| BUYING GUIDE & REVIEWS - COMPACT DISC PLAYERS - UNDER £300 |
| PRICES SHOWN ARE THOSE AT THE TIME OF REVIEW |
| Compact Disc Players |
£ |
Year |
Verdict |
| Aiwa XP-V731 portable |
£50 |
Aug 02 |
Not quite top of the sonic pile but excellent value for money. |
| Aiwa XP-V74 portable |
£80 |
Aug 99 |
Natural rendition uncommon amongst portables but a little compressed with it. |
| AMC CD8 |
£150 |
Oct 97 |
The CD8 is free from grain but can sound too polished at times. |
| Cambridge CD4SE |
£200 |
Feb 98 |
Natural and very life-like, the CD4SE embarrasses many pricier players. |
| Denon DCD-425 |
£150 |
Apr 97 |
Crisp, up-beat player which is inconsistent in its overall presentation. |
| Denon DCD-435 |
£130 |
Oct 00 |
A commendable all-rounder with a forward and rhythmic sound. Better suited to smooth sounding ancillaries. |
| Denon DCD 485 |
£130 |
Oct 01 |
A detailed and appealing performer, especially with classical, but although well built the sonic competition at the price is simply too good. |
| Denon DCD-635 |
£180 |
Feb 98 |
Rhythmically slick and dynamic, the Denon errs to the cool side of neutral. |
| Denon DCD-835 |
£280 |
Nov 98 |
Warm and smooth, the 835 is laid-back rather than in-your-face. |
| Goodmans Delta CMD |
£199 |
Jun 99 |
Well-tailored CD/MD pairing and a doddle to use. Sound quality is spot-on for the price. |
| Goodmans GCD90K Portable |
£70 |
Aug 99 |
A secure performer thanks to its 20 second anti-shock system. Sound quality good. |
| Grundig CD3 |
£240 |
Sep 94 |
Great for simple Jazz and Folk, but soft bass slows things down. |
| JVC XL-V230 |
£157 |
Jan 99 |
Slightly muddled in the bass, the '230 isn't the most rhythmic of players. |
| Kenwood DP-3080/II |
£180 |
Feb 98 |
One of the best budget all-rounders there is. A shade treble-heavy. |
| Kenwood DP-5050 |
£250 |
Aug 93 |
Waffly bass and enthusiastic treble mean the Kenwood prefers Classical to Rock. |
| Kenwood DPF-3010 |
£180 |
Jan 99 |
A fine performer. Lacks only some of the spirit of its predecessors. |
| Kenwood DPF-3030 |
£199 |
Feb 01 |
Like its predecessor (DP 3080) the 3030 is simply one of the best players around under £200. Highly recommended. |
| Kenwood DPC-395 |
£100 |
Aug 99 |
Portable. Has build and appearance on its side but not the greatest sonic performer in portables. |
| Marantz CD-63 |
£249 |
Jun 94 |
Upholds the Marantz tradition of lively CD players. |
| Marantz CD-67 |
£270 |
Nov 96 |
Fine vocal projection and treble. Bass is deep if not that tight. |
| Marantz CD-5000 |
£150 |
Oct 00 |
Not the best built, but a great sounding player that deserves a listen. |
| NAD 510 |
£200 |
Oct 95 |
Hard to criticise at the price, with a typically smooth, fluid NAD sound. |
| NAD C520 |
£170 |
Oct 00 |
A good quality player that's well built, with a detailed and rhythmic sound. Good value. |
| NAD 522 |
£170 |
Jan 99 |
Warm and smooth, this is a cultured player. Can be over-civilised at times. |
| Onkyo DX-7222 |
£150 |
Oct 00 |
Good quality player with a sophisticated sound for the money. Worth a listen. |
| Panasonic SL-SX410 Portable |
£100 |
Aug 99 |
Portable with limited dynamics but nonetheless musical and finely detailed. |
| Philips CD721 |
£130 |
Feb 96 |
Not the most accurate machine, but holds its own at the price. |
| Pioneer PD-103 |
£140 |
Feb 95 |
Rolled-off treble limits detail. Light bass retains foot-tapping ability. |
| Quad 67 |
£? |
May 93 |
One of the top players at the price with great speed and grip. |
| Rotel RCD-940BX |
£230 |
Oct 94 |
Controlled and invigorating player albeit a touch sterile. |
| Sony CDP-XB740E |
£200 |
Apr 01 |
A good player well worth audition but suits ambient instrumental music better than vocal. |
| Sony CDP-XE530 |
£130 |
Oct 00 |
Well put together and confident sounding. Sony produce yet another product that's excellent value for money. |
