• AddThis Social Bookmark Button

Marantz CD-63II K.I. Signature CD Player Reviewed


  • January 11, 2009

| Print Page | Adjust Font Size:

Free Home Theater Review Weekly Newsletter.

Enter your e-mail below to get Home Theater Review's weekly newsletter with the latest equipment reviews and home theater news sent directly to your inbox.


*Required

On the surface, it's just another set of modifications, right? Another way to sell CD-63s, eh? I suppose that a cynic could look at it that way, but - after hearing the 'K.I. Signature' - the cynic would have to recant. Moreover, the lateral thinker rather than the cynic would recognise in the Marantz CD-63II K.I. Signature CD player (to give this machine its full name) a set of opportunities rare in audio which can help to convey vividly the meaning of the term 'upgrade'. That's because the K.I. Signature, the third variant, makes the CD-63 uniquely positioned to do so.

Traditionally, models dubbed 'Signature' tend to be hot-rodded versions of products which are upmarket from the outset. Ones which come to mind include a couple of Acoustic Energy speakers, some Grado cartridges of yore and the like. But, for the most part, hi-fi manufacturers do not tend to run numerous concurrent versions; it's confusing and messy. So, invariably, when a product undergoes extensive modification, it becomes a replacement for the model on which it was based. With the latest version of the CD-63, however, the consumer can - like the car buyer - choose according to price and desire within a same model 'family'. And Marantz has priced them far enough apart to ensure that they're not mutually exclusive.

Think about it. If you want a car, any car, the odds are that it's available in myriad forms, to suit both your budget and your expectations according to social and/or driving needs. A Peugeot 106? 1.1 or 1.4 litre engines, diesel, three- or five-door, sporty or plain. A Ford Fiesta? You'd need a whole magazine to list the options. In hi-fi, it's take it or leave it. But Marantz has given us the plain vanilla CD-63 (now Mk II, that is), then the CD-63SE with uprated chassis and improved components, and now the Ken Ishiwata Signature version. As all three are currently available, it affords the retailer another unique opportunities beyond being able to offer three variants of the same model to the customer: it enables the shop to perform vivid A/B/C demonstrations which are beyond reproach.

Imagine, if you will, going into a shop to buy a CD player for £500 or under, and - instead of being offered three wildly different, mutually exclusive models from three non-sympathetic manufacturers - the retailer shows you a trio of models identical but for details which enhance the performance. At extra cost, of course. Prices? The basic CD-63 can be found for around £270, the '63SE for £350. The new K.I. Signature? £500. A nice point spread, so to speak, guaranteed to space the models sufficiently to avoid confusion. And provided that the retailer has three copies of the same CD, you can feed all three versions of the Marantz into the same line-level preamp or integrated and switch from one to the other for perfect comparisons. How so? Since they all work from the same remote control, setting up synchronised playback is a breeze.

Fundamentally, a CD-63 is a slim-line budget player jam-packed with every facility expected of a CD player, plus remote volume control (great if you have a pre-amp or integrated lacking said convenience item). It uses Philips' CDM12.3 three-beam laser assembly with digital servo-drive (DSD), a single-bit converter and Hyper Dynamic Amp Modules (HDAM) to reduce noise in the analogue output section. The latter devices are probably the secret to the CD-63's supremacy in the entry-level arena. What Ken Ishiwata has added to the SE's recipe to justify the Signature tag are a new, over-sized ultra-low-impedance toroidal transformer, a completely copper-plated anti-vibration chassisand improved copper versions of Marantz's HDAMs. To give you some idea of what the K.I. Signature HDAMs do, they improve on the 80V m/sec slew rate of cheap'n'nasty op amps to typically 15V m/sec.

Only two external details identify the K.I. Signature: the flashy name plate on the front and large copper-coloured areas visible underneath. It's this which is particularly Ishiwata-esque, harking back to the high-end Marantz CD players with which he's been involved, including the CD-12/DA-12 which started the ball rolling. The overkill power supply, matched components and greater resistance to vibration are also Ishiwata trademarks, so the K.I. Signature labelling is no mere conceit. (It should also be known that, belatedly, Marantz Europe has recognised Ken's deserved pan-European celebrity status and its market value. And putting a designer's name on a product must be a first of some sort for a Japanese electronics firm, even one that's Dutch-owned.)

Given that I keep a '63SE as my budget reference and a bunch of duplicated CD titles for such comparisons, I was able to A/B myself into oblivion. Alas, the results were more difficult to confirm because the gains were of the most subtle sort, and certainly not as gross as the difference between a standard '63 and the 'SE. It's a situation which, ironically, provides us with another unique opportunity: an audition consisting of the standard CD-63II versus CD-63SE versus K.I. Signature provides painful proof of 'The Law of Diminishing Returns'.

