[Greg Grainger]

I'm considering the purchase of an Arcam CD player - the one they call the
'entry level' unit, costs $1100 here in Canada.

It seems a very solid, well-built unit and as far as I can tell, the sound
is generally superior to other units of comparable price.

I was comparing it in particular to several NAD units and the Arcam seems
just plain better.

Any input? Anyone have any experience with Arcam products?

Thanks in advance,
Greg.
--
Greg Grainger grainger(at)vex.net

'What a world of gammon and spinnage it is, though, ain't it!'
- Miss Mowcher

[Audio Empire]

On Wed, 14 Apr 2010 05:14:10 -0700, Greg Grainger wrote
(in article ):

I'm considering the purchase of an Arcam CD player - the one they call the
'entry level' unit, costs $1100 here in Canada.

It seems a very solid, well-built unit and as far as I can tell, the sound
is generally superior to other units of comparable price.

I was comparing it in particular to several NAD units and the Arcam seems
just plain better.

Any input? Anyone have any experience with Arcam products?

Thanks in advance,
Greg.


If you like it, buy it. Frankly, I think you're wasting your money. There is
not enough difference between the SOUND of CD players these days to even
worry about. However if you really WANT to spend a lot of money on a CD deck,
why don't you buy one that really built well, and should last a long time?
Take a look at the TASCAM DV-D01U, professional universal player which lists
for about $600. It's bulletproof and will play CD or DVD.

[Bill Noble[_2_]]

greg - my tests with CD players showed that if you got a good quality
external D/A, all CD players were indistinguishable when played through it.

"Greg Grainger" wrote in message
...
I'm considering the purchase of an Arcam CD player - the one they call the
'entry level' unit, costs $1100 here in Canada.

It seems a very solid, well-built unit and as far as I can tell, the sound
is generally superior to other units of comparable price.

I was comparing it in particular to several NAD units and the Arcam seems
just plain better.

Any input? Anyone have any experience with Arcam products?

Thanks in advance,
Greg.
--
Greg Grainger grainger(at)vex.net

'What a world of gammon and spinnage it is, though, ain't it!'
- Miss Mowcher

[Audio Empire]

On Thu, 15 Apr 2010 05:22:05 -0700, Bill Noble wrote
(in article ):

greg - my tests with CD players showed that if you got a good quality
external D/A, all CD players were indistinguishable when played through it.

"Greg Grainger" wrote in message
...
I'm considering the purchase of an Arcam CD player - the one they call the
'entry level' unit, costs $1100 here in Canada.

It seems a very solid, well-built unit and as far as I can tell, the sound
is generally superior to other units of comparable price.

I was comparing it in particular to several NAD units and the Arcam seems
just plain better.

Any input? Anyone have any experience with Arcam products?

Thanks in advance,
Greg.
--
Greg Grainger grainger(at)vex.net

'What a world of gammon and spinnage it is, though, ain't it!'
- Miss Mowcher

Pretty much true. Actually, decent CD players all sound pretty much the same.
What you pay for above a basic decent design is bling (1/4" thick machined
face plates and remotes machined from a monolithic slab of aluminum, etc.)
and perhaps, build quality. Put your money in a unit designed for pro audio,
like a TASCAM, and it will last you a lifetime. I have the same advice for
stand-alone DACs. Forget the audiophile market and buy pro from companies
like Apogee, Antelope. RME, etc. You get more for your money without the
bling.

[[email protected]]

I have several c.d.players , Rotel rcd-1072 , Pioneer dv-47a ,
Denon,Yamaha and Musical Fidelity A-5. They all sound different. Some
produce more base and some a wider sound stage etc.. There is more of a
difference than some people think between c.d.players .

[Ed Seedhouse[_2_]]

On Apr 15, 4:38=A0pm, wrote:
=A0 I have several c.d.players , Rotel rcd-1072 , Pioneer dv-47a ,
Denon,Yamaha and Musical Fidelity A-5. =A0 =A0They all sound different. S=
ome
produce more base and some a wider sound stage etc.. =A0There is more of =
a
difference =A0than some people think between c.d.players .

And have you heard these differences in a double blind test? If not,
I hope you will not be insulted if I say your claims, however sincere
they may be, are merely anecdotal evidence of no real value.

[Audio Empire]

On Thu, 15 Apr 2010 19:07:55 -0700, Ed Seedhouse wrote
(in article ):

On Apr 15, 4:38=A0pm, wrote:
=A0 I have several c.d.players , Rotel rcd-1072 , Pioneer dv-47a ,
Denon,Yamaha and Musical Fidelity A-5. =A0 =A0They all sound different. S=
ome
produce more base and some a wider sound stage etc.. =A0There is more of =
a
difference =A0than some people think between c.d.players .

