Being used with a Mrantz sr780, B&W 604s and Monster 550i interconnect...I could have gone with a $2000 seperate transport/dac, single disc player and gotten better sound...That is not realistic because this player only cost me $500 plus it is a 5 disc changer..My musical taistes go from John Williams, Slayer and My Dying Bride...Lots of detail in the everything I listen to whihc allows this player to show how amazing it is...Detailed highs, detailed neutrals and tight bass..I have heard similar players from Adcom, NAD, Denon and choose this player over all of them...

I bought the CC65 SE based on reviews and a brief audition in February. Brought it home and was floored at the improvement in sound over my eight year old top o the line Sony. My intention was to use this box until I found the DAC of my dreams, and would have been satisfied to wait quite a while. Then it happened - a dark cloud decended over the listening room and I began hearing the slight whirr of the disc drive. Motor noise? A bearing? Plastic on Plastic??? Couldn't tell, but what the hell, it was on warranty. Took it back to my local near high end dealer for another - oops. Marantz is back ordered. Waited a month - none in stock. Faxed Marantz US and two weeks later some weenie at Marantz leaves a message on my answering machine and tells me they will ship units on April 21st. Okay, I'm patient. Called the dealer recently, and was told they still don't know when they will get them. (by the by, they sold the one I turned in to some poor sucker as a demo). So now I'm stuck with a credit at a wannabe home theater dealer so I can buy mediocre speaker cable or interconnects at list price against my credit. Great. Thank you Marantz.
Oh yeah, when I faxed and asked Marantz about the problem there was no response. This would be lesson number eight in my new adventure into audiophile heaven. Hell is lookin pretty good.

Oh well.

I bought this piece in 95'. At the time I thought it was well worth the price of admission. We are now 98' and I still use it. I may consider upgrading to the Anthem CD1 but nothing less. I have tries the Adcom GCD700 and the other $1000 flavours but none are noticeably better than this player. You need to hit the $2000 range to see an improvement.
So, three years and no end in sight. This player gets it all out in pleasant way, that is easily listened to, even with the infamous Kimber PBJ. The player is not lacking in the bass department, full rich mids, crisp well behaved highs, all features that distinguish players from pretenders. I will take the Anthem for a home audition this summer. We will see if it is worth the price of admission. The Marantz certainly is.

Regis Poirier

PS: I cannot recommend this product to those that like inaccurate reproduction or thin empty sounds :)

When my 10-year-old NEC single-disc player died (it was an okay unit;
I've never seen any other CD players made by them; I picked it up for
$150 at a show featuring dealer overstocks and stuff like that), I
decided that I wanted the convenience of a CD changer if it were possible
to not lose too much of the sound quality.

I compared three units at home: Sony CA9ES, NAD 515, and Marantz CC65se.

My (low low low budget :) system is as follows:
Harmon/Kardon HK590i receiver (early 1980s, but a great cheap used receiver)
Harmon/Kardon CD90 tape deck (early 1980s, for dubs for the car)
Technics SLB25 turntable (early 1980s, part of my first stereo system...)
Advent "Original Large Advent" speakers (vintage 1970s, cost $20 at a swapmeet)
Radio Shack "gold" interconnects
Home Depot 14-ga. speaker wire

Test discs: Dire Straits "Brothers in Arms" (great recording!), Squirrel
Nut Zippers "Hot", Electric Light Orchestra "Out of the Blue", Paul Simon's
"Graceland", Pink Floyd's live album "Pulse", Jean-Michel Jarre "Oxygene
7-13", and more...

The CA9ES was something of a disappointment. I expected more from a Sony
ES-series top-line player. While it had the best display, best remote,
best controls, and best looks, the music it put out wasn't very good.
The tested unit was a demo model, so break-in wasn't an issue. The
soundstage image was pretty flat, and it seemed to smooth out music too
much, especially cymbals and guitar. Vocals sounded flattened and
occasionally lifeless. The Sony often sounded a lot like my old NEC
player. This particular unit also decided to occasionally "blip out" for
about five seconds on the first track of a number of CD's, mostly brand
new ones.

The NAD 515 had much better sound. Cymbals were crisp, drums sounded like
drums, Mark Knopfler's guitar work sounded great. The soundstage was
definitely there, though not feeling as deep as some other CD players that
I listened to at local audio shops. However, the NAD design philosophy
definitely worked against it. The front panel controls were okay, but the
remote is small and cheesy, and the display annoying. The display includes a
representation of the discs loaded into the tray, but also insists on blinking
the number (and circle around it) of the disc currently playing. Really
annoying and superfluous, because the display defaults to showing the elapsed
track time. Break-in wasn't an issue as I was able to bring home a store
demo over Thanksgiving, but even with the better sound, I decided I didn't
like the design choices at all; NAD's minimalism looks and works great for
pre-amps, amplifiers and tuners, but is a limiting factor as far as I'm
concerned when it comes to a CD changer. The 515 also is the only CD changer
with a remote that didn't have 0-9 buttons on it.