| Sony D-EJ1000 portable |
£165 |
Aug 02 |
Expensive but highly desirable. The best quality CD portable around if you wish to shell out. |
| Sony XE-670 |
£299 |
Nov 01 |
Plays multichannel and two channel SACDs with an impressive authority and detail. CDs sound full and involving too. At £300 its a bargain. |
| Teac CD-P3450SE |
£200 |
May 97 |
Refuses to become flustered. Can lack emotion as a result, though. |
| Teac CD-P4500 |
£249 |
Nov 92 |
Like many of its contemporaries, the Teac is too smooth to shine. |
| Technics SL-PG490A |
£100 |
Jan 99 |
In spite of a bias towards bass and treble, this machine remains a bargain. |
| Technics SL-PS570D |
£200 |
Feb 98 |
Typical Technics' bright and bassy sound. Prefers Dance and Rock. |
| Yamaha CDX-480 |
£200 |
Mar 95 |
Mature, laid-back machine drops points for inferior timing and imaging. |
| Yamaha CDX-496 |
£180 |
Oct 00 |
A bit rough round the edges but an involving listen. Can be bettered at the price. |
| Yamaha CDX-590 |
£230 |
Feb 98 |
Detailed, refined but not particularly engaging or exciting. |
| Yamaha CDX-593 |
£180 |
Jan 99 |
Lean and up-front, the Yamaha is involving on Rock but can sound rough. |
| COMPACT DISC PLAYERS - £300 - £799 |
| Alchemist Nexus |
£599 |
Jul 99 |
Listening is 'sumptuous' but perception of fine detail a little more difficult. |
| AMC CDM7 |
£340 |
Jun 96 |
Very musical outfit which gains sweetness with optional valve output stage. |
| AR-07 |
£300 |
Jan 92 |
The '07 is even-handed but has no real forte. |
| Arcam Alpha 7 |
£320 |
Jan 97 |
Superbly-designed, instinctively musical player destined for success. |
| Arcam Alpha 7SE |
£330 |
Nov 99 |
Refinement comes second to speed in the 7SE, so careful cabling is required for the best results. |
| Arcam Alpha 8SE |
£599 |
Jun 98 |
The 8SE builds on the strengths of the standard 8 with HDCD filtering. |
| Arcam Alpha 9 |
£799 |
Dec 98 |
Apart from its tonal brightness, the Alpha 9 is a very capable machine. |
| Arcam CD72 |
£400 |
May 01 |
Fluid sounding, refined, especially with classical, the stylish CD72 sets the new standard in its price bracket. |
| Audio Analogue Paganini |
£749 |
Apr 99 |
Effortless, wholly musical delivery. The Paganini does for CD replay what the Puccini does for amplification. |
| Audio Innovations Alto |
£449 |
May 96 |
Grainless treble is detailed but the Alto misses that vital emotional spark. |
Audio Note CDT-Zero &
Audio Note DAC-One |
£549
£749 |
Feb 02 |
A enjoyably musical package and beautifully presented too, but a touch too coloured to compete with the best of the rest. |
| Aura CD50 |
£450 |
Jul 93 |
High measured distortion mars the treble and bass is dry. |
| Creek CD43 |
£499 |
Oct 98 |
A competent player with a musicality that will seduce any music-lover. |
| Creek CD43 Mk2 |
£599 |
Nov 00 |
Great sounding player that's just let down by its lightweight build. |
| Cyrus dAD 1.5 |
£398 |
May 99 |
Great detail and imaging. Classical and Jazz suit the 1.5 down to the ground but Rock can sound harsh. |
| Cyrus dAD3 |
£598 |
Dec 96 |
Lacklustre with Classical, dramatic and lively on Dance and Rock. |
| Denon DCD-1550AR |
£350 |
Jul 98 |
Clean and precise, the Denon lags only in warmth and openness. |
| Denon DCD-1650AR |
£700 |
Jul 99 |
Refined and enjoyable. Its in-built smoothness can get in the way of absolute transparency. |
| Exposure CD 2010 |
£599 |
Jun 02 |
Another great midpriced CD player with good pound for sound value. The Exposure has a very exciting and forward sound that is totally involving. |
| Harman/Kardon HD730 |
£300 |
Aug 96 |
Strong on dynamics and drive, but lifeless treble can dampen music. |
| Harmon/Kardon HD740 |
£300 |
Jun 99 |
A smooth, musical and rhythmic player, but midrange best suits Classical rather than Rock. |
| Helios 3 |
£700 |
Jul 99 |
