Marantz CD-16
The Marantz CD-16 comes up in enthusiast discussions more often than it shows up in the period record. What documentation survives is thin. No production years, no original price, and no reviewer commentary from the era has surfaced in the Archive's files, apart from a brief mention in Audio (July 1994, p.93). What is known comes largely from equipment databases and a single comparison note, and that note is mostly about what the CD-16 is not.
Per hifi-wiki.de, the CD-16 was a CD player with a separate mains transformer and a preamplifier section built around Marantz's HDAM modules. That set it apart from typical standalone players of its generation. The same source lists its D/A converter as 1-bit, with an L7071A SAW filter on the audio side, frequency response of 2 Hz - 20 kHz (±0.5 dB), THD of 0.0015%, signal-to-noise of 95 dB, and channel separation of 100 dB. It measured 458 × 88 × 343 mm, weighed 8 kg, and drew 15W. A digital coaxial output was fitted.
There's a wrinkle here. A "CD-16 N" variant exists, and hifi-wiki.de lists its D/A converter as the TDA-1541, a multibit chip. That conflicts with the standard CD-16's 1-bit designation. AudioLabs, which offers DAC upgrade services, also lists the two variants separately on its dropdown menu. The relationship between the two isn't documented beyond that.
The other useful thread comes from The Philips CD Players website, which covers the near-namesake Philips CD16 (1992). That source states plainly that the Philips CD16 is "not exactly the same as the Marantz CD-16," despite sharing the same chassis and name. The Philips version uses a different DAC (TDA1543) and has no preamplifier section. Read in reverse, that confirms the Marantz CD-16 does carry a preamp section and does not use the TDA1543. Beyond those fragments, the record is essentially silent. No service history, no owner reports, no market data has surfaced.
Known specs (per hifi-wiki.de)
- Type: CD player with separate mains transformer; preamp section using HDAM modules
- D/A converter: 1-bit (standard CD-16); TDA-1541 (CD-16 N variant)
- Audio filter: L7071A (SAW)
- Frequency response: 2 Hz–20 kHz, ±0.5 dB
- THD: 0.0015%
- S/N: 95 dB
- Channel separation: 100 dB
- Digital output: coaxial
- Dimensions: 458 × 88 × 343 mm; weight: 8 kg; power: 15W
If you own a CD-16 or have a period brochure, the Archive would welcome the details.
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