When I first got the Marantz cd player, I first noticed how smooth the sound was, even at both frequencies. And I haven't even burned in the player yet! Everything seemed very balanced, and proportionate. vocals were up front, bass in the back and overall soundstage seem good. For this cd player's price I appreciate the generous amounts of detail, proportionality of the sound frequencies, the 3Dness of the overall signal and the smooth natural represenation of the source. As time went by with the player continuosly burning process, sound became much much warmer, much subtler and the soundstage revealed multi-layer details everything was very natural. I used Straight Wire's Encore II and a older Harmon Kardon Amp with Tannoy Speakers.

I just get the CD63SE last week. It is an very good CD player overall. I am impressed with its details. However mids and highs can be harsh at times especially with acoustic instruments. I was listening Eric Clapton Unplugged and it sounds really harsh at times. So I bought a Musical Fidelity X-10D tube cd upgrade to go with it. It removes the harshness but details are still there (excellent product from MF).
Four stars for the CD player alone.
Five stars for the CD player with the MF X-10D.

In this price it's one of the best players..
I use it for 2 years... I'm not going to change it for anything.. except marantz CD17:-))))

Step up from cd changers

Does not resolve detail as well as better players.
'Veiling' of background music.

Let me start off saying that the 63se was my first stab at getting an audiophile quality player. I was quite happy with the sound for a while (two years). I then moved from Canada to the US and sold some of my equipment. For a while I was using a DVD player and finally purchased an Alchemy DDE 3. This was an amazing improvement of sound in my system. Much better at everything than the Marantz player. A few months later, before moving back to Canada, I came upon an Alchemy ACDPro which was NEW. This player sold originally for $1250 or so and I paid $400 for it. You would not believe the music quality you are missing by using a player like the 63se. Resolution, detail, background, rythym, I could go on and on. Please remember, the source is the most important part of your system... not the speakers. For those of you with speakers > $500, you are not doing justice to your system by having a 63se. Try a player around $1000 or so, preferably with HDCD. Even a player that is a few years old, but of much better quality will improve your system immensely.

Similar Products Used:

Classe cd.5, Alchemy ACDPro, Rega Planet, several others and DACs as well.

Engaging, detailed sound, very little "harshness"excellent built quality.

There is no "weight' to the sound, doesn't mach well with "lean" sounding electronics

I owned Marantz 63 se almost two years, however, i used
this player only as a transport, to Musical Fid. DAC-X-ACt
and with the DIP Jitter fillter. Dac,s class A output, gave
the player, some warmth and weight to the sound, on the detail, and resolution expense. Without, the DAC, Marantz sound clean, although, too "thin". Already having,lean sounding front end, didn't mach right. It isn't perfect, but for the price it is probably the best player out-there.
Even better than Hiped-up Rega Planet.Also i compared this player to some Heavy-weight's Karik, Krell Cd-1, SFCD-1...
For under 1K, sure bet.

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Linn Majik, Tukan, Krell-1, Krell cav 300i...

Very detailed sound for a budget-priced CDP

Harsh highs, lack of depth

Ok, this was my first CDP, so take it with a grain of salt.

I've to admit that this player is capable of squeezing almost every last details of your CDs. Unfortunately, I couldn't stand the harsh highs for more than 30 min. after that I'd have a headache. Needless to say, if you can tone down the harsh highs, it might be your first good CDP.

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none

High Reliability, well-balanced sound

Lacks some richness in lower bass registers

I must admit that I had to laugh when reading the other reviews that criticized the 63SE for being too bright & harsh. This unit is universally known for having an overall laid-back presentation. Over the years I dug up 12 published reviews on the piece and not a single reviewer stated that it had a harsh sound to it. (By the way, all 12 reviews were positive and recommended the player as a best buy in its price range).

I've had the opportunity to perform double blind comparisons of the 63SE vs a number of $1500 & up players. It never ceases to amaze me by how well it held up vs that group. I also tried it with two popular $1000 external DACs that I ended up not purchasing because the 63SE sounded better without them.

An acquantance (sic) of mine once conducted a comparison of the 63SE straight up vs running it's digital out through about $2000 of highly-recommended Audio Alchemy gear. Over 20 people tried to tell which was which and all failed.

