Recommendations for 5-Disc Carousel Player


Right off of the bat, I will concede that 5-CD carousels rarely fall into the world of true audiophilia. However, I happen to very much enjoy putting in 5 excellent CDs and letting it go while I work. In my 'man cave' audio system, I am running a Marantz CC4001 5-CD carousel. But, it is begining to make some ominous noises while playing discs in positions 2 & 3 - not a hitch for the other postions.

So, I am thinking about replacing it. However, I am finding almost zero selection in new carousels. Marantz has the CC4003 replacement. Rotel has dropped the carousel from its line as has Adcom & Sony ES. Sony makes an inexpensive one and Pioneer insists upon retaining the cartridge format, which I've heard to be inferior to the carousel.

Doe anyone out there know of other brands/models I should check out? I plan to use an external DAC to upgrade the performance - in essence, it will function as a carousel transport.

Thanks in advance! Have a great day!
128x128Ag insider logo xs@2xoldmandave
i've owned, or still own, a bunch of changers and my favorite remains the integra cdc units, which regualrly list on ebay for $50 or so. nice smooth mechanism, 6 disc capability, very good build quality. the denons are extremely noisy and poorly built; adcom was unreliable; yamaha was actaully solid and smooth and would function well as a transport.
Take a look at Yamaha; I own an older CDC-655 and have always been impressed with it.
I have an Adcom GCD-600 that I'd be happy to sell. Good player with lots of nice features.

Jim D
Why not get another Marantz? The model VC-6001 CD/DVD changer, it plays SACD and DVD Audio as well and sounds pretty good. You can have a mix of formats and enjoy the music.