And have you heard these differences in a double blind test? If not,
I hope you will not be insulted if I say your claims, however sincere
they may be, are merely anecdotal evidence of no real value.


Well, someone had to say it... In D-B tests of CD players to which I have
been privy, no one could tell the difference between any of them most of the
time. And when differences were heard, they tended to be trivial and very
subtle differences in bass "weight", which I suspect can be put down to power
supply design. Anyway, even when detected, no one could venture any more than
an opinion about which was "correct", and of course, without the master tape
handy, who could?* Through most of the audio passband, a $100 player and a
$5000 player sounded so much alike that even their OWNERS couldn't tell,
beyond blind chance, which one was which.

*I akin it to walking into an appliance store where there's a wall full of
TVs all playing the same program. A red car drives across the screen(s). On
each TV, the red is a tiny bit different than the others. Which TV is
rendering the color of that car as it really is? No one knows or can know.
One would have to have the car right there in the room with the TVs to be
able to make that call. It's the same with these subtle and trivial
differences in bass presentation between various CD players. Without a
reference, it's a personal preference call, and in my estimation, one that's
too inconsequential to think about. of course, YMMV and all that. 8^)

[Bill Noble[_2_]]

are these differences you hear connecting an analog audio cable to the
players or playing all the players through the same external D/A - if the
former, then "yes, of course", if the latter, then it must be a pretty
crummy D/A

wrote in message ...
I have several c.d.players , Rotel rcd-1072 , Pioneer dv-47a ,
Denon,Yamaha and Musical Fidelity A-5. They all sound different. Some
produce more base and some a wider sound stage etc.. There is more of a
difference than some people think between c.d.players .

[David[_17_]]

"Audio Empire" wrote in message
...
Well, someone had to say it... In D-B tests of CD players to which I have
been privy, no one could tell the difference between any of them most of
the
time. And when differences were heard, they tended to be trivial and very
subtle differences in bass "weight", which I suspect can be put down to
power
supply design.

Are you talking about players or transports?
I don't know about modern CD players as all the players I've ever bought
have been second hand but some have been considerably better than others.
This is definately not in my imagination.
Having said that, they have all sounded the same to my ears when using as
transport only.

[Audio Empire]

On Fri, 16 Apr 2010 06:49:49 -0700, David wrote
(in article ):

"Audio Empire" wrote in message
...
Well, someone had to say it... In D-B tests of CD players to which I have
been privy, no one could tell the difference between any of them most of
the
time. And when differences were heard, they tended to be trivial and very
subtle differences in bass "weight", which I suspect can be put down to
power
supply design.

Are you talking about players or transports?

Complete players.

I don't know about modern CD players as all the players I've ever bought
have been second hand but some have been considerably better than others.

It is possible that since CD players have adopted Delta-Sigma DACs, they have
become much more alike. OTOH, if you haven't used D-B tests to ascertain the
differences between various CD players, then like the earlier poster, your
saying that "some have been considerably better than others" is merely
anecdotal, and not really worthwhile as "evidence" for your assertion.

This is definately not in my imagination.

Unfortunately, there is no indirect way to prove that. After all, many people
say that the differences in the sound of various interconnects are not in
their imaginations either. But the evidence, both theoretical and practical
says that these differences do NOT exist, and in fact, even those who insist
that they KNOW that these differences exist, have been silenced when
double-blind tests have proved to them that cables have NO sound to "be"
different.

Having said that, they have all sounded the same to my ears when using as
transport only.

Expectation bias at work, perhaps? I don't know.

[jwvm]

On Apr 16, 9:49=A0am, "David" wrote:
snip

I don't know about modern CD players as all the players I've ever bought

have been second hand but some have been considerably better than others.
This is definately not in my imagination.

Sound quality of CD players has improved considerably from early
models. However, modern competently designed players are very likely
to be indistinguishable in bias-controlled tests including matched
sound levels. Listeners will almost always choose louder sound samples
over quieter ones even if the material is otherwise identical. Blind
testing is also necessary since observer bias will also skew results.

Having said that, they have all sounded the same to my ears when using as
transport only.

This indeed should be the case as long as all of the transports are
providing error-free digital data.

[Steven Sullivan]

wrote:
I have several c.d.players , Rotel rcd-1072 , Pioneer dv-47a ,
Denon,Yamaha and Musical Fidelity A-5. They all sound different. Some
produce more base

That would certainly show up in a bench test, if so. Has it?


--
-S
We have it in our power to begin the world over again - Thomas Paine