Old Arcam cd players vs. recent budget cd players

[Tibor]

 I am looking for a second hand cd player with warm, smooth(not any harshness), fluid sound for classical music. Because the Rega Planet player is over my budget, and I had wrong experience with Nad cd players (not reliable)) I would go for Arcam .

What is your opinion about Arcam Alpha 7 SE and Arcam CD 72 players compared with  recent budget cd players(C.A. Azur 340C, Marantz cd 5003, Denon DCD 700) ?

My system: Arcam Alpha 7R amp, Acoustic Energy Aegis Neo 1 speakers, old Akai  CD 49 cd player

Thank you for help

 

[plastic penguin]

Not heard the Alpha CDPs, but if their amps are anything to go by then they should be rich in character. The DIVA range is slightly different: the 73T is fairly warm (in a nice way), open and nicely detailed.

I used to have (still got, in fact, the Alpha 7R amp) and I loved it with Rotel CDPs. My one was RCD975, although most on here rate the 965BX model. These older Rotels can be picked up for less than £100, the only caveat being is they are rather old which can influence reliability. In saying that, this is the problem with any player. If you can try and source one from a dealer; you pay slightly more but at least you get (generally speaking) a 3 month warranty.

 

[Tibor]

Thank you, I will try it.I read ÿabout warm sounding old Rotel players with Philips DAC inside, I suppose they are 10-15 years old

 

[plastic penguin]

Tibor:Thank you, I will try it.I read about warm sounding old Rotel players with Philips DAC inside, I suppose they are 10-15 years old

The main problem in reliabilty terms was the drawer mechanism. When my one broke I called Rotel and they estimated, including carriage charges, around £200. So just be careful if you go the Rotel route. This is the snag with any s/hand CDP, unless you buy from a well-known dealer....

Good luck.

 

[Anonymous]

I cant comment on the newer Arcam players but i still use a 7SE. Before I
got the NAD amp I used it an Alpha 8R and the sound was and still is
fantastic. Ive had it for 10 years and it has never had any problems
whatsoever. It was a What Hifi supertest winner when it was released IIRC.

 

[Tibor]

Thank you, I wonder if the Arcam CD 72 worth extra money over Arcam Alpha 7 SE, they have the same Dac

 

[mrc]

.......had an Arcam 7SE for many years (+ nad 340) and found it a slightly warm but fine allround CDP. However after about 5yrs it developed a fault which manifested itself by the transport emitting a whistling noise whenever I got half way through a CD which lasted for about 3 tracks and then went away. This drove me nuts - especially in a small room. Arcam were aware and charged about £50 to put it right which I think involved damping the transport in some way to get rid of the resonance.

Anyway instead of getting it fixed, I got a CD192 brand new for £400 which I am still using and this resulted in a definite step-up in clarity, neutrality etc.

 

[Anonymous]

Hi Tibor, i have owned a few Arcam CD and DVD players over the years so hopefully i can help you out here.
Prior to me owning my first Arcam, a CD72T, i owned a Cambridge Audio 640cV2. Once i heard the CD72T the CA 640cV2 immediately went on ebay! I then picked up a DV88 which i thought replayed CDs with a more impressive sound than the CD72T. Again for the DV88+ (which i still own). I also owned a DV135 which i only just got rid of. The DV135 is a stunning disc player and highly versatile with its ability to replay SACD and DVD-A as well.
Any of these machine would be a fine start but i feel the DVD players represent better value for money on the secondhand market as their value is diminished by their out of date DVD replay technology (which is of no consequence if you use them to replay CDs). I have never had any issues with reliability with any Arcam machine i have owned.
Good luck and i hope this has helped.

 

[Tibor]

Thank you for help, is strange for me that a dvd player is better sounding with cd than a dedicated cd player

 

[Anonymous]

it may be strange but if you read reviews of arcam dvd players you will always find comments about how incredible they sound when replaying cds. trust me, im not the only fan of arcam dvd players as sources in a hi-fi system. Jimmy Hughes, who is a very well known hi-fi critic, uses the DV135 as his disc player of choice!

 

[Anonymous]

Tibor:

I am looking for a second hand cd player with warm, smooth(not any harshness)

Thank you for help

Recently here in Germany they made a so called Blindtest (bilnd-test?) where people did not know which amplifier was firering very expensive speakers (I forgot which one it was) and 95% of the people did not hear any differende between cheaper amplifiers and high-end amplifiers! The same test was made with CD-players a while ago and so they came to the conclusion: Most people only hear what they see!

I would simply buy a TEAC CD-P1160 or an Onkyo CD-X7355!

 

[steffy72004]

Hi,

you mentioned Rega Planet as above your budget. But if you like Planet characteristics, why not think about Apollo? Especially now that retail price has been cut. As you see from my signature I have one, and I can assure you that is one of the most "analog" cdp I ever heard, especially good with classical music.

 

[6th.replicant]

IME, old Arcam CDPs perfect for classical music, especially Baroque. Been using Arcam kit since '88 and only problem's been an Alpha 2 amp popping a 50p fuse, once.

In comparison, Cambridge sounds very bright/tinny/synthetic and, again IME, has random build-quality.

 

[Sizzers]

Ingo:Tibor:

I am looking for a second hand cd player with warm, smooth(not any harshness)

Thank you for help

Recently here in Germany they made a so called Blindtest (bilnd-test?) where people did not know which amplifier was firering very expensive speakers (I forgot which one it was) and 95% of the people did not hear any differende between cheaper amplifiers and high-end amplifiers! The same test was made with CD-players a while ago and so they came to the conclusion: Most people only hear what they see!

I would simply buy a TEAC CD-P1160 or an Onkyo CD-X7355!

Well as you've suddenly become so knowledgeable, why is it that you're asking for advice on the purchase of a budget micro?

 

[Anonymous]

I can tell you why: The micro is not for me and I want to hear other opinions, too as I am no expert at all. Also some of the speakers and micros I had in mind for her are totally unknown here in Germany (Q Acoustics, Roth for example and also some of the Onkyo models like CR 725, TEAC models 248 etc.) and so I have no oppotunity to give them a try and also you can't simply send them back if she does not like them! That's why!

 

[Tibor]

Unfort., I cannot find Arcam dvd players for sale on ebay

 

[Tibor]

Thank you for observation, I think hifi is for music- enthusiast people. I had Onkyo CD-7355, it was too digital sounding for me, my Nad C 515 BEE was much better, warmer sounding , but I sold it because noisy mechanism

 

[Tibor]

Rega Planet 2000, Rega Apollo are my dream players, but very expensive, I cannot buy them

 

[Tibor]

Thank you for observation, I think so, the Cambridge A. Azur series is bright for me

 

[the record spot]

Yes, but the offboard DAC removes that element meaning that the CDP is only used as the transport and doesn't manage the data stream to the amp. The point is it matters little about the means, almost any cheaper CDP will work, NAD, Marantz, secondhand...etc.