Solid build-good imunity to floor vibrations (i.e skips) if properly installed, nice disk exchange-read all types of disk-never had one (including 1987 discs) that it won;t play.-nice remote.

Nitt picking at this price-could be better balanced, and better at sound staging/presentation

This is a great changer for the money, especially for the refurbed price. It is slightly noisy, but I can't say this it isn't fast enough between disc changes, in my experience it is faster than most.
As for the sound, good bass, clear midrange and warm but detailed highs. I can't say that it is all brittle in the high frequency range. I use a H/K PA2400, Citation 21 and Klipsch KG 5.5's. The Klipsch are notoroius for finding weaknesses in componets, and I can't find any with this changer.
I also have a Marantz CD5001, which uses the Cyrus Logic DAC's (like the CC4001) and different OP Amps. It is a bit more detailed , much better sound staging, and better balanced perhaps, but they have very similiar sonic foot prints.
Perhaps these negative veiws are more likely equipment mismatch, than fault of the component itself. Something to really think about when choosing a componet to go into a existing system.
Since they aren't made anymore, I would advise to take a chance, if yo don't like it-Ebay it.

Similar Products Used:

H/K FL8300, several JVC's 1 CD recorder/ turntable CD changer, Marantz CD5001 Cambridge 640c, Yamaha HD 1500.

Sound quality. Low cost.

Doesn't play MP3.

Great CD player for the money. I modded mine with sound damping on the cover and bottom, extra bypass caps on both OP AMPS, and changed the low pass stage to an Burr Brown OPA2107 (similar to OPA627). I also tried an AD8620, but it sounded more metallic and not as smooth. Using it with an SR5300 receiver and Ed Frias speakers. Sounds great! Sounds even better with my older 2-channel Marantz amp.

Customer Service

Not used.

Similar Products Used:

Sony CE-315.

All in all, good sound, good layout. If it worked without any defects, I would have been very happy.

Had three in a row that were defective.

Well, this cd changer was a great idea, if it worked properly. I had three in a row from hifi.com that were defective. The cd tray just kept spinning on the first and third units that I received. The second unit had a loud pop every time a cd changed. Since my return policy was up with hifi.com., I called Marantz. They sent me a cd5001 single player, which has worked nicely. I was worried about going from a changer to a single player, but no big deal. I'm glad that I did. Again, I don't mean to bash this product. I know some folks think highly of it. I just must have had a string of bad luck. Marantz was very good to work with as far as returning the 4300. If I had received a unit that was working properly, I'd probably rate this unit as a 4 across the board.

Customer Service

Customer service was good at hifi.com as well as at Marantz. No complaints.

Similar Products Used:

Denon DCM-270 changer

The previous reviewer is right - a nice unit for the money, but the NJM/JRC2114D op amp is very brittle sounding. Upgrade it for a $50 OPA627 op amp module from PartsConnexion.com and you'll be very happy. It won't be easy to remove the stock op amp - you'll have to disassemble the unit to get to the bottom of the circuit board to de-solder it - but it's worth the effort. Happy listening.

Good bass, vocals

hard brittle highs noisy changer unreliable

I purchased it from accessories4less as a refurb unit. The first one was DOA, got the next one from Marantz factory as a replacement and it had a problem of recognizing a cd when it was loaded with another one playing. Two lemons in a row! Anyway, I had a chance to do some critical listening after a 72 hour burn-in and I did not find it to be all that amazing. Was mediocre at best. True, the sound is on the warm side but the highs are quite brittle which is very evident if listening to classical strings. It did not sound as good as an older higher end denon unit I have. I thought it would be fairer to compare it to another unit in it's price range so I did an A/B comparison with the Pioneer 563 universal player which I only use for high rez formats. While the pioneer was a little congested in the mids I found it to be smoother than the Marantz! This is probably due to the cheap op-amp that marantz uses NJ2114. Still not bad for the money I suppose, you could do better with a good used Sony ES changer for the same price I would imagine. I returned the unit as the changer seems quite unreliable.

