Denon DCD520AE CD Player - Black

This is a Re-Review. Had used the Denon DCD520AE for some time and was gob smacked how good it was.Since buying an OPPO UDP-203 BD Player (The OPPO has OPPO's dedicated Audio CD circuitry, so essentially a high end Audio CD Player when Audio CD's are played) , it didn't sound obviously different from the Denon on a quick play at the time, plus I had no room in the Unit for both. So, I boxed up the Denon for keeping.Since I came across the reviews again and I now have room for all my equipment, I couldn't help review the Denon DCD520AE again. Compared to The Marantz 6005 initially now the OPPO UDP-2003, The Denon DCD520AE leaves the others behind. The Denon has a wonderful clean open and dynamic sound, Highs are spot on, mids are open and musical and the Denon really do the lows well "Where did that botton note come from, I said, not heard it before".George Michael - Ladies & Gentlemen has a very wide frequency range and is very dynamic. Dynamic and great clarity on the Denon, but sadly the OPPO and the Marantz not so dynamic and dived into screeching on some of Georges's loud highs. The Denon DCD520AE kept its control and dynamics and smooth sound, but with great definition and clarity and tops too.Contrary to one Reviewer, the Denon has got Track Scanning. It's underneath the Track Skip buttons on the remote and if at the front panel, quick press is Track Skip and hold for 1 second they become the Scan buttons.Sadly, the Denon DCD520AE is difficult to get hold of now, but if anyone is looking for one and finds one ... GRAB it.Speakers Tested with it:Monitor Audio Reference Series Floor Standers MR6Amps Tested with it:Marantz PMA6006 UK EditionPioneer A-20 (My favourite)

This unit came up to my expectations, very good sound quality fed through my Bose unit. It is very simple to install and the unit is a pleasing silver colour and is well worth the cost. Do not find the remote at all useful and is obviously not specifically designed for this unit, however, it is not needed as my remote for the Bose works fine.

I simply needed a new player and was looking for something straightforward and high quality.I was spoiled by my old beast which had the smoothest yet most detailed sound I ever had, Cambridge Audio cd2.Couldn't afford to spend high so looked for a player from a high quality manufacturer and Denon won.Display is basic and I don't like the massive remote (I will not be replacing my Audiolab amp with a Denon just to use all the functionality).I cannot complain about the excellent build quality or value for money and therefore the reasonably high audio quality at this price point made this an easy choice for me. Onkyo and NAD were the brands I looked at.

I bought this CD player to replace my old Marantz CD65 which had given up the ghost after 27 years. Because of the low price, I wasn't expecting much. However, on learning that it plays mp3 files as well as normal CDs, I burned a CD full of mp3's to try it out. Not only does it play them without trouble, but there is also a random play or shuffle button on the remote that when activated absolutely delighted me, playing all day without needing to change the CD. Needless to say, it also plays my regular CD's with a nice sound. I'm well happy!

Bought a Denon AV system 18 years ago, which was superb and still going strong!!! So I chose this mainly out of brand loyalty Vs price etc.Looks great out of the box. Simple to set up, had optical inputs too. Build quality is superb, and the unit feels "substantial".We retired a Linn CD player recently, and this was the replacement, so the bar was set high.Sound is clear, well balanced and thoroughly musical, sound stage is convincing and it adapts to material seamlessly, with no apparent preference. Remote is comprehensive, but easy to understand and use.Really great sounding, solid, easy to use, would buy again.

I bought this cd player from amazon in july 2014. In February 2018 it stopped working. It is not a case of cleaning the laser as shown on youtube. The amazon seller has not replied to my email asking for advice. I bought my first cd player in 1985. This was my third. Obviously the other two lasted on average 14.5 years each. This has lasted 3.5 years. The same amazon seller is still selling this same model. On another note, while it was working, one of the features which was annoying was when programming a cd the player would create a gap between songs. For example if I wanted to listen to the old side one of the Beatles white album and programmed those tracks it would create a gap between Back in the USSR and Dear Prudence. There is no excuse for that - my other cd players did not make gaps and lasted alot longer.

Built quality is fine, sound very good, but the skipping of tracks started early on, and it got worse over time. Some older CDs it would not play at all, others only selectively, and now after four years of sporadic use it is refusing to play most of them. I would not recommend buying this CD player. I bought it to replace a Pioneer which admittedly cost much more some 20 years ago, but that read all CDs and only eventually failed in its opening mechanism.