As a few of you who have read my earlier post know I have been pondering as to whether or not to replace my cd player for redbook cd playback since my old Sony (so old I can't even remember the model number) died over a year ago. I have been using my Panasonic DVD player (CP72) for playing cd's as well as dvd's since that time, feeding the signal via optical cable to my Outlaw 990 pre/pro and letting it do the digital to analog conversion. Things sounded really nice but I kept wondering if a high quality dedicated cd player would make a difference. Well a couple of weeks ago I came upon a very nice deal on an Arcam CD192 so I went for it.
The Arcam is a very nice unit, what I think most people would consider audiophile quality however, at the lower end of that spectrum even though it lists for I believe $1,599. Long story short, I'm glad I bought it. I think the best way to describe the difference is "smoothness." It takes the rough edges off of the music and adds depth. I never really understood some of those expressions until now. I've found listening less fatiguing, especially with headphone listening. However, the differences are subtle. The Outlaw 990 does a nice job and I am very happy with it, but the Arcam is definitely a step up when I listen to cd's, especially well mastered and recorded ones. It will not make bad recordings sound good, nor should it, but it makes the good stuff sound sweet.
Anyway, I don't know if upgrading my dvd player would have done the same thing, but I am convinced that there is definitely a difference in the sound quality when upgrading the source player.
By the way, the store where I purchased the Arcam is a very high end store with obviously some very knowledgeable staff. They recommended that once I got the unit home I put a cd in it, hit the repeat button, and let it play for at least 3 to 4 days straight before I did any listening. And then, never turn the player off. They suggested that it takes about 24 hours for the player to properly warm up so that it is at it's sonic best so I should just leave it on as they do with every player they have in the store. I thought that was interesting.
