Marantz CD-19 (1994–1995)

The Marantz CD-19 is a compact disc player introduced around 1994–1995, with period listings placing it at roughly £549.90 in the UK, ¥105,000 in Japan, and $899 on one U.S. price list. Sources disagree on the exact introduction year — 1994 appears in Japanese and Vintage Knob records, while 1995 shows up in others — but it was clearly a mid-1990s machine.

The CD-19 used a 20-bit linear D/A converter with an 18-bit 8fs digital filter, and the audio stage reportedly used an R-core power transformer with high-grade capacitors and resistors. It offered both optical and coaxial digital outputs, plus a headphone jack. The unit supported CD, CD-R, and CD-RW playback. One source describes it as a two-disc changer while another insists it was a single-disc player; the record is genuinely split, and I haven't found a manual or brochure that settles it.

Measured performance claims include a signal-to-noise ratio of 106dB, dynamic range of 97dB, and total harmonic distortion of 0.0015%. Channel separation was quoted at 100dB. Frequency response appears in conflicting forms — one source says 2Hz–20kHz, another 20Hz–20kHz ±0.5dB — so I'll leave that one for whoever finds the original spec sheet.

The CD-19 is generally remembered as a solid entry-level player, well built for its price, with a smooth if slightly forward sound — though that assessment comes from enthusiast recollection rather than period press. Accessories and antenna models appeared alongside it in a 1998 accessories roundup in HiFI-Stereo (1998, p.241), but no direct performance review of the CD-19 was found in the period press.

Known specifications: