Cambridge Audio 650BD - blog review

[the record spot]

Just read Mr. E's Blog review and was mightily impressed. Quite possibly a purchase in the offing at some point in the year I think. We have a standard TV but it's the audio capabilities of this machine that really appeal. I don't have many DVD-A, HDCD or HD Audio discs (in fact none of the latter as there's no capability to stream the hi-res element to a receiver) although I do have a good few SACDs (but the Marantz handles those very well) but for all that, it's a player that stands out head and shoulders above the other multi-format players as it's only £400 and it's peer group with similar capabilities start at the £800+ mark.

Has anyone bought one yet and aside from Andrew's experience, what are people's thoughts around the unit? Would be very interested to hear a few opinions on this one, though would be happy to go on Andrew's "ok" alone.

 

[John Duncan]

nnnngggghhhh

 

[Andy Clough]

Feeling alright John? Full video review now online for you to enjoy too.

 

[John Duncan]

Yes thanks. Just feeling as if I want one.

 

[Anonymous]

looks a great player , must be sturdy too , seeing as the nice review gentleman was leaning on it for the whole review

 

[Simon Lucas]

maxflinn:the nice review gentleman was leaning on it for the whole review

They wouldn't let me have a chair.

 

[Anonymous]

Simon Lucas:
maxflinn:the nice review gentleman was leaning on it for the whole review

They wouldn't let me have a chair.

what ? slavedrivers , expecting a man to stand for two minutes

go to the union i say the union

 

[chebby]

Charge £600 instead of £400 and put in an HDD and Freeview HD and i'll have one.

 

[d_a_n1979]

Damn...

This looks a superb piece of equipment!!! I'd be tempted to get one if I had a plasma TV instead of LCD...

For £400 it's brilliant IMO!

Go on JD... You know you NEED one...

 

[swiftmick]

I want one! and the new home cinema receiver thats due out at £600,
EDITED BY MODS - please read the House Rules

 

[visionary]

d_a_n1979:Damn...

This looks a superb piece of equipment!!! I'd be tempted to get one if I had a plasma TV instead of LCD...

For £400 it's brilliant IMO!

Go on JD... You know you NEED one...

don't understand that comment I've made bold. What did I miss?

 

[John Duncan]

d_a_n1979:Damn...

This looks a superb piece of equipment!!! I'd be tempted to get one if I had a plasma TV instead of LCD...

For £400 it's brilliant IMO!

Go on JD... You know you NEED one...

Yes, but Mrs D does not.

Why only if you had a plasma though?

 

[d_a_n1979]

I've demo'd a blu-ray player on my current TV and to be honest it didnt make any difference at all; I've currently got the Sony DAVIS50 and the a Sony Bravia 32" LCD and the pictures already superb...

If I upgrade the TV in the future I'll be going for a 40/42" Pana plasma me thinks; then I'll upgrade to Blu-Ray

 

[The_Lhc]

d_a_n1979:I've demo'd a blu-ray player on my current TV and to be honest it didnt make any difference at all; I've currently got the Sony DAVIS50 and the a Sony Bravia 32" LCD and the pictures already superb...

That's due to the size of the TV, not the technology it's using.

 

[Anonymous]

Was thinking about getting one, but having to fit a chip/PCB to de-zone it and then remember all the right buttons to press in the right order before it'll play one of my DVDs (or Blurays if / when I buy some) reminded me of that "Mastermind" game from the 70s. And I really don't want to have to muck about figuring which DVD/bluray is from which zone after a late night down the pub.

I'd like a multi-zone dual voltage Bluray with a really good picture and sound I can use straight out of the box and one that figures out what zone the Bluray is and plays it all by itself, please. Until then I'll stick to my Denon DVD, which I'm not sure is dual voltage, but does at least play all zones of DVD all by itself (reprogrammed or "hacked" at the software level somewhere off Totenham Court Road, I think).

Cambridge Audio with the matching surround sound receiver (also dual voltage I understand) would be nice, but nicer still would be something by Panasonic (to match my plasma TV) so I can use the same remote for all three devices.

 

[Anonymous]

I recently got one. The picture detail is definitely better than my Pioneer player. At first it didn't impress me, as the image wasn't as punchy. It looks bland and faded compared to the picture from the Pioneer BDP-320 (less contrast and saturation out of the box).

However, I noticed that it revealed far more in the dark and bright regions while running a calibration disc (suddenly I realized that the Pioneer was hiding some of the picture from me). I switched to other discs and started to notice the difference too.

I think it's well worth the price if you're after that last morsel of detail from your DVDs and BDs.

 

[the record spot]

Actually, correct my earlier post, it's the only player out there I think that does the lot - Blu-Ray and HD Audio included with the rest. And at £400 for that, it's a bit of a steal assuming the performance stacks up as well as Mr. E reckons it does. Nice one!