It is unusual to find a player with such definite loves and hates. First class with acoustic, otherwise maybe! |
| Linn Mimik |
£798 |
Apr 95 |
Tonally hard but possesses many, if not all, of the Linn rhythmic strengths. |
| Marantz CD-63 KI-Sig |
£500 |
Sep 96 |
This is a rare player, greater than the sum of its parts. |
| Marantz CD-63SE |
£350 |
May 95 |
Taken as a whole, the CD-63SE is one hell of a CD player. No digital nasties. |
| Munrio Asty |
£695 |
Jan 00 |
An excellent all-rounder at the price, pure and simple. |
| Myryad T20 |
£600 |
Dec 98 |
With its brightness balanced by warm ancillaries the T20 will win friends. |
| NAD C540 |
£329 |
Mar 00 |
A very dynamic and forward player. Immediacy and speed are countered by a marginal lack of refinement. |
| NAD C541 |
£320 |
Sep 01 |
Simply the best all rounder at the price. Equally smooth, refined and powerful. |
| NAD 541i |
£329 |
Jul 02 |
Another budget blockbuster from NAD. Brilliant musicality allied to impressive refinement makes it the one to beat at the price. |
| Orelle CD100e |
£650 |
Mar 97 |
Clean and tidy on electronic music. Not so good with acoustic material. |
| Pioneer PD-S904 |
£400 |
Sep 96 |
Fluid midrange leads a dry bass and tonally-limited treble. |
| Pioneer DV-717 |
£550 |
Sep 99 |
Detailed and sweet-sounding, the DV-717 brings out the best in most discs. Not the last word in neutrality. |
| Rega Planet 2000 |
£498 |
Jun 01 |
A fantastically musical performer for the money, the Planet offers a taste of the high-end at an everyday price. Right now, its the best budget CD player money can buy. |
| Rotel RCD-951 |
£300 |
Aug 99 |
Good with ordinary CDs, excellent on HDCD. Construction is very solid too. |
| Rotel RCD-965BX Discrete |
£375 |
Dec 94 |
Fast, clean sound verges on the clinical at times. |
| Rotel RCD-971 |
£350 |
Sep 98 |
Refinement is a plus point, but lack of vitality holds the Rotel back. |
| Rotel RCD-975 |
£450 |
Sep 96 |
Tuneful, pungent bass are the pros, flat sound staging and tone the cons. |
| Rotel RCD-991 |
£750 |
Mar 00 |
HDCD compatible. Easily one of the best at the price. A confident and musical player that takes some beating. |
| Rotel RCD-1070 |
£525 |
May 02 |
The new Rotel, with its build quality and superb all round performance is the pick of the strong bunch at its price. Excellent value. |
| Sony CDP-X3000ES |
£500 |
Mar 98 |
Neutral, dynamic and stylish but not quite up with the best. |
| Sony CDP-XB930E |
£300 |
Dec 99 |
A classy customer with a sophisticated and smooth sound thatís very hard to fault. |
| SONY SCD-XB940 |
£550 |
Sep 00 |
At the moment, a great buy. Plays CDs with refinement and control and SACDs with a clarity and openess not found at this price before. |
| Sony CDP-XE900E |
£300 |
Mar 97 |
In spite of fine sound staging and clarity, the Sony fails to involve. |
| Teac CD-5 |
£350 |
Jan 96 |
Clean and dry, the Teac is rather sterile compared to the competition. |
| Technics SL-PS840 |
£450 |
Sep 95 |
Not the last word in bass control. Midrange is more persuasive. |
| Terratec M3PO |
£349 |
May 00 |
The first hi-fi CD player that also plays MP3 music files. Sound quality is nothing to write home about but it is still an imaginative and exciting product. |
| Thule CD100 |
£600 |
Apr 99 |
A very smooth and refined player with the added bonus of good detailing. Can lack rhythmic bite at times. |
| Trichord Genesis |
£549 |
Sep 96 |
Warm and bassy, but extremely natural. Not the most consistent player. |
| Trichord Revelation |
£799 |
May 97 |
When itís good, it's very good indeed. Can get confused on dense mixes. |
| COMPACT DISC PLAYERS - £800 - £1499 |
| Arcam FMJ CD23 |
£1100 |
Jul 00 |
Supremely capable at the price, this player offers the best of both worlds - musicality and sophistication. |
| Arcam FMJ CD23 |
£1149 |
Mar 02 |