Consistently and repeatedly, the SE versions of Marantz CD players have bettered their bog-standard progenitors with superior dynamic capability, better retrieval of detail and greater coherence. For a fee typically 30 percent dearer, Marantz provides a higher level of performance for those who could justify it. Can't hear the difference? Then don't buy an SE. Can't afford an SE? Then buy the standard model, because it's still pretty damned good.

Only this time it's not quite so clear. For one thing, the price difference between the Signature and the SE is £150, or nearly double the difference between the stock '63 and the SE. And the £80 it costs to go from stock '63 to '63SE yields more than the £150 which takes you from SE to Signature. And unless you consider yourself to be somewhat golden-eared, you'll probably go for the savings.

Even so, anyone who hear the differences between an 'SE and a Signature needs a course in Remedial Hearing. The gains may be subtle, but they're not what you could deride as 'barely audible'. If you can't hear them, fine - you've saved £150 which you should spend on having your ears syringed by a professional. The differences, while not exactly night and day, will be apparent even through the kind of systems you'd expect to host a £500-or-less CD player. Or, to put it another way, you don't have to arrange for an audition via Krell amps and WATT/Puppies.

It's all a matter of presentation. One local Marantz dealer tells me that he finds the Marantz '63s grow more 'in your face' as they acquire added status. And it's true that the various CD-63s are not laid-back or shy. On the other hand, they're graceful enough to survive comparison with far dearer players, so the 'in your face' aspect relates more to physical presentation rather than sonic aggression. Or, to put it another way, the images are more forward through the Marantzes, almost in front of the line of the speakers, when compared with the spatial presentation of the competition. Rotels, for example, seem far more genteel because of this.

But since a CD-63SE is so coherent, commanding and generally hard-to-fault, what your extra £150 for Ken Ishiwata's stamp actually buy? Perhaps the only consistent complaint one can muster about these extremely affordable players is that they can show traces of coarseness, minute amounts of sibilance and the occasional bit of shout; with the Signature, such displays of errant behaviour grow less frequent.

Indeed, the one recorded passage which I A/B'd continuously for a good half-hour was Keb' Mo's 'Am I Wrong', which seems to upset CD players the way heavily modulated tracks on LPs could (physically) aggravate a stylus. There's so much energy in the recording - a mix of powerful dynamics, scary transients and over-burdened upper frequencies - that it has a tendency to embarrass systems with the facility of a deliberately nasty test disc. Hell, one of the reasons I love the track so much is the element of surprise it contains; you never know when a system's going to fall apart. Through the K.I. Signature, the risks were lowered to barely negligible levels, while the 'SE consistently turned raw.

What makes A/B'ing the SE and the Signature so difficult are the similarities; you'd think that their common traits would make it easier to hear the differences. Not so. Both produce an identically sized and shaped soundstage, with the stage width, depth and height varying not a centimeter, the images reside in identical planes, the bass extension is interchangeable, the output levels match closely enough to tax my trusty Tandy SPL meter. But a few weeks of to'ing and fro'ing turned up other subtle variations which might not manifest themselves in a quickie demo in a store: The K.I.'s bass is richer but better-controlled, despite identical estension. The dynamic range seems wider, with low-level sounds enjoying greater security. The midband is warmer and less clinical. And similar soundstages or not, the K.I. offers greater stage depth when the recording demands it.

But there's a I can't avoid. Even though it's possible to ascribe the above differences, it's much harder placing a value on them in this context. C'mon guys: if we were talking about two pre-amps at three and four grand respectively, and the dearer one demonstrated just one area of supremacy, we would probably justify it. At this price point, however, £150 is a huge percentage of the cost to accommodate so glibly. And it's arguable that just going from the standard cables which come free with the CD-63SE to some prime interconnect for £50 would yield improvements (if not exactly the same ones) of a similar degree.

Insofar as the existence of three versions of the same CD player has provided hi-fi retailers with a foolproof way of silencing the kind of spouses who try to embarrass their partners with, 'Gee, dear, I can't hear a difference', it also shows how undeniably is the basic machine. And, as a result, how much we have to pay for incremental improvements. The K.I. Signature is, equally undeniably, the more refined and 'mature' player and the one I prefer across the board, but I can't avoid telling you that the cheaper CD-63SE is too damned good for it's own - and Marantz's - sake.

