Transport Comparison
Just by looking at the CEC TL1x you get the feeling that it is a very serious transport. And if you know that its transport is belt-driven this feeling is substantiated. For the Marantz CD94MKII, on the contrary, it is not so apparent that it’s a very good transport. Sure, you can say a thing or two about its analog output but purely used as a transport, and as long as this very old unit operates within spec, I can tell you that it is actually almost state of the art.
Therefore, here’s an interesting comparison.
Introduction
These 2 players couldn’t be more different. Also inside there are no common parts. The CD94 uses a die-cast swing arm Philips CDM1 mechanism, the CEC uses an extensively modified Sanyo mechanism. They are in completely opposite segments price-wise. And the CD94 is more than 10 years older than the CEC. Nevertheless, the Marantz is absolutely very good. But you cannot simply use any old Marantz or Philips player that has the CDM1 transport on board.
This much was proven in the Classic Philips CD player Review
The reference setup
In this setup, the two players were compared. Central to this system are the DCS Delius DAC and Purcell upsampler. The rest of the system consists of a Jeff Rowland Synergy preamp and Model 6 power amps, Martin Logan SL3 electrostatic speakers, Transparent Reference LS cables and interlinks as well as Cardas Hexlink Golden 5C interlinks (dac-preamp) and various other transports and dacs.
Naturally I tried the various players in different positions on different racks in order to get the best impressions.
The DCS components were used in 176kHz (precisely fourfold of cd’s standard 44.1kHz) throughout this review.
Marantz CD94MKII used as a transport
Starting the test with the CD94 connected to the DCS Delius and Purcell via Belden RG59 digital cable you immediately notice a couple of things: compared to the Audiomeca Mephisto II transport, or the Sony XA50ES as transport, the sound is much more relaxed and less in your face. There is still plenty of speed and dynamics are impeccable, especially with the CD94, but at the same time there is more lushness to the sound, and especially the highs are much more fluid and “analog”. There’s also more body and color. It really more resembles analog. To give you a better idea about the quality of the CD94: it sounded much like the Proceed PCD3 which uses the same CDM1 transport and the PCD3 was always held in high esteem.
CEC TL-1x
When you switch from the Marant to the CEC you’re first surprised that it’s got a comparable presentation, but then you start noticing smaller but important differences. The CEC is even more fluid, lusher and a lot more spacious than the Marantz. The sound is fuller and more fluid. Strangely enough, high-hat sounds themselves are more smooth on the Marantz but shorter, less fluid than on the CEC. Compared to the CEC the Marantz is more staccato and more technical. The one area in which the CD94 is comparable to the CEC and maybe even better, is the attack and dynamics. It is just that little bit more lively and less rounded on the transients. But this is very much more a technical difference. If you listen with your gut (not your brains) surely the CEC is better all-round.
Technically, these 2 transports couldn’t be more different…
The Marantz uses a modified Philips CDM1 swing-arm aluminum diecast transport. A massive, heavy affair with a huge lens assembly that uses real quartz-glass. This is old hat technology but for many, myself included, these transports are still amongst the best ever made and still rate highly. The CDM1 is also almost indestructible and seems to last forever. It reads any cd or cdr. And it reads it FAST! And it never skips.
The CEC uses a basically simple and lightweight Sanyo transport but modifies this entirely. First and foremost there is of course the belt drive. Not only the spindle that rotates the cd is belt driven; also the lens assembly is belt driven. Further, under the spindle axe there is a large counterweight that, together with the heavy puck that you place on top of the cd, makes for a massive and very inert whole. This has the advantage that cd’s simply cannot vibrate, but it also make for a slow response when you start a cd and even when you skip to the next track. On top of this slight niggle, many experts claim that, for cd, you need low mass. The exact opposite of what CEC achieved. And yet the sound quality is overwhelming. And I have heard many, many cd players and transports.
Conclusion
Although the Marantz comes remarkably close and is even technically slightly better in some areas, the CEC easily takes first place when it comes to emotion in the music. It is simply more “analog” sounding, and this is important to note, without ending up muddy, woolly or slow. By now nothing surprises me anymore in the crazy world of audio and I wouldn’t have been surprised if the Marantz had won. But the CEC wins me over with its more engaging sound. If you don’t have the budget for the CEC then there’s always a Marantz CD94 that can be bought for silly money. And the Marantz comes pretty close to the presentation of the CEC!
Dag Christiaan,
Ik sta op het punt om een CD-94mk2 van iemand over te nemen, alleen twijfel ik of dit de juiste keuze is. Ik las de mooie vergelijkingen/ reviews op uw website.
Ik heb een hele audio zoektocht achter de rug van vele luistersessies. Ik ben zelf nog maar 30j maar het huidige hifi geluid spreekt me niet aan, vandaar dat ik laatst een mooi paar hoogrendement luidsprekers kocht en een buizenversterker van Audio Note. Sinds de komst van de AN Oto valt mijn Auralic streamer door de mand jammer genoeg. Ik kwam erachter dat een loopwerk van 1/3 van de nieuwprijs de streamer finaal voorbij speelt. Door de serieuze upgrades dit jaar ben ik opzoek na een ‘budget’ oplossing, een loopwerk of speler. Het liefst koop ik een instap C.e.c. Of AN transport, want de meeste mainstream spelers klinken nog altijd digitaal.
Ik vraag me af of 900,00 aan de hoge kant is en of ik wellicht beter een andere speler/ transport kan kopen?
