Marantz - SA-15S2B or Yamaha CD-S2000 or iPod


Hi All,
The rest of the system: Vandersteen 2Ce Sig2, (don't laugh, it is an excellent piece) JVC A-X55 integrated amp from your student years and a Denon tuner.

Room is about 400 sq feet. Classical music, e.g. Bach's partitas by Mullova or WTK by S. Richter - so clarity/serenity is appreciated. Classy jazz on a rare occasion is enjoyed too.
I can get Yam for $1500 new, there is an open box Marantz for about the same price.. And a friend promised to loan his CD8004 as a reference point for comparison, tells me this is all I need. I am more into music, so if the CD8004 is 'enough', I will settle on that and save some money. That is why I ask the collective wisdom before I start 'buying' and returning stuff.

Sometimes I think that an iPod may be able to deliver the same at a lower cost. Correct me, if necessary.

Thank you,
George
apdxyk

Showing 3 responses by apdxyk

Edit: actually it is JVC a-X77. Shows how I care.. But I do care about the sound.
Zd542, I understand and share your concern. It looks to me you are not aware how good the vintage JVC A-X77 is. It sent back Anthem 225, Luxman E250 and a smaller Plinius 9100 home. But I am open for suggestions, albeit right now I am looking for decent CD player under $2k, or an equivalent iPod + madness setup. I trust my ears, love music and for a therapy I do not need equipment race. Of course, I have auditioned many an amp that sounded 'better' than this one, but I cannot afford those at the moment. It would take more than a couple of Gs to better it. So, I decided to take care of the source first.
Right now, the question for me now: in their standard, unmodified form, what would be a better player for me. And I realize I need to decide this for myself, but ask you on the off-chance someone [with similar musical taste] already went through comparisons could chime in
Thank you all for your contributions. The dinky iPod is out then :) Now, I have to decide which case of creative marketing is loaded with heavier burden of creativity. Marantz is a Mid-Fi Co that has an edge in this dept. Like Teshigahara-sensei was in the neigbourhood and brought his latest ikebana to Ishikawa-san and that thing inspired Ken to use his divine touch here and there and 10 thousand flowers betrayed Chairman Mao and are blossoming in your den now. They are all masters of metaphor repackaging. Like those toro transformers, copper plates, etc. [October Copper futures are at 3.0755 right now. Something Mr Atkinson never used in his reviews. As relevant, of course] Why not, if you can sell the same product more times? Yamaha has an interesting tray and ostensibly more modern DAC chip, but it is a function of implementation, of course.
Yes, I like to spin them, and my collection is growing despite my attempts to rip and donate the CDs to my local library.
I guess, I need to give a listen to an apparatus or two. There is no other way otherwise. Shall report back in a few..