Marantz CD 50N

Marantz CD 50N

CD player with streaming

With the introduction of CD50, Marantz adds another CD player to the popular Model series, which offers the to-be-expected excellent sound quality, in a remarkably new design. In terms of price, the Marantz CD 50 sits comfortably between the CD 60 and the Super Audio CD player SACD 30N. But it has most in common with the latter when we look at functionality. However, there is no playback of the high-resolution SACD format.

Marantz CD 50N highlights:

• Extensive streaming features
• High-quality CD playback
• DAC inputs
• ESS Sabre ES9038Q2M DAC

The Marantz CD 50N is something as exciting as a combined CD player and streamer/network player. It is the perfect solution if who have a CD collection that you appreciate, but at the same time are also happy with streaming. The CD format is – still – great for music, so even if streaming is the new and exciting thing, there's certainly no reason to send the blank discs for scrapping.

High-quality CD player

If we look at the CD player function alone, there is no doubt that the Marantz CD 50N shares DNA with the less expensive CD 60, but there are some differences at the component level. Among other things, the CD 50N uses a better and newer ESS ES9038Q2M DAC chip, while the younger brother settles for an ES9016K2M. There’s no need to start a feature battle but it is worth mentioning as there are small differences and the 9038 is specifically manufactured to audiophile performance, where the 9016 is for general use in Hi-Fi products. In addition, we believe that the CD drive itself is in all probability the same in the two players. And that's certainly not a bad thing – it works brilliantly.

Streaming in Marantz CD 50N based on HEOS

Where the Marantz CD 50N obviously differs from the CD60 is of course the whole network function, which is impressive. All streaming functions are gathered under the HEOS umbrella, which offers connection to a great selection of online music services such as Tidal, Deezer and Spotify Connect. And you get internet radio via TuneIn, which offers thousands of radio stations from around the world. It is also possible to play music from a networked hard drive. If you have music on your smartphone or tablet, or if you use a streaming service that is not supported by HEOS, like Apple Music, you can stream the audio from your smart device to the Marantz CD 50N via AirPlay 2 or Bluetooth.

Lots of connectivity options

The Marantz CD 50N also has digital inputs, and this is an extremely welcome feature, as you can then connect, for example, your PC or Mac, and send audio via cable, directly into the DAC section of the player. The DAC is Roon Tested and therefore approved to function optimally when connected via USB to a Roon server. There is support for files in very high quality, with up to 32-bit/384kHz for PCM and DSD128. In addition, there is also both an optical TosLink and a coaxial S/PDIF, for connecting other devices with those connection options. It is also worth mentioning that the Marantz CD 50N has an HDMI input which enables connection to your flat screen TV. It enables you to send the sound from the TV to the CD 50N and enjoy high-quality TV sound through a pair of real speakers. In terms of outputs, you will find a pair of single-ended RCA outputs. There are two pairs, one is a fixed output and the other is a variable. There are also optical TosLink and coaxial S/PDIF outputs, so you can pass the digital signal from CD 50N to an external D/A converter if you have one that is better than the internal one in the CD 50N.