Marantz CD-34 (1985–87)
The Marantz CD-34 is a Philips CD-100 in a fancier box. Sold from 1985 to 1987, it was Marantz's way of getting its name on the CD market while the company was under Philips ownership. The internals are pure Philips reference player. It uses the Philips CDM-1 swing-arm transport and the single TDA1540D DAC, a chip with conflicting reported specs for bit depth and oversampling, and no digital filter. That primitive architecture is why enthusiasts describe its sound as warm and analog-like, rolled off on top compared to modern players. Made in Japan, it shares its guts with the Magnavox CD-100, the first CD player sold in the US.
The CD-34 was priced around $550 - $650 new in 1985 (roughly $1,900 in 2025 dollars). Collectors have pushed working examples to $250 - $450 on eBay in recent years. The common failure points are well documented. The tray belt dries out, the CDM-1 laser is a wear item that's increasingly hard to source, and the electrolytic capacitors need recapping. The TDA1540D DAC chip itself is obsolete - if it dies, the player is effectively bricked.
Known specs, as recorded across sources:
- Output: 2V line level, RCA only
- S/N ratio: >100 dB
- Dynamic range: >95 dB
- Channel separation: >90 dB
- Power consumption: 20W
- Weight: approximately 10 lbs
- No remote control
The specs for frequency response and THD vary between sources. HiFi Engine lists 5Hz - 20kHz and 0.003% THD, while hifi-wiki lists 20Hz - 20kHz and 0.05%, so treat those with caution. A service manual is reportedly hard to find online, though the user manual is available through HiFi Engine.
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