Keywords

Marantz CD-63II K.I. Signature CD Player Reviewed

Subscribe to the Newsletter
Subscribe to HomeTheaterReview.com's Weekly Newsletter to get the latest news, reviews and insight on the world of home theater, HDTV and audiophile equipment. Subscription is 100% FREE!
*Required
Email Marketing by VerticalResponse
subscribe to rss Subscribe with RSS
Follow home theater equipment reviews and daily news via our RSS feed.
Related Source Component Reviews (Classic):
  • Comment on this article

    0
Post a Comment

Please answer the following question (required) before posting to help us prevent Spam.


Featured Audio-Video News

Experiencing Your Dream Home Theater While On Vacation

Experiencing Your Dream Home Theater While On Vacation -

It isn't any news that the economy is in the dumps. Morphing your living room, garage or basement into the...

Latest Source Component Reviews (Classic)

Theta Chroma Digital to Analog Converter Reviewed -

Given that Theta's sublime Pro Gen V is a device which consistently astounds me with its transparency, speed, coherence and freedom from digitalia, there should be no surprise that it's my reference converter. Much as I adore the Marantz DA-12... Click for more...

Meracus Imago CD Transport Reviewed -

No, I don't know what 'Meracus' means, and I stopped playing around with anagrams after I reached 'ear scum'. How about 'US Cream'? No way: Meracus is so decidedly, unabashedly a German company that it couldn't possibly apply. Oh, is... Click for more...

Marantz CD-63II K.I. Signature CD Player Reviewed -

On the surface, it's just another set of modifications, right? Another way to sell CD-63s, eh? I suppose that a cynic could look at it that way, but - after hearing the 'K.I. Signature' - the cynic would have to... Click for more...

Bow Technologies ZZ-Eight CD Player Reviewed -

It could have grown out of the ZZ-One integrated amp, a Siamese twin just itching to use its amplifying sibling as a plinth. Whether or not it should be 'stacked' is doubtful, given the ventilating properties of the ZZ-One's end... Click for more...

YBA CD3a Player Reviewed -

Blame the end of the Millennium, the coming of DVD, the arrivals of HDCD/20-bit remastering/XRCD, what-have-you. All I know is that we're experiencing a flood of deliberately off-the-wall CD players, and if this is anti-digital backlash, then it's over a... Click for more...

Wilson Bensch Circle Turntable Reviewed -

No puns about 'squaring the circle', 'Will the Circle Be Unbroken?', 'circle jerks' or any of that stuff: the most-obviously named turntable since the Revolver is exactly the dream Wilson Benesch watchers hoped it would be. Its shape, its simplicity,... Click for more...

Theta Pro Gen V-A Digital to Analog Converter Reviewed -

Not keeping tabs on other reviewers, I can't say if it's normal practice to use as a reference something which members of the public cannot purchase. Hot-rodded hardware, prototypes which never made it into production - there are plenty of... Click for more...

Rega Planet Turntable Reviewed -

Buying into certain 'schools' of audio thought requires the same kind of metaphorical lobotomy as becoming a slavish football supporter or joining a religious cult. In real terms - if you let the mind-set supplant part of your personality -... Click for more...

Quasar LE Turntable Reviewed -

'Gorgeous.' That's the word I kept hearing, every time someone noticed the Quasar LE turntable in for review. And one of the first to utter it was the owner of a Michell Orbe, itself no canine. What these individuals cooed... Click for more...

Linn LP12 Turntable Reviewed -

Military manoeuvres come no more complicated. Merely considering a 'top secret' review involving a panel of seven or so listeners is to court disaster, as 'secrets' and 'journalists' are mutually incompatible. But we knew, as the only British hi-fi magazine... Click for more...

Latest Source Component Reviews (Classic)

Theta Chroma Digital to Analog Converter Reviewed -

Given that Theta's sublime Pro Gen V is a device which consistently astounds me with its transparency, speed, coherence and freedom from digitalia, there should be no surprise that it's my reference converter. Much as I adore the Marantz DA-12... Click for more...

Meracus Imago CD Transport Reviewed -

No, I don't know what 'Meracus' means, and I stopped playing around with anagrams after I reached 'ear scum'. How about 'US Cream'? No way: Meracus is so decidedly, unabashedly a German company that it couldn't possibly apply. Oh, is... Click for more...

Marantz CD-63II K.I. Signature CD Player Reviewed -

On the surface, it's just another set of modifications, right? Another way to sell CD-63s, eh? I suppose that a cynic could look at it that way, but - after hearing the 'K.I. Signature' - the cynic would have to... Click for more...

Bow Technologies ZZ-Eight CD Player Reviewed -

It could have grown out of the ZZ-One integrated amp, a Siamese twin just itching to use its amplifying sibling as a plinth. Whether or not it should be 'stacked' is doubtful, given the ventilating properties of the ZZ-One's end... Click for more...

