CD Player Comparison
prepress -- Tue, 01/06/2009 - 15:48
I noticed that in TAS' latest buyer's guide feature "Four Ways of Building a $5000 System," either the Cambridge Azur 840C or Simaudio CD-1 was chosen. Why these two, I wonder, and what led each author (Robert Harley and Jonathan Valin chose the Cambridge, while Neil Gader and Wayne Garcia picked the Simaudio) to choose the player they did? I'm looking at each of these players and would appreciate the information, which may help my purchasing decision. Anyone having experience with either or both players is welcome to chime in. Since I'll listen to pretty much anything except rap and opera, I'd want a player that can handle whatever music I throw at it, and one of these may well fit the bill. Thoughts, anyone?
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i'm currently reviewing the cambridge model 640c and pushing to get 100 play-time on it for a true comparison....after all this player rec'd some very high ratings....i have the nad model c542 on its way. i had been using a 1987 nad model 5330 cd player and it was bring forth more detail than the cambridge....go figure??? thus far the cambridge unit is sweet/smooth with two converters(why not?)...but it certainly is leaving the detail of the various musical instruments in the dark..oouch!!!
so....will i be impressed by the new nad c542?? time will tell////do you have an opinion on which deck is suppose to be superior to the other??? would like someone's view that compares eq. on a regular basis....thank you
always in search of better sound,
frederick w. pulley
I haven't heard the NAD, but they have a reputation for good sound at a fair price. Time is an issue for me so I can't travel the world (well, NYC) to audition everything out there. What I would like is to narrow my list down to a few players and then go to only one or two stores. As of now, this is my list: Cambridge 840C, Cambridge 740C. Simaudio CD-1, Simaudio CD-3.3 (I could brown-bag lunch for a couple of months), and Sony's new XA5400ES. I may add one NAD to this list. There are some DVD players I'm considering to double as a CD player; I've not included them here.
I have not heard the Simaudio player, but have spent quite a bit of time with the Cambridge 840C. The 840C is characterized by an extremely smooth, sweet, and unaggressive sound that is unusual at the price. It's not the last word in bottom-end extension and "slam," but in my view nothing anywhere near the price (that I've heard) comes close to the delicacy, resolution, and sheer sense of ease and musical involvement.
I must agree with Mr. Harley. I just purchased an 840C and found it exactly as he described. Very sweet, very easy, very delicate, very musical.
But the bass left a great bit to be desired. In fact it seemed as though it had been attenuated (this is listening to the unit "out of the box" - I don't really subscribe to the 'break in' concept).
I resolved this issue by biamping - the bass amp (HCA-2) has a slightly higher sensitivity (1.15 V) than the tube amps (QuickSilver M-60) (1.25 V) driving the top end. So an approximately 9% boost in bass seemed to restore the balance.
Thanks Mr. Harley - I bought the 840 to some extent based on your review. You truly led me to a good place in terms of the enjoyment I receive from my system. In fact I will start to subscribe to TAS primarily because of your very accurate reviews.
regards,
DR
I currently have a YBA 201 Redbook CD player. I was thinking of upgrading to a SACD player, or either adding a DAC and using the YBA as a transport. I would really appreciate any recommendations on either option.
About my system - I am using a Conrad Johnson AMP(MV60) and Pre-Amp(pl11) setup (tubes), a PS Audio 300 reconditioner, and Audio Note (AN-X2) bookshelf speakers. My analog source is the Clearaudio Emotion TT upgraded with Mapleshade large brass footers.
Best Regards
Herb
Thanks for the note, DR. The 840C really is amazing. Incidentally, it uses a custom digital filter from Anagram Technologies, the same company that supplies the custom digital filter for the $60k Soulution CD player. I'm not saying that they're the same technically or sonically, only that it's interesting that two very different companies chose the same supplier for the digital filter. I think the digital filter is a crucial aspect of a digital-playback device—perhaps the single component that defines the player's sound.
It's gratifying to hear from readers who enjoy music more because of a product one has discovered. Thanks for writing.
I've developed a tentative "short list" for CD players, as time has gone on. The Cambridge 840 and Simaudio CD-1 are joined by the 740 and 3.3 respectively, the Marantz SA-11s2, 15s2 and SA-8003, Arcam's FMJ CD37, Sony's XA5400ES, and Bryston's BCD-1. That list needs to shrink.
I'm using a Marantz DV8400 as my CD source now. Despite the video capability, I bought it for CD. I have a few hybrid SACDs so the issue may be how much into SACD I want to get, as that question's answer would remove some of the contenders. I'm not really unhappy with the DV8400's sound, but have come to believe that a DVD-based drive offers challenges for CD because of clock rates being different (someone more technical may clean up my statement if need be).
Let us know which player you choose, and why.