Updated revamp with new transport. Supremely capable at the price, this player offers the best of both worlds, musicality and sophistication. |
| Arcam CD92 |
£849 |
Aug 01 |
Full bodied and musical, its an extremely impressive performer at the price. |
| Audio Analogue Maestro |
£1100 |
Feb 00 |
The Maestro is well up with the pack on most counts, but it isn't the most musical of machines. |
| Audio Analogue Maestro |
£1500 |
Apr 02 |
New version of the Maestro. Great value player with awesome build quality and a civilised yet detailed sound. Very fine DAC section |
| Audiolab 8000 |
£1000 |
Dec 96 |
Sweet treble and full midrange give the 8000CD a lucid sound. |
| Copland CDA 266 |
£1199 |
Feb 99 |
Perhaps lacks the last ounce of strength on Rock, nonetheless has winning all-round ability. |
| Creek CD53 |
£1199 |
Nov 01 |
Tremendously engaging manner makes it an essential audition in an already competitive end of the market. A truly fine, musical performer. |
| Cymbol CDP12 |
£1279 |
Dec 97 |
Its warm, musical sound plus HDCD compatibility are a strong combination. |
| Cyrus dAD3 Q24 |
£900 |
Jan 00 |
A new smoothie, the dAD3 Q24 is a well-pointed spear in Cyrus's march to the higher end. |
| Cyrus dAD-7 |
£899 |
Jan 95 |
Up with the best at the money, the Cyrus simply sounds 'right'. |
| Cyrus CD7 |
£800 |
Jul 01 |
Tremedously engaging and incisive sound allied to superb build and ergomonics make this simply irresistable. |
| DPA Renaissance |
£895 |
Jun 95 |
Breathtaking imagery and dynamics. Not strictly accurate, but who cares? |
| Harman/Kardon HD7725 |
£800 |
Jan 94 |
Construction is price-correct, but not the excessively relaxed sound. |
| Heybrook Signature |
£989 |
Oct 97 |
The Heybrook loses out because of its rough treble and lack of clarity. |
| Holfi Xara |
£950 |
May 98 |
It's not cheap but the Xara scores for firm bass and exciting presentation. |
| LFD Mistral |
£999 |
Nov 97 |
The Mistral is outclassed in areas like pace and bass depth. |
| Marantz CD-17 |
£800 |
Jul 99 |
Commendably solid build, smooth top-end and velvety overall sound. |
| Marantz CD-17 KI-S |
£1300 |
Sep 97 |
The KI-S has a valve-like smoothness and clarity. |
| Meridian 506 |
£875 |
May 95 |
Characteristically dry Meridian balance which could do with more emotion. |
| Meridian 506.24 |
£1195 |
Oct 00 |
Highly musical yet very detailed sounding, this player has it all. Even-handed to a fault, it sounds great over a wide variety of music. |
| Meridian 507 |
£1195 |
Jun 02 |
Another quintessentially Meridian silver disc spinner, the 507 is a wonderously endearing and engaging listen. |
| Musical Fidelity X-Ray |
£800 |
Feb 99 |
Bright, clear and well-built, the X-Ray's transparency can be hard on poor recordings. |
| Musical Fidelity CDA 3 |
£800 |
Jan 00 |
Assured dynamic control and unimpeachable value for money. |
| Musical Fidelity CD Pre24 |
£1999 |
Jul 02 |
Combined CD & preamp. A highly versatile and accomplished performer that's both musically coherent and equally impressive when it comes to practicality. |
| Myryad MCD 500 |
£1299 |
Jun 00 |
Excellent with large scale classical or opera. Lacks a bit of clout with rock or dance music. |
| Myryad MCD 600 |
£1299 |
Sep 01 |
Warm, even-handed, pleasantly voiced player that ultimately fails to inspire. Still fine value though, some will not want anything more. |
| NAD S500 |
£1000 |
Jun 00 |
A great little player with excellent performance and sleek looks. Highly recommended. |
| Naim CD3.5 |
£1080 |
Feb 00 |
Quality CD player that sounds exciting and rhythmic. Not for the weak-hearted or laid-back though. |
| Naim CD5 |
£1125 |
Apr 01 |
Superbly built, reasonably priced with a fantastically exciting yet sophisticated sound, the CD5 is one of Naim's best products yet. |
| Pink Triangle Numeral |
£1099 |
Apr 98 |
This very natural one-box fully justifies its £1000 price tag. |
| Philips SACD 1000 |
£1299 |
Sep 01 |
