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Atoll CD players?

A lot of replies from people that haven’t heard the player the OP has expressed an interest in.

I would be interested in a the results of a direct comparison since I have heard the Atoll amplifier plug in DAC board and it’s a superb music maker.
 
Muttley2 said:
mmm not sure on that and they don't publish prices on their kit which comes across as pretentious in a, "if you have to ask you can't afford it", way. And it has a valve!
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Some of their products contain silver and possibly other valuable metals so I imagine their prices would reflect the market price for said commodities, I don’t imagine the lower tier components containing such valuable metals. Such was the case when I owned AN products around the millennium but can’t speak for their current products.
 
eevo1969 said:
Some of their products contain silver
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I believe the idea came from Japan AN way back.
I never figured why mixing Silver with Copper should be any advantage at all.
I've heard pure silver cables that screwed performance, OTOH some of Chord Co. cables are mixed silver/copper and sound superb.
 
The market for “valuable metals” might add a few quid to the cost of production. It’s an exclusivity marketing strategy.
 
If you believe in the idea of House Sound (components from the same manufacturer having the same sort of presentation) then my experience with an Atoll amplifier quite a few years ago may be relevant.

I found the Atoll amp to be quite distinctively upbeat and energetic, with a fairly bright tonality. I found it very entertaining.

Make of that what you will!
 
OK the CD200 signature CD player is in the house and hooked up. The player is sturdy and appears well made. A couple of observations the CD drawer is a little plasticky and when shut the aluminium door cover doesn't sit 100% even in the slot (just my OCD on these things). The remote is also a little plasticky and buttons require a determined press, but all functions are catered for so no need to use the facia buttons. The RCA connectors on the back are sturdy and use a nut to the casework different than in the pictures. I have hooked up the RCA out to my IN300 amp using AR Sound Lunar cables. I will be comparing the CD player to a Naim Unitiserve with TP PSU into IN300 onboard DAC using EWA IC40 digital cable, and will also listen against the Innuos ZEN mini. Both have been kindly lent to me by Harrow audio who are fantastic to deal with.
Initial thought are that the CD200 sounds better than the US. The CD200 has a much better defined top and bottom end which seems to improve the separation between instruments and vocals, with better overall detail. The US sound a little flatter with a slightly smaller soundstage. The differences are not massive or immediate but become more evident with longer listening switching between sources of the same tracks.
More to come once I have had a more serious listen. I will compare the US to the digital out of the CD later as well.
 
jandl100 said:
If you believe in the idea of House Sound (components from the same manufacturer having the same sort of presentation) then my experience with an Atoll amplifier quite a few years ago may be relevant.

I found the Atoll amp to be quite distinctively upbeat and energetic, with a fairly bright tonality. I found it very entertaining.

Make of that what you will!
Click to expand...
I also had an Atoll IN80. As you say, with lightweight bass.
 
Atoll is a superb company, with excellent engineering, good built and sound quality, all at great prices.
Also it is one of the few companies that you can call or email and get a fast reply.
 
Putting the US and the CD200 directly into the IN300 internal DAC I could not detect any difference in sound between the 2 acting as transports. For the CD200 to get the spdif out signal I still needed the analog RCA cables to be connected which was a bit weird. So in summary the internal DAC of the CD via RCA to the amp definitely had sonic benefits compared to the US/CD into the amp dac. It is now making me wonder if the DAC side of things is more important than the transport. I will now see how the Innuos compares to the US both into the same DAC.
 
So I have listened to the US and Innuos into the same DAC on my amp and could not detect any difference in sound quality worth speaking of. So I can safely say the CD 200 using the players onboard DAC was a definite improvement, not night and day but enough to be noticeable. What would be interesting is to try the US into a different DAC and see if an improvement can be heard. I would love to hear the CD400 but price wise it is more than I would want to pay. What to try next?
 
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That's a much older version so not relevant to the models sold today. Have a look on the website for the latest stuff. That picture is from 2001 for heavens sake, do keep up
 
In Munich, they had one of their higher amplifiers, can't remember number, with a visible glass top in that you could view inside.
Looked amazing solid and well made, their final design is odd (typically French ?) but inside its top dollar.
 
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