Marantz CD-6003 High-End CD Player with USB Port [Audiophile Earcandy...CDs Aren't Dead Yet?]

If you’re anything like me when it comes to music, you’ve completely embraced the switch from CDs to digital music. Your collection of discs sits, untouched, covered in dust. Does my CD player even work anymore? Believe it or not, CDs are still alive out there, hanging on to what’s left of their reputation for near perfect sound reproduction. While the format may be struggling to draw in what may be its last breath, manufacturers of CD players are still developing new products with the hope of enticing the hardest of hardcore audiophiles. The latest device from Marantz is sure to perk some ears.

The CD-6003 high-end CD player is the latest product introduction from the audio-visual engineers at Marantz. Expected to reach deep into the pockets of those that refuse to let the CD go the way of VHS tapes, the CD-6003 is chock full of bells and whistles. It supports CD, CD-R, and CD-RW playback and, as if to show that they aren’t completely averse to change, they have thrown in a USB port for good measure. That way you can stab in your stick and jam out to your WMA, MP3, AAC and WAV files. To me that’s a bit like putting a gasoline engine on a horse-drawn carriage, but I digress.

The sound quality of the device is, without question, superb. One would expect nothing less from Marantz. After all, it’s what they do. For those that dig the technical side of sound, the CD-6003 has a frequency response of 2Hz – 20KHz, a signal-to-noise ratio of 110dB and a THD of 0.002%. And it’s a cool silver color.

Expected to hit store shelves worldwide (it’s available already in a few markets, like Japan) sometime in mid-July, the Marantz CD-6003 CD player is certainly not something that digital music fans will get too excited about. At the high-end of the price range with a list of about $500/300GBP, it’s already slated to be a niche product in a dwindling market. But if you’re one of the few remaining holdouts not willing to ditch the disc, you’ll probably appreciate the high-performance of yet another strong offering in the CD player market.