Seeking advice on Marantz CD player

[mchriste]

So I have been shopping for a high quality affordable used CD player, or DVD that will play SACD. Well I do t have any SACDs but I wanted a player that sounded good and left me the option.
I've stumbled across a
Marantz PMD-526C (I know it doesn't play SACDs..) it's a Marantz Proffesional unit. It has some nice features like Bluetooth( wife would appreciate that) and an aux in that I could plug an iPod for example into it and would not have to fiddle around with the rca on my integrated. Also it's rack mountable and it would look nice with my sansui gear in the rack....
I guess my question is, has anyone heard one? And if not, any experience with Marantz Pro stuff? I want good sound quality, the most important thing to me. I've got a decidedly mid fi setup and don't think some high end disc player is going to offer anything, but I don't want some bland dead sounding "PA" gear or anything.

 

[audiosignal]

Pro stuff can sounds good to some individuals, but they’re not built with audiophiles in mind. They’re typically built to take physical abuse and perhaps additional cooling (could be noisy fans). I would listen for noisy motors and fan noise , if any. If lacking those, it could be a good unit.

 

[mchriste]

Pro stuff can sounds good to some individuals, but they’re not built with audiophiles in mind. They’re typically built to take physical abuse and perhaps additional cooling (could be noisy fans). I would listen for noisy motors and fan noise , if any. If lacking those, it could be a good unit.

Thanks, I actually picked it up yesterday, no fans. No cooling vents at all for that matter, which I thought was strange.
It feels of good quality, like the buttons could be pressed thousands of times. I like it, it sounds really great. My wife's blasting some CDs that she hasn't heard in a while right now.
The dude I bought it from didn't have the rack ears that it came with, so I've procured a couple that I hope fit okay. They're en route. When I have it in its home maybe I'll post a picture.

I'd like to do a little critical A/B testing against a cd through it and a cd I've ripped ALAC to my iPod and see if I can tell a difference. I like the way both sound, should be interesting. Right now I'd reccomend it to someone who wants a slick little CD player with some bonus features, and is very affordable.

 

[mchriste]

I said I would so here are some pictures of the unit in question. I’m pretty happy with. The rack mount ears don’t fit perfectly but I made them work.