I bought the CC65se on a leap of faith, based on other reviews. It has the
same transport as the NAD (made by Philips, I believe), but better controls
and a slightly better remote. It doesn't insist on flashing the number of
the disc on the display (same exact display as the NAD), but it does include
a few more informative messages and more front-panel controls are available.
The remote is, um, weird. It's a two-sided affair, with CD-specific
controls on one side, and controls for other Marantz components on the other.
The "chiclet" buttons will keep dust out, and are also arranged in a slightly useful pattern, unlike the NAD's regular buttons in a two-column layout.
If there were an inexpensive way to upgrade the remote (or design my own :),
I'd get rid of the two-sidedness, and add more features and layout.
Inexplicably, even though there's a "quick-load" feature on the carousel,
there's no way to tell the player to play only one disc and then stop (the
Sony does have this feature). I haven't used the CD player's built-in
volume control because it appears not to quiet all frequencies at the
same rate.

After four days of running it 24 hours a day in repeat mode (recommended here
as well as elsewhere), I find that the sound appears to be
improving as the player breaks in. The soundstage, while without incredible
depth, is certainly present with good recordings (especially the "Brothers
in Arms" album). Instruments sound natural and real to my 32-year-old ears.
Music definition across the frequency range is good, though I have to keep
the bass down at home, as I live on the top floor of an old wooden building,
and have a downstairs neighbor who doesn't share my taste in music.

I wish this -- or any other CD changer in this price range -- offered a
dimmable display. Meanwhile, I'll just drape a bit of cloth in front of
it.

All in all, I think the CC65se gives a great deal for the money, though I
have to subtract a bit from my rating because the included remote isn't
too great, and the display and features could be a bit better.

Very natural sound. Needs break-in time, but very quick and solid mechanism. In its price range, it can't be beat. PS: Dealer cost on this unit is $300. beat 'em up.

I have owned 2 of these units and have had the same problem with each of them. I am curious to know if anyone else has experienced the same thing.After a bout 6-8 weeks of burn-in, the CD drawer develops an annoying squeak as it closes. This squeak becomes a slight grinding noise that does not at all sound healthy. This does not seem to affect the sound of the player, but it still causes concern. I returned the first unit to the dealer and got a replacement. 3 weeks later, the new unit developed the same problem. I guess I will have to live with this as a "quirk" with this product.
Am I being anal? Has anyone else heard this?

I have owned this product for a year and absolutely think it's the best CD changer under $1000. It has a nice open sound, well detailed on good recordings, some may find it a little bright but when matched with a warm receiver or amp it is wonderful. I would buy another in a second.

Based on what I know, I wouldn't buy another one of these units, or recommend it to a friend. Because the website is really a bunch of friends, I'd recommend you spend the money elsewhere.
The sound is phenomenal (for a cd changer). The quality is not there. My unit was repaired twice. And Marantz's commitment is totally lacking.

I had to wait three months on the first repair. During the 24 hour burn-in, an IC failed and the unit had to be returned to the shop for a second time.

Marantz took their time sending the replacement part for the first repair, and grumbled because the repair facility started calling after waiting two months. What was supremely irritating is that the warranty parts manager promised to overnight the part, but never did. Evidently the part was flat not available directly from Marantz, and the repair facility had to resort to the secondary market - to purchase a proprietary part. How stupid a way to run a customer service operation.

I will say, however that the unit sounds great. There's better units out there, but they're single play. For the money, it brings a lot of sound for the buck. The sound is a little bit bright, I think my satellite/subwoofer speakers in the media room emphasize this. It is not as evident in the trusty Linn speakers in the other room. Spatial imaging is superb - the left- big center- right field of sound you would expect is there. But there is a depth to the sound that extends from the the center of the room almost behind the walls. It is relatively common to sense this depth in the center area (or my favorite music room cum-watering-hole), but I've never heard that much of an effect at home.

Perhaps the best compliment to the sound is that non-enthusiasts notice the same thing. One person described the sound as "shimmering" and "translucent." Another said that he felt like he could walk back and shake the drummer's hand.

I bought the unit after seeing positive reviews in www.audioreview.com.

Clean, transparent sound of a single CD Player in a 5 disk changer.

The remote is small and kills batteries.

I've had this CD player for nearly two years now and love its sound. I've not had any of the mechanical problems discussed below. I would buy another Marantz player in a second. I'm so enthusiastic about Marantz' quality that I'm now looking to buy a Marantz A/V receiver. The remote kind of sucks but I use a universal to control it so it's not that big of a deal.

I bought cc65se last year after reading a very positive review in home theater magazine. I wanted to use it as a cd transport since it is equipped with a coaxialdigital output. I have a D/A converter with HDCD decoding capability. I was very very disappointed when I hooked everything up and tried a cd with HDCD encoding!!!!! The Marantz player does not pass the HDCD information out of it's digital output jack I called Marantz and they said they don't know why it does that. They never answered my mail . It is the only player I know of that doesn't pass hdcd info. I also called Pacific microsonics which invented the hdcd format
and they know marantz has a incompatabilty problem and marantz has not offered any solution. If you want to use this player as a transport BE AWARE
I cannot enjoy my hdcds!!!!!!!!!!!!!!