have that. Btw, how much you got the CD17 with the Philips swing arm mechanism? I saw one locally 1/2 a year ago and was tempted until I saw my friend North Star transport with CDPro2 mechanism which was far better than the swing arm mechanism. It has a i2s output too.
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leo
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Post by leo on Mar 25, 2009 1:50:12 GMT
I've repaired a couple of the 52's, their really nice bits of kit tbh, I never rated the CD63, 63 SE or the 63 SE KI , horrible sound to my ears, the 52's would be my choice over the 63
I seem to remember the 52 SE having a few Cerafine caps in there, they are based around the SAA7350 dac . I've got the service manual saved in pdf somewhere on the HD
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tg
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Post by tg on Mar 25, 2009 2:34:38 GMT
I agree with Leo, IMO it betters the 63. I own 2 of these, yes, they do have BG caps. I put a Burson clock and discrete opamps in one and bought the other as a spare. Didn't get mine quite as cheaply as the pink one, but have had them a few years now and they were still very good value as secondhand when I did buy them. Both mine came with the transport screws and I have yet to find a disc they will not read (provided it is not a complete frisbee). I also have a rather tatty pdf of the service manual here somewhere. I thought it would be superseded when I bought an Esound E5 signature a couple of years back - but they still get nearly as much "air time" and are often my preferred source for headphone sessions. The Burson buffer on the output lifts it a little but it is very good without. I had to cut away some of the internal bracing to mount the discrete opamps. I think your "Sun Moon" thingies might be very similar and work well in place of the stock opamps.
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XTRProf
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Post by XTRProf on Mar 26, 2009 0:52:37 GMT
Hi guys, How do you rate the later 67? I didn't have a chance to listen to that yet.
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Post by PinkFloyd on Mar 26, 2009 11:25:40 GMT
Glad I'm not going deaf! I too thought the CD63 sounded like turd Leo and the CD52MKllSE is a MUCH more accomplished player in every respect, from build quality to sound quality it's pretty hard to beat at the insanely cheap prices they are going for these days. The gear mechanisms are a bit fragile but these are easy to replace (£15 for a piece of plastic though!!) I am going to recap one of the three and it will be interesting to see if that injects even more performance into it.... I love the sonics and am even thinking of getting a fourth one! Some beautiful examples on ebay and worth checking for periodically.... remember guys, these things were built when CD was THE medium and the race was on to make the best possible player.... not these pieces of shit they are flogging these days with bugger all inside the enclosure.... the 52 IS a classic as far as I'm concerned and, I'll say it again, the audio bargain of the century if you can pick one up for pennies
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leo
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Post by leo on Mar 27, 2009 1:02:34 GMT
Hi guys, How do you rate the later 67? I didn't have a chance to listen to that yet. Apart from a few capacitor values, less copper around the HDAM shields the CD63 ans CD67 are the same, they use the same pcb, dac chip etc They'll sound a little different, not hugely so
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leo
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Post by leo on Mar 27, 2009 1:20:38 GMT
Glad I'm not going deaf! I too thought the CD63 sounded like turd Leo and the CD52MKllSE is a MUCH more accomplished player in every respect, from build quality to sound quality it's pretty hard to beat at the insanely cheap prices they are going for these days. The gear mechanisms are a bit fragile but these are easy to replace (£15 for a piece of plastic though!!) I am going to recap one of the three and it will be interesting to see if that injects even more performance into it.... I love the sonics and am even thinking of getting a fourth one! Some beautiful examples on ebay and worth checking for periodically.... remember guys, these things were built when CD was THE medium and the race was on to make the best possible player.... not these pieces of shit they are flogging these days with bugger all inside the enclosure.... the 52 IS a classic as far as I'm concerned and, I'll say it again, the audio bargain of the century if you can pick one up for pennies You may be able to try those Audio-gd jobs in there, a couple of IC sockets fitted in the 52 , it may prove interesting and easy to revert to the standard NE5532 op-amps Nice little units as stock though and apart from a possible recap due to the age you may want to leave it as is I seem to remember the bass quality being pretty damn good on these cdp's, I'm also a big fan of the old philips swing arm lasers, these last bloody years apart from the odd worn down plastic gear as you've already noted. Certainly worth picking a couple up on the cheap, these will outlast most modern junk of today and sound better too
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insomniac
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Post by insomniac on Mar 27, 2009 2:35:50 GMT
Glad I'm not going deaf! I too thought the CD63 sounded like turd Leo and the CD52MKllSE is a MUCH more accomplished player in every respect, from build quality to sound quality it's pretty hard to beat at the insanely cheap prices they are going for these days. The gear mechanisms are a bit fragile but these are easy to replace (£15 for a piece of plastic though!!) I am going to recap one of the three and it will be interesting to see if that injects even more performance into it.... I love the sonics and am even thinking of getting a fourth one! Some beautiful examples on ebay and worth checking for periodically.... remember guys, these things were built when CD was THE medium and the race was on to make the best possible player.... not these pieces of shit they are flogging these days with bugger all inside the enclosure.... the 52 IS a classic as far as I'm concerned and, I'll say it again, the audio bargain of the century if you can pick one up for pennies You may be able to try those Audio-gd jobs in there, a couple of IC sockets fitted in the 52 , it may prove interesting and easy to revert to the standard NE5532 op-amps Nice little units as stock though and apart from a possible recap due to the age you may want to leave it as is I seem to remember the bass quality being pretty damn good on these cdp's, I'm also a big fan of the old philips swing arm lasers, these last bloody years apart from the odd worn down plastic gear as you've already noted. Certainly worth picking a couple up on the cheap, these will outlast most modern junk of today and sound better too I agree with this guys... in the world of "obsolete", good devices are put aside in favour of newer, slimmer, faster, more bells and whistles devices... but are they really any better? With the lighter evenings coming, I plan to blow the cobwebs off a a couple of these older players and subject them to a triple bypass operation. PSU, Clock and op-amps will get attention and they will be compared as standalone and transport. Although I tend to be mainly PC>DAC nowadays, I still enjoy the occasional listen to the raw polycarbonate discs
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Post by rossman on Mar 29, 2009 10:11:53 GMT
Had a CD52 mkII which I thought was better then the 63. I felt that the 52 bass was a loose although it was a very musical player.
