wylton
Naim and Mana member
I recently bought a Cambridge CXC cd transport for the office system upstairs. I thought long and hard about the purchase, because others had suggested buying a used Rega cd player, but I rather liked the idea of a new piece of equipment rather than an old one, partly because I rarely buy new hi-fi these days and also because the Cambridge is dedicated to the task of getting as much from the silver disc as possible. I ordered it before Christmas, but then was too ill with a viral infection to collect it. A phone call to the Richer Sounds store, had it in the post with free delivery and it arrived promptly and safely.
I’m knocked out with it TBH, but firstly a couple of downers. It takes an age (relatively speaking) to read a disc, compared to the ancient Naim CDS downstairs and it’s a bit disc fussy too. The old CDS is a trifle disc fussy (it doesn’t like CDRs or any disc that has any DC offset), but already I’ve found a couple of CDs that the CXC just won’t read. I assume, that like the CDS, this is in some way due to the disc not being up to the red book standard.
Now to the good bit; even with the cheapo Maplin DAC, it sounds great! It sounds open and detailed with nicely controlled bass, good projection and timing; maybe a touch bright, but it’s early days and I will at some point try other DACs.
A few weeks ago, I went to see the Ben Crosland Quintet, playing the Ray Davies songbook and I came away with a couple of CDs (one of which, the CXC wouldn’t read), so a good chance to hear how it compared to the live event (within the realms of my limited aural memory of course). I was quite taken aback at how snappy and detailed this thing sounded; it really did take me back to that evening at the Jazz Club! The way it handles the cymbals too; quite difficult because they can either sound muted or too splashy, but not here.
I played a bunch of other stuff too:
Be-Bop Deluxe – Drastic plastic (an old vinyl demo fave).
Frank Zappa – Hot rats
Di Meola, McLaughlin, De Lucia – Friday night in San Francisco
Sly & Robbie – Meet Bunny Lee at the dub station
Joan Armatrading – Starlight
Eno – Another day on Earth
Captain Beefheart & his Magic Band – Trout Mask Replica
The latter, I’ve heard a thousand times on vinyl, but the first time in ages that I’ve listened to it all the way through in one sitting and the CXC coped very well.
I’m knocked out with it TBH, but firstly a couple of downers. It takes an age (relatively speaking) to read a disc, compared to the ancient Naim CDS downstairs and it’s a bit disc fussy too. The old CDS is a trifle disc fussy (it doesn’t like CDRs or any disc that has any DC offset), but already I’ve found a couple of CDs that the CXC just won’t read. I assume, that like the CDS, this is in some way due to the disc not being up to the red book standard.
Now to the good bit; even with the cheapo Maplin DAC, it sounds great! It sounds open and detailed with nicely controlled bass, good projection and timing; maybe a touch bright, but it’s early days and I will at some point try other DACs.
A few weeks ago, I went to see the Ben Crosland Quintet, playing the Ray Davies songbook and I came away with a couple of CDs (one of which, the CXC wouldn’t read), so a good chance to hear how it compared to the live event (within the realms of my limited aural memory of course). I was quite taken aback at how snappy and detailed this thing sounded; it really did take me back to that evening at the Jazz Club! The way it handles the cymbals too; quite difficult because they can either sound muted or too splashy, but not here.
I played a bunch of other stuff too:
Be-Bop Deluxe – Drastic plastic (an old vinyl demo fave).
Frank Zappa – Hot rats
Di Meola, McLaughlin, De Lucia – Friday night in San Francisco
Sly & Robbie – Meet Bunny Lee at the dub station
Joan Armatrading – Starlight
Eno – Another day on Earth
Captain Beefheart & his Magic Band – Trout Mask Replica
The latter, I’ve heard a thousand times on vinyl, but the first time in ages that I’ve listened to it all the way through in one sitting and the CXC coped very well.