HiFi product validation or a wide berth of opinions relating to a product.

[Jasonovich]

I saw this yesterday on eBay, the discontinued Arcam FMJ CDS27 SACD CD Player and Remote Network Streamer, looks to be in excellent condition, I believe the seller had it listed for £331 excluding delivery.
Nice looking SACD/CD player, love the minimalist approach.
Not looking to replace the Marantz SA8005 but it is tempting. Does anyone know about this product, how good is it and were there any design flaws you can speak of?
If anyone is interested, it's over at eBay.
I thought this might be a useful thread for gathering up collective knowledge and experiences of a certain product that you wish to share, good or bad.



Some of the product highlights;

• SACD/CD player with network streaming
• SACD & CD playback
• UPnP and CIFS audio streaming up to 192/24
• Audiophile grade playback
• TI/Burr Brown PCM1794 DAC
• Balanced and single-ended audio outputs
• IR and full duplex IP & RS232 control
• Stunning sound
• Low power 0.5W standby

Arcam FMJ CDS27 SACD CD Player and Remote Network Streamer Black | eBay UK

arcam cds27 multimedia sacd cd player and network streamer In excellent condition complete with original box manual and remote

ebay.us

 

[RoA]

The usual caution about possible transport/laser failure applies to players, no matter what the brand.

A bit of pot luck with s/h stuff. They could go wrong 2 weeks after you received it or last 30 years.

 

[record_spot]

Stick with the Marantz. Higher standard player all in. The 27 was a recent issue and I think sold for about £600? I think it was the entry level of the updated FMJ style line.

You'll already get SACD with the 8005, so the gap is a streamer. You can buy one of those - Wiim Pro, Mini, etc - and add on to your system.

Just checked the listing and the seller doesn't accept returns. Worth bearing in mind.

 

[Jasonovich]

Stick with the Marantz. Higher standard player all in. The 27 was a recent issue and I think sold for about £600? I think it was the entry level of the updated FMJ style line.

You'll already get SACD with the 8005, so the gap is a streamer. You can buy one of those - Wiim Pro, Mini, etc - and add on to your system.

Just checked the listing and the seller doesn't accept returns. Worth bearing in mind.

Thanks, sensible advise, the Marantz 8005 is excellent, it would have to be something very special to sway me.
The average second hand price for the Marantz is around £464.84, with a range from £390.00 to £539.68 - Wilki. It wouldn't exactly be an upgrade or an improvement in sound.

The streamer part wouldn't be necessary either, as I already have the Matrix Mini I-4 and WiiM Plus Pro. Just like the look of it but made no sense to purchase 🙂
I thought, we'll have a thread, where we can discuss the ins and outs of a product before making a purchase decision.

I do think though, anyone looking for a quality SACD / CD purchase the Arcam 27 is worth considering

 

[Al ears]

Thanks, sensible advise, the Marantz 8005 is excellent, it would have to be something very special to sway me.
The average second hand price for the Marantz is around £464.84, with a range from £390.00 to £539.68 - Wilki. It wouldn't exactly be an upgrade or an improvement in sound.

The streamer part wouldn't be necessary either, as I already have the Matrix Mini I-4 and WiiM Plus Pro. Just like the look of it but made no sense to purchase 🙂
I thought, we'll have a thread, where we can discuss the ins and outs of a product before making a purchase decision.

I do think though, anyone looking for a quality SACD / CD purchase the Arcam 27 is worth considering

You would be correct.
SACD capable players are thin on the ground particular at that price point.

 

[nopiano]

The only Arcam CDP I would buy for the curiosity would be the earlier models with the ‘Ring DAC’. That’s the type that dCS went on to develop into their SoA offerings for millionaires.

Sometimes the standalone D33 DAC is available too, but though many revere them now they could hardly give them away when they were discontinued. It’s funny how hindsight gives a different light on things.

For SACD the Japanese brands like Marantz, Denon, Luxman and Accuphase are still the better choice imho. Yes, I know Saul Marantz was a Yank, but we think of them as Japanese now, don’t we?

 

[matthewpianist]

Sony made some fine SACD players also.

 

[Blacksabbath25]

My Yamaha not that great at playing SACDs as i had issues with it from new and sent it back to Yamaha for a software update but still has problems but plays CDs fine so not worried as SACDs never caught on anyway .
In regards of Arcam i liked the late 1990s CD players before Arcam moved the factory to China so alpha and early FMJ are the best .

 

[nopiano]

Sony made some fine SACD players also.

Somehow they slipped my memory. Indeed they did!

 

[Al ears]

Sony made some fine SACD players also.

I should hope so, they and Philips developed the format...... 🙂

 

[DougK1]

I've actually still got my Pearl Lite amp and SACD player, it's the predecessor of the PM/SA8005. Both very nice but definitely bested by my end game Ruby pair. I believe if you want Marantz SACD capability the players now start at well over £2K.

 

[Din5]

I own the CDS50 model that replaced the CDS27. I can ony say that I am very impressed with it, great build quality / plays CD's with an excellent sound quality, and the streamer section sounds so good playing music via Qobuz that I have absolutely no intention of changing it.
I understand that the CDS27 that came before it was also a mighty fine player..........