Zo kwam ik op uw website terecht en na lang speurwerk kwam ik een mooie 94mk2 tegen die gerecapt is en zelfs met doos. Alleen is de vraagprijs 900,00
Hi Nick, I understand your situation. In that case, probably no server will truly please you, no matter how expensive. 900 is perhaps a little on the high side for a CD94-II. But if the unit is in perfect shape cosmetically as well as electronically, then it is worth it. Do also check that the drawer belts have been replaced as that is not something that everyone is comfortable doing. Also, do note that “completely” recapped in reality often means a partical recapping. Especially since you will be using the machine as a transport, you only care about the caps in the power supply and the servo part. Nice caps for the DAC are pointless for your purpose. I have heard good and bad sounding players with CDM1 mkII mechanisms. It all depends on the state of the capacitors as well as the laser adjustment. BTW: the CD94 (MK1) is the same machine except for the DAC part, which you will not use. So maybe that’s a cheaper alternative. Oh, lastly, I would advise the CD94 over the CEC any time.
How would you compare it to a Audio Note cdt or cd zero for example ?
I’ve not compared any of the AN players in a known environment but I do know that they use a CD-Pro mechanism and these have a different character than the swing-arm mechs such as the CDM1 and CMD4.
Very interesting! I found the AN cdt’s sound Human, organic, almost analog sound. How do you describe the difference between cdm1 and Cd pro ?
Actually, some AN players use a CDM12, but it’s a linear transport, just as the CD Pro. In general, linear mechanisms sound relatively tighter and drier while swing-arm mechanisms sound smoother and more relaxed. There’s something to these mechs that’s inherently different: even a freshly-recapped and adjusted CDM1 or CDM4 still has that typical fluidity. I suspect that AN players inject a similar sense of organic smoothness via carefully selected transformers and their special coil-coupled S/PDIF interface.
Beste Christiaan,
Inmiddels heb ik de CD-94mk2 thuis en ben vooral onder de indruk als deze gebruikt wordt als transport. Bij mijn streaming setup zijn bepaalde details gemakkelijker aan te wijzen maar als je kritisch luistert merk je dat het oppervlakkig en nep klinkt. Wanneer ik vanaf de CD-94mk2 speel is heel de ruimte gevuld met geluid, details zijn gemakkelijk aan te wijzen maar tegelijk is het geheel meer coherent. In deze bubble klinken stemmen, instrumenten en details organisch en menselijk. Het is moeilijk te omschrijven waarom deze speler je zo betrokken laat voelen. Het brengt me dichter bij de muziek, na deze beleving was ik opzoek!
Graag wil ik het geluid nog wat tweaken. Ik wil nog wat experimenteren met enkele powercords, digi interlink en wellicht wat modificaties later. Nu gebruik ik een standaard netsnoer. Ik zou graag wat specifieke vragen willen stellen over bepaalde merken, maar dat is hier openbaar minder gepast denk ik. Ik zou iets meer precisie willen en wat meer lucht rondom de instrumenten, maar dit mag niet ten kosten van de emotie gaan.
Is het goed als ik je eenmalig contact via uw zakelijke mail adres, om even te kijken op welke merken ik me het best kan richten of u miss aanbevelingen heeft?
Hi Nick, I can understand perfectly what you like about the CD94 sound, also when used as a transport, and I’m glad your quest paid off. Sorry, I can only respond via the comments section and we should stay on topic.
You can’t really alter the player’s character with cables. The relaxed and slightly creamy sound is what you get at the expense of slightly softened transients and slightly reduced clarity. All you can do is use the most open and articulate cables to maximize the clarity. That means using neutral and precise cables. Don’t worry as the emotion won’t easily go away with this player. The cheapest coaxial cable that fits this purpose is the Mad Scientist Heretical Digital. As for power cables, many will enhance body, bass, tonality but it’s hard for a power cable to improve on a standard cable in the areas of purity and transient articulation. You may end up with something quite expensive. A better solution might be to recap the player or have that done by a technician. The Elco’s are really old by now and many will have drifted from their original value and that reduces the pacing and adds haze. Recapping will tighten it up and increase the clarity, without affecting its musicality.
Toen ik een Parasound integrated had klonk mijn Auralic Vega G1 relaxed, rijk en groots, maar sinds de komst van de Audio Note Oto SE signature klinkt het dun, nerveus en te geforceerd. Nu gebruik ik mijn CD-94mk2 weer als cd-speler en wat een geweldige geluid uit de interne dac TDA1541a!
Nu wil ik een AN dac3.1x/II Balanced van iemand overnemen, maar ik ben bang dat de AN te goed is en de mankementen van mijn bron (cd-94mk2) na voren zal brengen. Net als dat de Oto bij Auralic deed..
Of zou in dit geval de dac3.1 juist slechte opnames en minder high end bronnen zoals de cd-94mk2 meer verdraagbaar/ mooier maken?
Hi Nick,
The Parasound has smoothed over the details, making the Auralic sound relaxed while it really is very neutral and linear. The CD94 sounds full and relaxed itself so getting a more revealing DAC will not all of a sudden make it sound leaner or less musical.
Nice to read the review as well as the comments from u2.
It was exactly what I was thinking myself, and looking to find out about the streamer sound…
I havent bought a streamer yet even when its already 2022… because of the sound discribed by Nick…
I guess too digital…
Its time to finally finish my turntable project with the right parts… meanwhile enjoying my AN Cd transport and I am gonna try my older CD85 and CD960 as transports…. (maybe some recapping)
Thanks for the push in the right direction.
Groeten,
Camiel