PDA

View Full Version : Tangent CDP-50 vs Marantz CD-52



foxysounds
18-07-2009, 22:07
As you may have seen in another thread I was looking for a cheap replacement for a Marantz CD-52 for my second system which, while still playing CDs perfectly well after about 20 years of faithful service, was starting to have a lot of trouble ejecting them.

I won't go into the details here of how I came to select the Tangent CDP-50 as a possible replacement - you can read that in the other thread here (http://www.theartofsound.net/forum/showthread.php?t=3279) if you're interested but I thought you all might be interested to hear whether a CD player currently available at Richer Sounds for 39.99ukp was as poor as you might expect at that price.

The CD-52 has been in my system in the kitchen for some time. However, it's not very easy to swap components in and out of that system, sitting, as it does, on top of a high cupboard so I took the CD-52 and the CDP-50 to my studio and hooked them both up to my main system for easier comparison. I used the audio outputs on both CD players for the comparison as I don't have an external DAC in my kitchen system so I needed to know how the internal DAC on the CDP-50 would perform.

Right out of the box the CDP-50 was giving me mixed messages. The power cable seemed solid and well made and is detachable which is a nice touch. While not a heavyweight player it felt substantial and solid rather than flimsy as I was expecting at the price and the drawer opened and closed smoothly and without leaving me feeling concerned that it might snap if a breath of wind caught it. All good signs. However, the power button felt as though it scraped the fascia as I pushed it to turn the player on and the "Compact disc digital audio" stencil on the CD drawer is not quite straight - both of which hinted at corners being cut. I stuck in a CD and left it playing for 10 hours to burn in a little before starting the comparisons.

To make the comparison as fair as possible I used the same interconnect into the same input on the amp for both players. When switching between them I adjusted the amp volume by ear to keep the listening level as close as possible to the same between the two players - the output on the Marantz being a touch louder than that on the Tangent.

I started with some tracks from Robert Plant's "Fate of nations" and was surprised to discover that I could barely tell any difference at all between the two players. Eventually I did decide that the Tangent exhibited a slightly wider stereo image from time to time than the Marantz. It was clear that there was going to be no easy victory for either player.

Next I moved on to Dream Theater's "Images and words" and once again was almost completely at a loss to hear a difference but in one or two places I thought that maybe the bass was a touch deeper on the Marantz although I couldn't be certain.

Moving on to Counting Crows' "August and everything after" I definitely did hear a difference. In this case the high-hats and cymbals on "Perfect blue buildings" sounded somehow more realistic on the Tangent. That sounds like a strange thing to say because they didn't sound unrealistic on the Marantz but somehow they were more present on the Tangent. It may simply be that the trebble is a touch more forward on the Tangent and so these details stand out more but neither player exhibits an overly harsh or strident top end.

I listened to "Nightingale" from Norah Jones' album "Come away with me" first on the CD-52 and then on the CDP-50 and noticed on the latter a resonating bass note which seemed quite annoying and which I hadn't noticed on the Marantz. Switching back to the Marantz revealed that it was resonating there too but maybe not quite so much.

Finally I tried "Hotel hobbies" from Marillion's "Clutching at straws" and again noticed that the cymbals and high hats definitely sounded better on the Tangent.

So, can a 40ukp CD player really compete with a 200ukp one, even if the latter is 20 years old? Yes and no. Yes because sonically the Tangent can certainly compete - in fact to my mind it wins. On most tracks I probably wouldn't tell the difference but where a difference was noticable I almost always preferred the Tangent. No because a little research reveals that the Tangent CDP-50 used to retail for $259 so in fact, the playing field was much more level than I might have expected right from the start :-)

If you find yourself needing a cheap CD player I thoroughly recommend you give it a try yourself. At that price what have you got to lose?

Simon.

Spectral Morn
18-07-2009, 22:15
Hi Simon as your item is a review, I have moved it to Strokes of Genius, hope you don't mind. A few photos of the Advent CDP would be nice and round off a very good write up.



Regards D S D L