I have since replaced the player in my main system (with a $4500 transport/DAC combo). It is now 5 years old and does a great job in my bedroom audio system (which has a total list price of $2700).

The 63SE didn't really do anything exceptional. But it had good detail, very good dynamics, and an overall pleasant & listenable sound.

I highly recommend it in today's used market. It is solidly built and provides great audio quality for the typically asking price of around $200.

Similar Products Used:

Adcom GCD-575, GCD-600, Rotel 855, Magnavox CDB-650, Rega Planet

Sturdy Construction, Rarely skips or jumps, 3 year warranty

No display off feature, Mine had to be serviced after about a year and a half.

Speakers: Bose 901 series 1
Pre Amp: Marantz AV500
Power Amp/s: 2 * Rotel 970bxMK2 {Bridged}

I brought this C.D. player from a recomendation in What Hi-Fi magizine and Im not disapointed with its sound quality. It tracks fast and plays discs that are dirty or scratched very well compared to every other C.D. player I have used.
As soon as you pick this player up you can tell straight away that it is not a budget player, I have felt amps that weigh less than this player. This player has a few nice features that I feel are worth mentioning. I keep my Hi-Fi in a cabinet with glass doors on the front and I can't tell you how many times I have accidently bumped the doors closed into the side of the C.D.drawer, this worried me the first time it happend but it was a releif when the door closed automaticly. Also I have accidently pressed the open button when the glass doors on the cabinet are closed , this can be bad because some players keep trying to open the drawer even when something is stopping it from opening fully and eventually the motor gives up but the Marantz is smart enough to cut the motor off after a few seconds. The Marantz looks nice and is a dream to use as all of the controls have been well thought out for example on most players if you are listening to track 6 on a disc and want to skip back to track 2 you would have to press the back skip button 5 times and if you wanted to restart the current track you would press the back skip button once. With the Marantz however if you want to restart the current track you just have to push the play button and she will restart and only 4 back skip presses would be needed to go from track 6 to track 2. Also you can keep pressing the track skip button and your music will not be interrupted until you stop pressing the skip button and have made your selection. I have compared my player against more expensive and newer models such as the Arcam Alpha 7se and over all the Marantz comes out on top. I would give this player 5 stars except for the fact that my player required the transport macanism to be serviced.

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Arcam Alpha 7se

A "well-reviewed" product; easy to sell off.

Migraine-inducing treble and dismal build quality.

A well over-hyped player that approaches the Micromega Stage
series in unreliability. Several local dealers have refused to carry the budget Marantz CD players because of the number of returns they have taken back. The lo-fi junk is still trading on the credibility of the true hi-fidelity Marantz equipment, which few will argue, sound fabulous.
The SE and garden-variety 63 both sound thin and shouty, unless matched with suitably warm-sounding low resolution equipment. Certainly not for lovers of vinyl.

Although the K.I. Sig is a big improvement sonically over the SE, it's another throw-away player. Potential purchasers can save themselves a lot of grief by listening to their dealers and their own ears instead of nonsense publications such as "What B*llocks" magazine, which "5 stars" garbage such as Cable Talk Talk cables and lo-fi sludge sound £200 "giant-killing" amplifiers.

For those who like the upfront sound, the Rotel 971 is as good a starting point as any.

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Sony XA2-ES & 3000ES, Musical Fidelity E600 & X-RAY, Naim Cd3 & i(?) Flat/Hi-capped, Teac VRDS-7, Rotel 965BX & 971, Arcam 8SE.

Reads Discs Fast

Grainy Upper Mids and Treble, Soft Bass, Dynamic Range, Depth

I don't understand why this player was given so much praise, even 5 years ago. First, The upper mids and treble are grainy and painful at times, especially when the 63se is called upon to supply dynamic transients like cymbal crashes. The bass and lower midrange, however, is layed back and flat sounding, lacking any power or weight. I listened to it through Senn HD 580s and a MF X-Can head amp and the sound was just a complete mess, acoustic music sounded hard and electronic in the upper registers and dead in the lower regions.

The audio press was crazy to recommend this 'digital nightmare' of a machine.

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CD 48