Similar Products Used:

denon, Pioneer, Sony ES, Nad, Rotel

Great warm sound

Slow change drawer

I bought this unit without much investigation when my old CD player finally bit the dust. To say that I am pleasantly surprised is an understatement. Everything about this unit is top quality. The sound is overall "laid back" which is a nice complement to an already bright system. There is nothing offensive about the sound and it is very non fatiguing. My rating takes into account the terrific value this player represents

sound, value

maybe I'll update later, but right now, none

Got this a few months ago and I can say that I'm very pleased with this changer. I'd been using a Cambridge DVD/CD player and with the Maggies, was pretty hard to listen to. This unit has opened up the soundstage by quite a margin and the sound doesn't get as bright as the Cambridge did. Overall, for the price, I'm extremely happy to have this unit.

Sound Design

For the price nothing I could think of.

Excellent CD changer for the price. Changer mechanism is of high quality and face of unit has a nice clean look to it. Has the legendary warm Marantz sound and matches great with my Parasound amp and preamp which are slightly foward. Even though its an entry level unit I probably wont be upgrading anytime soon because of the fantastic value it represents. Overall a great sounding changer that is worth a look.

Similar Products Used:

Rotel and NAD

Strong, heavy built CD transport. Excellent detail, dynamics, richness and warmth. Very musical. Deep and extended bass. Huge soundstage!

Larger footprint and noisier in CD changes than other players. (NOT a major worry).

BACKGROUND: For the past several months I have been using a Panasonic DVD-F87 universal DVD/DVD-A/CD/HDCD/MP3 changer as my main digital source in my music system. The Panasonic had received very favorable reviews in the www.audioasylum.com forums for its redbook CD playback capability. It's sound is transparent, detailed and very smooth, especially with its upsampling feature (frequecy 176Hz) enabled. However, the Panasonic's presentation is a little laid back for redbook CDs. Experts say that even expensive universal/DVD players do not sound as good as dedicated CD players in redbook CD playback due to sampling timing issues. So I decided to invest in a dedicated CD changer with good price versus performance characteristics. I narrowed my search down to Onkyo DX-C390 and Marantz CC4300. I went with the Marantz CC4300 after a member, (a.k.a. an "inmate"), of AudioAsylum.com forums recommended it for its detail, dynamics and warmth. SET UP AND SOUND: I received the Marantz only this morning! It is bigger and heavier (12.8 lbs versus 8.9) than the Panasonic DVD-F87. Set up is as straightfoward as it gets. I connected the Marantz using analog cables to my Cayin TA-30 integrated tube amp, which drives a pair of JMLab Chorus 714 S speakers. I began by trying out a few of my reference jazz, blues and rock CDs. The Marantz produced an absolutely huge soundstage. The sound is as detailed as my Panasonic DVD-F87, but defintely warmer, richer and more dynamic - exactly the characteristics I was looking for! The highs sound quite smooth and extended, not as extended as the Panasonic DVD-F87 with upsampling enabled, but well within my liking. The Marantz CC43000 will now replace my Panasonic DVD-F87 for playing redbook CDs. And the Panasonic will henceforth be relegated to DVD, DVD-A and HDCD playback. The experts were absolutely right about dedicated CD players being better than universal/DVD players for redbook CD playback! CONCLUSION: Overall, I love the sound of the Marantz CC4300. I finally have a player which approaches real Hi-Fi. I strongly recommend this player for those looking for an entry-level audiophile quality player.

Similar Products Used:

Panasonic DVD-F87 universal DVD/DVD-A/CD/HDCD/MP3 player

Smooth mechanics on the changer. Great looking unit. Sound is clean and warm.

None thus far.

I got a great deal on this unit via e-bay. It is a great cd changer, and has noticeably improved sound over the exisiting Panasonic DVD/CD player I had been using. It compliments the Sony 7es received and Paradigm Studio 100's.

Similar Products Used:

Sony, Panasonic