Hi Im still using my CD10 four & a half years after publishing my 1st Guide.
I still think its a fabulous piece of kit. I've friends who have listened to my Hifi & still remark on its superb sound. Ive only had to replace a belt which is a common fault, & that if you don't then it will stop reading discs, as it slips & wont trip the microprocessor on. Im running it with all silver interconnects to an upgraded Quad33 with Monrio monoblocks & Cambridge R50 speakers + good speaker cable.
I still say to anyone, if you can get one at a good price then go for it.
As along with the CD12 & 94 this is a wonderful machine...

A few months ago i purchased a CD10 off Ebay to run along side my fairly expensive Myryad CD player.However allthough an old machine I couldnt believe the weight and quality of this unit. (its amazing). I gave it a day to warm up 1st and then went for it. WOW. I know this was an expensive piece of kit in its day, but it still holds good against anything ive owned (full of detail). It can be a bit bass heavy if your not looking for extra bass, but canging interconnects to an expensive silver type sorted that out and retrieved even more detail and improved the top end.The lower mid is lacking slightly but the rest is so good its worth the sacrifice.This has now replaced my other machines in the 1st system as i cant stop smiling everytime its played. However 1 word of warning, if you put c**p in you get c**p out. It rewards heavily on good recorded material. And (although old) if you get a chance to hear 1 or better buy 1 cheap then if youve got the rest of the gear to go with it, then I think you will love it as well!

detailed, controlled, natural

none

The CD10 is worth it's weight (it's heavy!). Currently used in a system with Final 0.3 (dutch) electrostats and Pathos Classical One Amp, Siltech cabling it is outstanding in detail, timing, naturality.
I play all kinds of music and the CD10 does it all very well.
I also have Marantz CD63KI (I use for CDR recording), which is also very good, but has a more upfront (in high frequencies) and spectacular character. The CD10 is more audiophile.

Build, no ugly buttons on fascia, and natural sound.

Pay attention how you put the cd in the drawer! When the cd is not 100 % in the right position, it will give an error. I always have the display switched of, so I don't see the error sign, coasing irritation.

When digital format was conquering Holland, I stuck to my record player. (Thorens/Orthofon) In a direct comparison we thought that the first machines of Sony or Philips were defective. So they were returned to the dealer. (1985-6) Yep, all my friends laughed at me. (All those guys that are reinstalling their old or new turntables now, you know). I tried some cd players over the years but we were not "hooked". That changed a bit when I bought and "tweaked" the Denon DCD-970. After the laser broke down I spend more than 3 months looking for a dependable, transparant, natural sounding and detailed cd player that could keep up with the Onkyo direct drive record deck I was using at that time. With the CD-10 in the house my cd collection started to grow. Now it has to keep up with a "tweaked" Rega Planar 3 with a Sumiko Blue Point Special (the van der Hull version) and it is still doing fine.
It gives you that feeling of "being there". It put sweat on the upperlip of my insurance agent, when he listened to Roughest place in town by Stevie Ray Vaughan. He came over to listen, because I needed insurance for the whole lot.
We don't need Q-sound to be "surrounded" by music. Listen to "She wrote it down and burned it" by John Hiatt and hear those guitar frills stretching out and passing your ears far left and far right. You can even follow the lyrics from Fish, every word. I don't play classical music. I like symphonic music (Pink Floyd, Genesis, Marrilion) as well as Zappa (sensational Q!) Listen to "Apostrofy" and let Nanook rub ya! Blues and Rock, from Aerosmith to Deep Purple. Sometimes I wonder if it should have been a better move to buy the Teac VRDS-10. Because it sounds very simular, but has the better VRDS transport. So, for compensation I sometimes use "the Mat" in the CD-10. It's a rubber mat that is put on top of the cd, damping it's vibrations, and therefore gaining more detail from badly balanced cd's.
It's working in an all tube system, and it fits in like a glove. Used many different cables over the years out of curiosity, but because it's HDAM amplifier module has low output impedance, and the tube pre has a high input impedance, cables only make a slight difference. I have the display switched off and to avoid problems with the electrical digital output, I put in a plug with a 75 Ohm resistor. Now I'm happy with it. It's succesor the CD-16 (?) is not performing any better, however it higher price. So, I don't wanna buy a different one, and stick with the CD-10!

Similar Products Used:

Denon dcd 970, ADC cd player (sucks) and before that Akai (sucks even more)

I came by the CD 10 when my marntz Cd 16(since traded back)- was sent in for repairs and the dealer loaned me this new player.

This is a massive player that weighs a ton and utilises Diecast
transport and has cast iron side panelling!!!! At the same time
I had a Theta basic Transport and Pro Gen DAC from another dealer.

The sound of theCD 10 as a player is controlled with excellent bass and
timing, The Theta fills out the midsmore but as 4X the price. What I am surprised at is the how similar the Cd 10 and Basic were as transports.
I have since discovered that the Theta uses a similar Phillips die cast spinner.
94% as a plyer and 98 %as a transport. No 100% for digital yet.

I am nowusing the Cd 10 with the ProGen converter via illuminati d60.

I have been using the CD10 for nearly 6 years now without any problems. Compared to a Krell DSP Mk2 of similar vintage revealed that it wasn't far behind in terms of clarity and detail even though it was a quarter of the price.
I have recently changed an Audioquest Ruby 3 interconnect for a Russ Andrews Kimber attenuated CD cable which has improved detail and making everything more relaxed. The player sits on a Audiophile Base platform on top of a Sound Organisation rack.

System:
Audiolab 8000C pre-amp
Musical Fidelity P180 power-amp
Tannoy D300 'speakers
Russ Andrews Kimber cables and power cords

The Marantz CD10 was introduced back in 1992 following the very successsful Marantz CD80. The CD10 did everything that the CD80 did and much better.
Too bad that you cannot find such machines for this price where the main PCB board layout is designed using CAD and is plastic free.

I wish I can get my hands on a CD10.

Great build, good transport, able to drive your power amp direct, good quality mtorised potentiometer.

The top end, slightly 'coloured' sound

Meaty bass, good dynamics but unfortunately the mid to high end pulls the rating down. When playing Handel's Water Music (Harmonia Mundi)the strings had an artificial timbre to it and when playing the 'Distant Thunder' CD, the top end sounded a bit jarring. The CD63 does better in all these areas for much less.

Similar Products Used:

Denon 820, Marantz CD63, CD17