Aimed at Audiophiles who like their CD players simple, well made, single tray, and optionally rack mountable, Marantz has announced the CD5004 CD Player. The CD5004 plays CDs, CD-Rs, and CD-RWs and will play CD-DA (PCM) alongside MP3 and WMA formatted files at 42, 44.1, and 48kHz sampling frequencies. Though this is not a networkable machine, the CD5004 does have the ability to read metadata on MP3s and WMA files as well as text-data encoded CDs.
Marantz's CD5004 has a very impressive 0.002% THD (total harmonic distortion) rating thanks to its "SACD-quality" digital to analog converter, though sadly the machine does not support that format. This means you won't find distortion due to resistor matching errors, performance drift over time and temperature, or excessive clock jitter (aka time-domain irregularities).
The CD5004 also features HDAM-SA2, the company's proprietary Hyper Dynamic Amplifier Modules which were originally developed for their premium Reference Series products. They are designed to outperform conventional operational amplifiers in both response speed and reduced noise level. The front panel design is both attractive and functional. Its central aluminum portion shields internal circuitry and the glass-reinforced resin increases impact resistance, vibration isolation, higher rigidity, and heat resistance.
For those who love to kick back alone with a CD player and headphones, the CD5004 has a current-buffered headphone out which isolates the analog output state from the internal headphone amplifier and prevents said amp from "loading" the output stage.
Aspiring musician may enjoy the Variable Pitch Control and Quick Replay functions. VPC allows listeners playing along to their favorite songs to adjust a song's pitch by plus or minus 12% in 1% increments rather than have to retune an instrument. Hitting the "Q Replay" once repeats the last 10 seconds of the current track to help analyze sections of songs. Hitting the button upwards of six times creates a repeating playback of up to 60 seconds of any song. But if you don't want VPC or Q Replay, the Marantz CD5004 as Audio EX mode which bypasses these features along with the digital outputs and display for super-quiet performance.
Installation and control within an advance home theater and home audio systems appears to be a breeze with an RS232C IR Flasher input as well as a D-Bus RC-5 In and Out. The unit includes a detachable AC power cords, but the RMK5003PCD rack mount kit is optional. Pick up the Marantz CD5004 CD Player for around $349.00 online or from your local authorized Marantz dealer.