Yes. There are several factors that affect the final decision, among them rack space, the fact that I'm simultaneously researching a Blu-ray player (money thus becomes an issue), and the seeming difficulty in finding places to audition the contenders. My associated equipment is older, so I'll not be able to hear anything on my equipment in a store. A few stores I contacted have only static displays. The final choice may come down to reviews and reading specs.
I know you've had experience with the 840C and Marantz SA-11 (the original, not the updated one), and that has a lot to do with those players being on the list. I don't remember your impressions of the SA-11, other than that they were quite positive. I've downloaded manuals on most of the contenders and will go through them, as features and ease of use count also. I've given myself until the end of April to reach a decision; i may need the time.
As promised, I'm back with a decision on my CD upgrade. Interestingly, it's not one of the players on my so-called short list. Instead, I've opted for the McIntosh MCD301 CD/SACD player. It's beyond my budget for a CD player, but I think it will be worth it in the long run. I must admit, it was ironic after all the research and manual reading I'd begun doing to run across this player and WHAM!, decide almost immediately to exceed my budget; even with a modest discount, it's going to mean beans and rice for maybe two months.
The experience was reminiscent of the ones I had when purchasing my speakers and my TV. It was simply an "a-ha" moment, where I knew this was it and I need look no further. In fact, this was the only player I listened to; the others never got past reading reviews and comparing specs. The music—some Dianne Reeves and then some classical violin— sounded as if the musicians were in the room. The acoustic bass on the Reeves cuts was full-bodied, and I heard every pluck and vibration of the strings, as if a real person was playing a real bass. On the violin music, it was mellow and laid back, further back in the concert hall so to speak, which I think was the McIntosh telling me it knew how to handle different types of music and different recordings appropriately. So I didn't really need to hear anything else after that. My twenty minutes or so with the MCD301 were enough. I knew because from the beginning I was listening to the music, not the sound.
I won't have it for about a week, as the vendor (Lyric Hi-Fi here in NYC) had none in stock and so must order it for me. Now, I have a dilemma. Because the McIntosh doesn't fit in the space I intended, I'll have to reconfigure my system, and allow for the fact that I have a Pioneer Elite 09FD on the way too. A lot of work, and perhaps more money to replace my current racks so as to have more shelves available if I don't stack components (and the grille on the MCD301 suggests I shouldn't put anything on it).
Thanks for sharing your experience. It sounds like you got just what you were looking for. In my experience, spending a little more than you had planned on is rewarding in the long-run.
Another selling point was the quick break-in period of the 301. The Sony 5400 needs about 500 hours according to some, and the Esoteric SA-10 at least 250 (according to Esoteric) to sound good. I don't know about the others on my list, but my salesman mentioned the 301 needs only about 50 hours, plus it sounds good out of the box to begin with. I have a few acquaintances who want to come hear/see my system, and "don't come over yet because my CD player needs 500 hours of break-in" isn't what I want to tell them. I've delayed enough just getting my apartment clutter removed (I'm still working on that).
Unfortunately I did have to order new equipment racks, a consequence of getting the larger 301 over the Arcam, Bryston or Simaudio; any of those three would have simply replaced the Marantz DV8400, no muss or fuss, and the coming 09FD would displace my record cleaner on the left rack's top shelf. That does cross my mind as the new racks represent money I wouldn't otherwise have needed to spend, but once everything is set up I'm sure that feeling will go away. Plus, the extra space to breathe for each player is a good idea.
Perhaps I will give impressions once the 301 is set up and broken in. Maybe even do a little comparison with the 09FD regarding CD playback, since the 09's known for high-quality analog sound via its 7.1 channel outs.
I received my 301 last week, and though I've not had a lot of time with it, I do have some general impressions. At this point, I'm using Kimber Hero from the 301 to my Audio Research LS3, then Audioquest Black Mamba II from there to my B&K ST-200 Sonata monoblocks, with Kimber 8TC to Mirage M3si speakers.
The most impressive thing off the bat is the information retrieval. I heard things I haven't heard before on the few CDs I've tried. There's a much greater sense of people playing instruments than I've heard before. A plucked bass note lets me hear not only the pluck, but the sustain and decay also. Singers and musicians sound more "live" to me. Listening to June Christy's The Misty Miss Christy, she was, at times, in the room. There's also the fact that the 301 sounds good right out of the box. It isn't bright or harsh at all. It supposedly takes about 50 hours or so to break in; it may sound even better by then. So far, I'm quite pleased. Even the impending Visa bill will be easier to swallow when it comes due to the great sound.
Glad you like the 301. It's wonderful to play familiar favorite recordings through a new CD player and discover there's more music there than you thought.
I have AQ King Cobra coming which will replace the Black Mamba II from preamp to power amps. It's a more transparent cable from what I've read and been told. With this, I think my upgrading is over for the near future. It will be interesting to hear the 301 once it has more hours on it and with the new interconnect in the system.