Cambridge Audio 840 C

[tonky]

I have just read a review of this CD player in a current hi fi mag in which it compares it to cd players costing up to 2000GBP . Not bad at all.

 

[Gerrardasnails]

Everyone seems to rave about this machine (apart from WHF who merely 4 star it!). Thaiman calls it the best under £1000 you can get. Other magazines say it sounds like something double the price. It's worth trying it out. Once I have saved a bit, I will be auditioning it for sure.

 

[Anonymous]

Although it received only a very average review in another hifi publication this month....

 

[Gerrardasnails]

What one was that Andy?

 

[Anonymous]

HiFi Choice awarded 3 stars for sound quality, seemingly finding the player too polite in some instances. Mind you, they have changed their mind somewhat since they have previously lauded this player.

 

[Anonymous]

My friend has one with an Arcam A32 and Wharfedale 9.6s. It is a superb player and doesn't have that dry, lean sound some of CA's more budget models possess.

 

[Clare Newsome]

Ah, the things I could tell you about how other people test and their motivation for certain results...but I won't.

Let's just attribute it to a viable difference in opinion.

The CA is indeed a great player (hence a strong, four-star rating) - but it's up against some very stiff competition. We are also doing a @£1000 CD player test it'll be featuring in right at this very moment. In our dedicated test rooms. With a team of dedicated, non-industry testers

 

[Anonymous]

Hi-Fi Choice's famous phrase of "three of our industry-expert testers found the sound a bit bright whereas the other found it very sweet and sparkley..." springs to mind. Guess who was employed by the manafacturer of the equipment tested...

 

[drummerman]

Being able to utilize the high quality dac for other digital componentry is a usefull feature.

 

[Anonymous]

[quote user="drummerman"]
Being able to utilize the high quality dac for other digital componentry is a usefull feature.
[/quote]Yeah that's the number one selling feature on the 840 to me.

I've got to say that for a little less money I prefere sound of the Music Hall CD25. Although the overall build quality seems suspect.

 

[Clare Newsome]

[quote user="Hughes123"]Hi-Fi Choice's famous phrase of "three of our industry-expert testers found the sound a bit bright whereas the other found it very sweet and sparkley..." springs to mind. Guess who was employed by the manafacturer of the equipment tested...[/quote]

We're particularly puzzled how a unit that their testers gave three stars for sound gets a 'Best Buy' - fine if it was a flatscreen TV, maybe, but a CD player?

 

[drummerman]

[quote user="Hughes123"]
Hi-Fi Choice's famous phrase of "three of our industry-expert testers found the sound a bit bright whereas the other found it very sweet and sparkley..." springs to mind. Guess who was employed by the manafacturer of the equipment tested...
[/quote]

... dont start that one again ... Yes they do invite manufacturers representatives to the tests, no problem there if the sessions are carried out in an appropriate manner.

 

[Clare Newsome]

Are you telling me a manufacturer who's spent hours listening to their own kit can't recognise its sonic signature in a group test and comment appropriately?

 

[drummerman]

[quote user="Clare Newsome"]
Are you telling me a manufacturer who's spent hours listening to their own kit can't recognise its sonic signature in a group test and comment appropriately?

[/quote]

No but there are more listeners not associated with that product so why does that matter?

 

[Clare Newsome]

Because, IMHO, any tester bringing such a strong brand bias into a testing room is a bad place to begin.

But hey, you'd expect me to knock the competition, right?

 

[Anonymous]

[quote user="Clare Newsome"]
Are you telling me a manufacturer who's spent hours listening to their own kit can't recognise its sonic signature in a group test and comment appropriately?

[/quote]

You got out of bed the wrong way today Clare?? lol

 

[Clare Newsome]

Nope - i'm never far away from indignant rage

 

[drummerman]

[quote user="Clare Newsome"]
Because, IMHO, any tester bringing such a strong brand bias into a testing room is a bad place to begin.

But hey, you'd expect me to knock the competition, right?

[/quote]

Wonder where this thread is going ... can't wait

I can see your point but dont think that matters as there are other representatives. That bias works every which way. Under ideal circumstances I'd say that a lot of them would recognize their products but with a perhaps unfamiliar reference system this is far from guaranteed especially when it comes to products that can 'lack a certain character' such as cd players.

Anyway, these sessions are an interesting exercise but hardly a proportionate representation of a broad cross section of listeners/hifi users nor a scientific experiment. They are fun thats it.

 

[Clare Newsome]

[quote user="drummerman"]
They are fun thats it.

[/quote]

Well they certainly keep us amused.

Sorry, i'll stop with the cheap pops - they're a lovely bunch of guys...

I think i'll take my bad mood somewhere else.

 

[Gerrardasnails]

If it was HFC that gave the recent average review then it's ridiculous. This is the previous review from that mag. http://www.cambridgeaudio.com/assets/documents/Hi-FIChoiceNov06840Clicensedreprint.pdf How can they change their minds so drastically within 18 months!! I know that WHF sometimes drop a star when another competitor comes along but very rarely when it has won an award in recent times. It does make you wonder.

 

[drummerman]

[quote user="Gerrardasnails"]If it was HFC that gave the recent average review then it's ridiculous. This is the previous review from that mag. http://www.cambridgeaudio.com/assets/documents/Hi-FIChoiceNov06840Clicensedreprint.pdf
How can they change their minds so drastically within 18 months!! I know that WHF sometimes drop a star when another competitor comes along but very rarely when it has won an award in recent times. It does make you wonder.

[/quote]

There is always a possibility of sample/production inconsistency. I have heard products sound differently from the same batch! Certain manufacturers have been a little patchy when it comes to this and I dont mean far eastern ones either sadly.

 

[the record spot]

I had a read round of some of the various other hifi mags in the last year or so; ended up keeping my excellent subscription with WHF and opened up a new one with Hi Fi World whose scope is slightly different and it's always good to have an alternative view.

I'm very pleased to have seen more hifi gear in WHF in the last 12 months or so; I got the impression for a while that it was - if not quite taking a back seat - maybe not as prominent as it could've been. Equally, the manufacturers started churning fresh lines out and - even better - more turntables came on to the market!

i did read - and I apologise this has nothing to do with the 840C - one especially ludicrous article in a certain mag a while back, which may have offered a "choice" in its' title. All this did was take the reviewer's comments and lessen the impact of what he was trying to say. The article might have had its' point, but one daft comment (which should never have been allowed the light of day!) killed it stone dead - and the author's credibility IMO.

So thanks to WHF and HFW for not only giving us a damn good read, but whose journalists have their heads in the real world not up in the clouds!