Audio Video News

If you’re still spinning CDs you might as well do it in style. On Friday, Marantz announced a compact CD player to go with its HD-AMP1 integrated amplifier.

Slated to ship in September for $599, the HD-CD1 builds on the brand’s 30-plus years of expertise in CD playback and incorporates new developments in digital audio technology, including the latest generation of the Marantz-designed Hyper-Dynamic Amplifier Modules—HDAM-SA2—which are used instead of all-in-one chip amplifiers. The new modules, also used in the player’s headphone section, are designed to preserve wide dynamic range and frequency response with low distortion.

The player boasts an aluminum front panel with wood side panels, a double-layer chassis with rigid feet for vibration isolation, and a center-mounted transport mechanism that plays MP3, WMA, and AAC files as well as CD-R/RW discs.

Data is passed from the transport to a 192kHz/24bit Cirrus Logic CS4398 digital-to-analog converter with a crystal oscillator master clock. A high-current power supply with high-capacity storage capacitors and high-speed Schottky Barrier Diodes are designed to preserve dynamics.

The player has a dedicated headphone amplifier with a volume control and adjustable low/medium/high gain to drive the most demanding of headphones. Analog and optical/coaxial digital outputs are provided along with a remote that controls the player and HD-AMP1 amplifier.