YBA CD3a Player Reviewed -

Blame the end of the Millennium, the coming of DVD, the arrivals of HDCD/20-bit remastering/XRCD, what-have-you. All I know is that we're experiencing a flood of deliberately off-the-wall CD players, and if this is anti-digital backlash, then it's over a... Click for more...

Wilson Bensch Circle Turntable Reviewed -

No puns about 'squaring the circle', 'Will the Circle Be Unbroken?', 'circle jerks' or any of that stuff: the most-obviously named turntable since the Revolver is exactly the dream Wilson Benesch watchers hoped it would be. Its shape, its simplicity,... Click for more...

Theta Pro Gen V-A Digital to Analog Converter Reviewed -

Not keeping tabs on other reviewers, I can't say if it's normal practice to use as a reference something which members of the public cannot purchase. Hot-rodded hardware, prototypes which never made it into production - there are plenty of... Click for more...

Rega Planet Turntable Reviewed -

Buying into certain 'schools' of audio thought requires the same kind of metaphorical lobotomy as becoming a slavish football supporter or joining a religious cult. In real terms - if you let the mind-set supplant part of your personality -... Click for more...

Quasar LE Turntable Reviewed -

'Gorgeous.' That's the word I kept hearing, every time someone noticed the Quasar LE turntable in for review. And one of the first to utter it was the owner of a Michell Orbe, itself no canine. What these individuals cooed... Click for more...

Linn LP12 Turntable Reviewed -

Military manoeuvres come no more complicated. Merely considering a 'top secret' review involving a panel of seven or so listeners is to court disaster, as 'secrets' and 'journalists' are mutually incompatible. But we knew, as the only British hi-fi magazine... Click for more...

All Source Component Reviews (Classic)

Latest Equipment Reviews

Mapleshade Time-Correcting Maple Bedrock Speaker Stands Reviewed -

For ages the adage with bookshelf and/or monitor speakers has always been getting the tweeter or tweeter/midrange as close to ear height will yield the best results. Of course proper placement in a room as well as in relation to... Click for more...

Mapleshade Samson V.1 Equipment Rack Reviewed -

Seemingly everyone makes an equipment rack of some form or another these days with varying degrees of success, however for best results you're better off going with a third party or specialty equipment rack. The problem with going with an... Click for more...

Oppo BDP-83 Special Edition Universal Player Reviewed -

Oppo Digital's first Blu-ray player the BDP-83 entered the market in mid 2009 to numerous accolades. A mere half year later, Oppo Digital, not satisfied with the untapped performance potential of the player, released the BDP-83 Special Edition reviewed here.... Click for more...

Parker Audio 95MK II Loudspeakers Reviewed -

Chances are you've never heard of or seen a pair of Parker Audio 95MK II loudspeakers. Because of that fact, you're probably thinking they're some sort of uber-esoteric, high-end, ultra-expensive loudspeakers from some designer's garage in Munich. Well, you'd be... Click for more...

Bel Canto e. One S300iu Integrated Amplifier Reviewed -

Integrated amplifiers have always been an effective and affordable way to get into two-channel audio. However, in recent years, integrated amplifiers have come into their own, offering performance and simplicity that even high-end separate systems have trouble matching. Case in... Click for more...

Bel Canto e.One S300 Power Amplifier Reviewed -

Stereo amplifiers have been a staple since music went from single speakers to two-way back in the day. Over the years, we've seen stereo amplifiers go from simple, manageable black boxes to over-the-top, larger-than-thou space heaters for the home and... Click for more...

OmniMount Link Series A/V Stands Reviewed -

As its name suggests, OmniMount's Link Series is a modular line of A/V stands that you can mix and match to craft the exact entertainment solution you need. You can also add on as your system grows. The Link Series,... Click for more...

Paradigm Reference Studio 20 v.5 Bookshelf Speaker Reviewed -

I've been a fan of Paradigm for years, owning and enjoying seemingly every speaker in their product line from the awesome and affordable Atoms to their flagship Signature S8s. Over the years there have been two Paradigm speaker designs that... Click for more...

Bel Canto REF 1000M Mono Amplifier Reviewed -

When one thinks of a 500-Watt mono amplifier you probably picture a large, heat sink clad hunk of steel that weighs more than the car you drove it home in and probably costs more too. What if I told you... Click for more...

OmniMount VideoBasics TV Mounts Reviewed -

You've spent the extra money to buy an ultra-thin HDTV. The last thing you want to do is hinder the minimalist look by mating the TV with a bulky wall-mount. OmniMount designed the VideoBasics line of flat-panel TV mounts with... Click for more...

Read All Reviews