My good old Rotel RCD-855 cd player is on it's last leg (literally). I had already spent the last few years at a 45 degree angle with a big book under it's left side (otherwise it would skip like crazy). Now the left channel intermittently goes in and out.
I knew it was going to happen sooner or later, but I'm still kind of sad about it. I've been using this player for a dedicated music system for a very long time. It was the first good quality player I ever purchased back in college (circa 91/92). I remember how cool it was when I hooked it up to the Audio Alchemy Dac-in-the-box a few years later.
Anyway, so I'm in the market for a new cd player. This is for a second dedicated listening room, so I don't need dvd. After reading some reviews, I'm leaning toward the Marantz CD5400 for about $320.00. Is there something else that I should be looking at in this price range? I'm hooking it up to a "vintage" Proton D540 amplifier, and some Paradigm 5SE Mark II speakers.
Since I've been into Home Theater over the last few years, I've really haven't been following the advances in dedicated cd players from price/performance standpoint. Am I correct to assume that the on-board DAC in players like the Marantz would be at least as good if not significantly better than the 12+ year old DAC-in-the-Box?
Thanks in advance.