Would the SE solve the bass looseness? I am looking for a cheapie player that will give good sound.
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Post by rossman on Mar 29, 2009 10:19:40 GMT
I think I might have a spare gearwheel and belt if you still need one Mike
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jonclancy
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Post by jonclancy on Apr 1, 2009 0:15:27 GMT
Some miserable sod nicked my CD52 in '92-ish.
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Post by PinkFloyd on Mar 24, 2015 20:42:35 GMT
I got another one today from a local charity shop..... a CD-52 MKll..... for the princely sum of £5. Fired her up and she works perfectly..... that's now 6 of them that I own All of them are out in the workshop with only ONE in service (in the workshop) but I just couldn't pass on the chance of another one for a fiver could I?
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Post by freddypipsqueek on Mar 25, 2015 17:41:27 GMT
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jc
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Post by jc on Mar 25, 2015 20:26:31 GMT
I have a lonely single CD52II at home. It performs headphone duties with the XCansV2 in my hidey-hole room. I always meant to perform mods on it but never got around to it. It's an OK player and although I paid double what Mike did it represents stonking second hand value.
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Post by PinkFloyd on Mar 25, 2015 21:25:43 GMT
I have a lonely single CD52II at home. It performs headphone duties with the XCansV2 in my hidey-hole room. I always meant to perform mods on it but never got around to it. It's an OK player and although I paid double what Mike did it represents stonking second hand value. Does yours have a "Made in Belgium" sticker on the back Chris? That's the only thing about the CD52 that I find puzzling, the fact that it is "Made in Belgium". I didn't think they produced anything in Belgium apart from stupid people with no sense of humour. They are great CD players to tinker with but the only downside is that it takes about a week to get the f**kin' board out of the labyrinth of plastic!! It's not a simple "remove four screws and lift out the board" job..... it's more of a belgian "take a nut and smother it in chocolate" type thang but (instead of their usual chocolate coating) the circuit board (the nut) has been (essentially) encased in a plastic meccano style puzzle..... a chocolate encased board would have been a lot easier to "tongue", I don't enjoy crunching my way through plastic and screws to get to the nut
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Post by PinkFloyd on Mar 25, 2015 21:26:52 GMT
I have a lonely single CD52II at home. It performs headphone duties with the XCansV2 in my hidey-hole room. I always meant to perform mods on it but never got around to it. It's an OK player and although I paid double what Mike did it represents stonking second hand value. You paid ten quid for yours? You were done
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Mar 25, 2015 21:36:45 GMT
It appears that Marantz used the higher grade TDA1541s in their players. I used to have a Marantz CD65 which I highly modified, and would have easily beaten the stock CD 52SE. I added several additional voltage regulators, replaced the "ladder" capacitors with much closer tolerance types, ( the original values varied >10%) as well as the "Ladder" resistors, and replaced the NE5532 output I.Cs with AD8065s into discrete buffer stages based around the LH0002 buffer I.C. Unfortunately, the IDP cables started intermittently failing at the terminating ends due to corrosion, and I had to solder them directly in. The damn cables failed one after another, so I eventually gave up. I hope that the CD52s don't start having similar problems, although our climate may have hastened the problem ?
Alex
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Post by freddypipsqueek on Mar 25, 2015 21:54:05 GMT
Marantz were owned by Philips and I think some of the better Marantz stuff was Holland or Belgium made.
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Post by PinkFloyd on Mar 25, 2015 22:36:44 GMT
Marantz were owned by Philips and I think some of the better Marantz stuff was Holland or Belgium made. Marantz was owned by Philips and Marantz was the "audiophile" grade branch (if that makes any sense?) of Philips. The Marantz gear made in Holland was "mid" gear..... the Belgium plant was pretty much "low" and the Japanese plant knocking out the "high" stuff........ anything Marantz with a Made In Japan sticker is the sh1t you want to own. Mike.
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Post by PinkFloyd on Mar 25, 2015 22:47:36 GMT
Marantz CD7 / Made in Japan.
It shows.................
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Post by PinkFloyd on Mar 25, 2015 22:51:26 GMT
But does it sound better than the CD-52? Or is it all a "looking game" for some? (looks good, must sound good brigade springs to mind)....... I don't "do" guests so don't give a shit what my "gear" looks like...... as long as it sounds right to my ears I don't care what it looks like........ as long as it doesn't rip the piss out of my folding green.
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jc
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Post by jc on Mar 25, 2015 22:57:46 GMT
My first decent CDP was a Marantz CD65 (original) which I later traded up to a 75DX to gain remote control. That was a damn fine player.
My 52 was probably made in Belguim but I really took no notice.
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Post by PinkFloyd on Mar 25, 2015 23:02:20 GMT
My first decent CDP was a Marantz CD65 (original) which I later traded up to a 75DX to gain remote control. That was a damn fine player. A remote control? luxury!
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jc
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Post by jc on Mar 25, 2015 23:04:44 GMT
Pure decadence Mike
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