A fine player of both multichannel and two channel SACD discs, along with good DVD-Video. Although having an exciting sound, its a bit too mechanical with CD. |
| Quad 77 |
£850 |
Nov 95 |
Competent, entertaining machine with neat styling and remote. |
| Rega Jupiter 2000 |
£998 |
Jan 02 |
Superbly musical and engaging player that's voiced for real music rather than hi-fi demo discs - a fantastic new contender and top value too. |
| Roksan Caspian |
£895 |
Aug 97 |
The Caspian is a gifted player well worth its asking price. |
| Shearne Audio Phase 7 |
£1499 |
Dec 99 |
The Phase 7 leads the pack for smoothness and tonal colour more than for detail and excitement. |
| Sony SCD-XA333ES |
£1200 |
Dec 01 |
A very fine player indeed. A tad bright, but also detailed and sweet. CDs are full and spacious sounding and SACD finely detailed and insightful. |
| Sony SCD-555ES |
£1200 |
May 01 |
This good value dual-purpose SACD/CD player is no substitute for a top class CD-only machine, but works well enough if you want a taste of SACD. Extremely well built. |
| Sugden CDMaster |
£1250 |
Oct 01 |
The stylish and sleek CDMaster is a fine performer that's easily at the top of its class. Highly recommended. |
| Sugden SDT-1 |
£850 |
Mar 93 |
A superb all-rounder with particularly convincing rhythms. |
| T+A CD 1210 R |
£1150 |
Sep 99 |
Outstanding build at a price which isn't expensive considering whatís on offer. |
| Teac VRDS-10SE |
£850 |
Apr 96 |
Draws you into the music. Soundstaging fine but treble is a little bright. |
| Teac VRDS-25 |
£1300 |
Aug 96 |
Solid build doesn't make up for sound which lags in integration and detail. |
| XTC CDP-1 |
£1250 |
Dec 97 |
Rhythmically satisfying, but can sound hard in the wrong system. |
| COMPACT DISC PLAYERS - £1500+ |
| Advantage CD1 |
£1995 |
Jan 00 |
Has the high-end classification of smoothness mixed with detail. |
| Anthem CD1 |
£1600 |
Mar 98 |
Sweet sound and numerous features make the Anthem fine value for money. |
| Burmester 937 |
£5460 |
Sep 94 |
Amongst the best with its belt-drive transport. |
| Copland CDA 289 |
£1898 |
Dec 00 |
Powerful yet bequiling sound puts it close to the top of the CD pile, making it excellent value for money. |
| Denon DCM 5000 |
£1500 |
May 00 |
Mulit featured Jukebox style player will hold 100 discs. Plays CD & HDCD with proper high fidelity. |
| Linn Sondek CD12 |
£12000 |
Jun 01 |
As far as its possible to discern, this is probably the best CD player in the world - ever! |
| Marantz CD-7 |
£3500 |
Sep 00 |
CD's past meets its future with wonderfully charismatic results. |
| Marantz SA-1 |
£5000 |
Mar 01 |
Possibly Marantz's best ever product. An exquistitely voiced device that excels in replaying both CDs and SACDs. |
| McIntosh CDM-7009 |
£2635 |
Dec 95 |
Unmatched quality from CD at a high but fair price. |
| Meridian 508.24 |
£1995 |
Jul 98 |
The 508.24 is one of the top performers at its price. |
| Meridian 588 |
£1950 |
Dec 01 |
Excellent in all musical respects, this smooth, organic player is a winner, but its not cheap. |
Musical Fidelity
Nu-Vista 3D |
£2960 |
Nov 01 |
Amazingly big and bold sounding player that's among the finest around. Definitely different but certainly addictive. |
| Naim CD2 |
£1998 |
Apr 97 |
CD2 excites at the expense of subtlety. More at home in a Naim system. |
| Pink Triangle Litaural |
£2099 |
Feb 98 |
One-box player with sound capable of mixing it with the best. |
| Sharp DX-SX1 |
£2700 |
Apr 00 |
Super clean and detailed, but lacks both power and raw emotion. High price ensures a limited customer base. |
| Sugden Masterclass CD |
£2700 |
Jan 02 |
A high end player in a different mould. Concentrates on the organic rather than the mechanical making it a fine 'analogue' player. |
| Teac CD-X1 |
£2300 |
Jun 92 |
You'll either love or hate this machine's great flair and confidence. |
