The Marantz CC-65SE is a special-edition version of Marantz's already high-quality top-end changer. The electronics have been upgraded with higher-end discrete components, like the other SE versions of Marantz equipment.

This is a very high end changer, and probably is the best quality CD changer available. If you don't have very good equipment, you won't hear the difference between a normal $150-$200 changer and this one, and there's no point in spending the extra money for this changer.

The feature set is typical for a good CD changer. It has programming and all the normal bells and whistles. Loading is nice, with a quick-play button on the tray when you want to load a single disc and start it right away. You can change 3 of the 5 discs while it's playing. One nice touch (which may annoy some people) is that if you hit the < track button, it doesn't go to the beginning of the current track, it goes to the track prior to it.
One ergonomic problem is the display. It is somewhat hard to read from across the room, and it's almost impossible to tell what disc is playing when you're at any distance from the unit.

The sound quality from this changer is very impressive. In side-by-side comparisons, using my vinyl pressing of Roxy Music's Avalon and the just-released remastered CD version, I have a hard time telling the difference. The vinyl version does have slightly cleaner harmonics on the cymbals, but in all other respects the differences are difficult to discern. The sound-stage produced by the CD is identical to the record, with easily localized vocalists and instruments.

Although this changer predates the CD burning rage, it has no problems playing or tracking CDs (and CD-RWs) burned on a Yamaha CD-RW drive, and I have never had it mistrack a CD, even ones that other CD players have extreme difficulty playing. I've been using this changer for 2 years now, and it has performed flawlessly.



Recommended: Yes

Amount Paid (US$): 400.