Marantz CD-23 (1993–1996)
The Marantz CD-23 was the company’s top single-box CD player of the early 1990s. It was introduced in 1993 at around 27,000 FF in France (approximately $5,300 U.S. at the time). It succeeded the CD-15 and was the last Marantz CD player to carry the company’s own badge in the "CD-..." single/double box series. It was built in Japan on the chassis of the Philips LHH series, with Marantz electronics throughout. Marantz positioned it as a single-box player with the qualities of a two-box design, and it was the only model in the series with separate power supply, digital, and analog boards.
The engineering is where the CD-23 made its case. It used the Philips CDM-4 PRO transport with a disc stabilizer puck, and the Philips TDA-1547 DAC with the SAA 7350 digital filter - the "DAC-7" architecture. A double power transformer (one for the transport, one for the audio) fed two large 12,000 µF capacitors, with separate rectification for the analog and digital sections. The analog board was isolated from digital noise and used a class A output stage built with discrete components. A 4 mm-thick and a 2 mm-thick metal plate added rigidity, and the internal cables from transport to main board were 99.99% pure copper. Outputs included two RCA pairs (one fixed, one variable) plus a balanced XLR, and a single optical and coaxial digital output. Frequency response was rated at 20 Hz-20 kHz ±0.5 dB, S/N at 120 dB, dynamic range at 100 dB, and channel separation at 100 dB at 1 kHz.
Period reviewers were impressed. Hi-Fi World called it "a wonderful player - totally enjoyable and stands with the very best," and said the build quality was "excessive… engineered without compromises." The CD-23 was matched against Sony’s CDP-X7ESD and Pioneer’s PD-91 in the period "CD player wars," and the consensus placed it on par with full-size separates for sound staging.
The caveats are practical ones. The two TDA-1547 DAC chips are no longer available, and the CDM-4 PRO transport is increasingly hard to find. If the laser dies, repair costs can be steep. Collectors advise checking the laser assembly for wear before purchase. Listings on the used market have appeared around $4,900 in the U.S. and roughly €3,979 in Italy. When working, it’s regarded as one of the most impressive CD players of the early 1990s.
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