Last year was the first time since 2016 that the What Hi-Fi? Awards’ CD category included anything other than Marantz’s entry-level and Cyrus’s flagship players. Indeed, Arcam entered the fray with a new mid-range spinner too marvellous to ignore, bringing the category’s winner count to three – yep, the CD category expanded in 2023! It’s perhaps not surprising, then, that this year remains stagnant. After all, based on the recent timeline we’re not due a shake-up in the category until 2030 – and who knows whether the humble CD player will still be alive, let alone kicking, then.
Our most affordable winner is once again the Marantz CD6007 (below), which combines impressive sound and features with likeably traditional casework, making it an easy recommendation for anyone looking to dust off and rediscover their CD collection without spending too much (anyone but an owner of the preceding CD6006, that is, as the CD6007 was a rather modest update on it).
