refined,smooth sound,tight bass. Looks great ,Excellent build quality.

Component matching must be careful or it will give you bright sound

It's been at least a year I using this player.
Paired with class A amp it can produces very airly,smooth sound like coming out from valve amp.
It lacks the deep bass but generally it gives the music very easy listening without any pressure.In another word it was "musical" at all time.
Recommended. But must pair with a good amp.

Very good detail, texture, Oustanding remote - other producers should take note!

2D imaging (3D of RCD 991 almost gone), soundstage, transperancy, uninvolving, tiring - cannot listen long to this CDP

A non A/B Comparisson made between Rotel 991 & the Marantz.. System :

Copland CTA 301 MKII
ML 27.5
Biwired SF Concerto
IXOS interconnects and speaker
Test CDs :

I expected more from this (well burnt) CDP .. Got it for audition at a very friendly/helpful and well informed audiphile shop in Forways. First impressions : harsh / too pronounced highs, and also - the loss of the 3D / transparency. The highs were almost unbearable on Coldplay's Parachuttes... Could it my cables ? Can't be the preamp - it's a valve magic, the ML is defficult to beat at ANY price range .. Cannot listen long to this CDP -
its somewhat fatigueing .. Going to have an A/B with the Rotel

Similar Products Used:

Copland 266, Rotel 991, Theta Chroma

Until recently my system consisted of;Arcam Alpha 7 CD
Arcam Alpha 10 integrated amp
Monitor Audio PMC 703 speakers
REL Storm III subwoofer
Cable Talk Reference interconnects
Straightwire speaker cable.

The Alpha 7 CD was obviously outclassed and long overdue for replacement, so I arranged to try an Alpha 9 player at home before upgrading my 7. However, whilst having brilliant soundstaging and detail, the sound simply didn't satisfy, with some harshness in the upper midrange being emphasised to an unpleasant degree. I returned the Alpha 9, sold my Alpha 7 to a friend and started looking for a replacement. I found an ex-demo CD-17 K.I. Signature in pristine condition, reduced from £1100 to £849 and took it for a trial period at home.

The results still bring a smile to my face. The soundstaging is truly effortless and the bass is both deeper, more powerful and most importantly, brilliantly controlled. My system has taken on a totally different character. Any hint of the very fatiguing upper midrange harshness has gone, with voices and instruments now having a totally unforced, airy and wonderfully natural sound. Most impressive is how something as delicate and pure sounding as Vaughan Williams' "The Lark Ascending" satisfies just as much as the hard, aggressive Stereophonics' track "Pick a part that's new". I never believied any one set-up could sound so "right" with such a wide range of music and also recording quality.

In terms of build quality, this is a very good player. It's nearly as heavy as my Alpha 10 amp, and has a real quality feel to it. The buttons on the facia thump reassuringly and even the remote is classy with its silvery-gold colour metal finish and solid feel.

Overall then, in my opinion a great player and certainly one that stands out from the crowd in every major way. It has solved every problem I had with my system, and really showed me what my other components are capable of. A wholehearted and enthusiastic recommendation.

Transparency, realism, and timing.

There is not much to say. This cd-player is just outstanding. I still can't believe my ears. I am constantly reexperiencing old cd's, they have a new life with the CD-17 KI. Everything is so detailed, yet at the same time delicate and sofisticated. This cd-player is really singing. Im using it with Marantz PM-17, ST-17, and Acoustic Energy AE 120 speakers. And I'm there!

Remarkably refined, smooth and generally detailed

Abit bland and lacking in the toe-tapping department. I found that I kept falling asleep, rather than listening to music for extended periods.

I had a Marantz CD-63SE for 2 years, which I enhanced greatly with a Musical Fidelity X-Act DAC. I always lusted after the CD-17, or (hushed, reverent tones) a CD-17KI !!
After a dem of the CD-17, I concluded that it was quite similar to the'63SE + X-Act, with more refinement. Not really enough of a step up.
I heard the '17KI in a shop, and thought it was lovely, but far too costly. Then I found an ex-dem for a super price (£699, instead of £1,300.

Once home I started listening in earnest:
the refinement - great
The timing - superb
Involvement - minimal.

I followed this with a Roksan Caspian, which was more involving, but bass-heavy and again too gentlemanly.

Finally, I auditioned an MF E-624, comparing it with the X-Ray and the new A3CD.
Contrary to most sources

Similar Products Used:

Roksan Caspian

refined,smooth sound,good looking

I have hard time to decide between the rotel 991 & 17-ki, I compared the two and love both very much. The 17-ki is more refined player while the rotel is much aggressive. I ended up with the 17-ki b'cos the prices is only sg$ 50 diff while in UK, there are diff by $350 pound. I bought the 17-ki at Singapore dollar 1350.

After 100 hours break in, this player start playing music with excellent details and smooth sound. Especially when you play jazz music from Earl Klugh, George Benson. The music was so real like someone playing the guitar just in front of you. Excellent player if you like jazz.

System
Marantz PM 17-Ki
Marantz CD 17-KI
Dynaudio a50
Ixos 101 interconnect
Cable Talk 4.1-speaker cable( need to replace this one, any recommendation pls send me a mail)

Great value for money. 5 star

Similar Products Used:

Rotel 991

Bright airy sound, Cool Frog remote.

Poor bass and very uninvolving, Careful system matching essential.

I Work in a Busy HiFi shop in Manchester and have been very fortunate in having the opportunity to try anything I wish in the comfort of my own home (without the cost, of course :). After extensive listening to a Marantz DR700 with an Arcam Black Box 500 DAC (my own) I found my Sony DVPS7700 to be beaten on sheer involvement and this gave me the thirst for better CD performance. The soundstage was stunning through my system, bass huge but not boomy and treble bright but not harsh, I havent listened to the DR700 bypassing my DAC (I wouldn't want to embarass it) but I have to say that so far this is probably the best combination of budget CD/DAC I have ever heard. The sheer soundstage and image/invlovement produced is excellent. Anyway back to the burning issue. I was so stunned at the performance of the EL cheapo unit that I had to try this. Both me and my girlfriend were listening at the same time and made the same conclusions both having slightly different opinions on what was wrong with each player. I have to say that I have demoed this piece of hardware on many occasion at work and it has been a firm favourite of mine for some time now, BUT... On every track played at home something was missing, CD's that I have had for ages and enjoyed very much in the past I just couldn't get into, in fact I was somewhat bored to listen to this player. Never before have I heard it sound so boring and uninvolving, It seemed spineless and on some aspects the sony DVPS7700 even bettered it (I never expected that). Its not that it didn't try because it did the treble was bright and tried to make up for the lack of soundstage but it was found to be very uninvolving. Very disappointing indeed. After playing this unit for extended periods my girlfriend found it unenjoyable and artificial. I was shocked to say the least because after all I had been so impressed in the shop environment but at home it was not for me. It sounded at its best with the Arcam BB500 DAC but was still no where near as involving or enjoyable as the DR700 With the DAC. Sorry to put a downer on it but it clearly doesn't suit my system. I'm sure its not a bad player it just proves that careful system matching and lengthy audition is a must for this player. Once again, Its NOT for me. (or my girlfriend) :-( The remote is cool though.


My system Includes

B&W CDM7SE,CSE,CDM1SE SPEAKERS
SONY DVPS7700 DVD/CD PLAYER
MARANTZ DR700 CDRECORDER
ARCAM BLACK BOX 500 DAC
SONY TAE9000ES
SONY TAN9000ES (BRIDGED FOR THIS EXERCISE)

Similar Products Used:

Pretty much everything on the market.