Audio Research Ref: CD8

Wsill, you say it is a sonic improvement but also midrange is boosted up. Do you mean the new machine is more aggressive and forward sounding when compared to before mod? I am trying to figure out whether the new version has a different sound presentation significantly different from the original one. Then it will also be a choice of taste etc.

Thank you Wsill.

This weekend I am hoping to listen a reasonably burned CD8 vs CD7 in my system. I will post the results.

As I typed before, I had a chance to get a CD8 and CD7 for the weekend to home and experienced these two with my audio setup. My system basically is ARC gear, Ref-3 and Ref-610T monos. A couple of weeks ago I tested Ref-7 and found it has a better synergy than my Audio Aero Prestige. Now it was a better and more exiting test, comparing the successor of Ref-7 and Ref-7.

CD8 had approx 150 hours of burning while Ref-7 had 500+ hours. One can argue that CD8 needs much more hours to perform its optimum.

I also invited some audiophile friends to compare these two players.

I did not reveal which player was playing to the listeners until the end. So it was player A vs player B.

The conclusion was very straightforward. I guess it is a fair to say CD8 is a better player with a margin so that there is no doubt. I was expecting it to improve the virtues of Ref-7 to some margin but we found CD8 as a remarkably different sounding player than CD7. CD8 is fast, I mean really fast compared to Ref-7. Ref-7 seems like having a larger soundstage with larger instruments but in terms of accuracy and pinpoint imaging CD8 did everything right. CD8 has a darker background, better resolution in resolving instruments and inner details. Highs are better defined. It has a better authority and control over any frequency band. CD7 plays more forward compared to CD8. CD8 has a sounstage deeper and more behind the speakers. It is more effortless.

At the end of the listening test we also compared CD8 with my analog setup (Acoustic Solid Royal tt, Graham Phantom tonearm, Transfiguration Orpheus cartridge, ARC PH-7) to see really how close it gets to analog which is my current reference source in my setup. I might say CD8 is one more step closer to analog presentation than CD7. There is still a gap between my analog and my digital sources but it is narrower. So to me, CD8 is that good.

CD8 is my new digital source.

Mkilpi, I might say CD8 was not fully burned-in so that the frequency extremes might get even better, but I can clearly say the bass definition of CD8 is superior. It is faster and a bit more neutral in texture so that CD7 is trying to catch the timing and a bit lacks and feels like a bit heavy and boomy. I never felt CD7 had a lack of midbass weight, and indeed it was the player which had more weight and emphasis on midbass. While CD7 was louder and heavier in midbass, CD8 had a better control, faster and deeper (and probably lower) bass definition. So compared to CD8, CD7 sounded darker. On the other hand, CD8 did not have a tonal preference. The CD7 unit we tested did not have upgraded power supply kit. So, I cant comment on whether the new power supply or new DAC of CD8 or both of them creating the difference. Given Wsill's comments for power supply upgrade of CD7, I assume an upgraded CD7 performs better than original CD7. So, a comparison of an upgraded CD7 with CD8 will be more meaningful to evaluate the CD8. Best Regards.

ARC finally replaced CD7 with CD8 in their web site but still it does not appear under new products, also the technical specs are still missing.

I copy paste CD8 from their web site below:

REFERENCE CD8 Compact Disc Player

We are proud to introduce a model that may be the most musical and musically accurate single-chassis compact disc player, the Reference CD8. It replaces a product that was still garnering five-star reviews three years after its introduction, the esteemed Reference CD7.

With the advent of the CD5 and DAC7 in 2008, we knew that the DAC used in our Reference player needed a newer, higher-resolution version. (The new 24-bit, 192-kHz chipset is not retrofittable to the CD7.) And, our engineers found a way to physically incorporate the same power-supply regulation used in the Reference 3, using a single 6550C to replace two 6H30 triodes, giving better performance and longer tube life. Other enhancements include our newest output coupling capacitors and special damping tweaks. The playback mechanism continues to be the unsurpassed Philips PRO2R — still the best dedicated CD mechanism available.

The REFCD8 also features a new dimmable display, allowing five levels of illumination or completely off. A small LED indicator remains lit when the player is on, as a reminder to prevent the player from being left on inadvertently. In size, input and output configuration, —and in all other operational functions, the REFCD8 is identical to the REFCD7. But there the similarities end.

Sonically, the REFCD8 stands in a class all its own. While retaining the lush, full embodiment of the CD7 sound, the CD8 adds new dimensions of transparency. It immediately shows greater transient speed top-to-bottom, purer resolution of low-level detail and expanded dynamic contrasts, with more bass slam, definition and extension. The soundstage is larger and more holographic because of the heightened ability of the REFCD8 to embody and locate instruments and voices. Rhythmically, the REFCD8 also picks up the pace compared to the CD7, with improved timing cues and better rhythmic interplay. You will find other sonic dimensions to marvel as you spend time with this enticing player.

Quite simply, the REFCD8 will have you rearranging your compact disc collection all over again as you rediscover and reprioritize old and new favorites. It really is the most mesmerizing, musically accurate CD player we have ever experienced — and what better way to bring enhanced value to a growing, and costly, CD collection!

This is like having an entirely new CD collection. Now I'm thinking ... Do I dare sell this player and get the CD-8? I'm kind of thinking, if, as my contact at ARC says, the modded CD-7 gets you 25% of the way to the CD-8, and I get the CD-8, will I ever leave the house again? Will I sell all of my thousands of records, dump the turntable and phono-stage ... and just be done with the whole vinyl thing?

Save me! I'm lost!
Oregonpapa

To me, CD8 is one of the best sounding one-box digital players, remarkably better than already very good CD7. I used to write my views for CD8 under this forum topic. I also wrote as "it reduced the gap between my analog and digital sources, it is that good." But I would not sell my analog equipment and my records for CD8. My analog source is still my reference in terms of getting maximum satistaction. In terms of soundstage, seperation of instruments, inner texture and timbre, air and definition of high frequencies, a good analog is still superior, but it is nice to hear newcomer digital sources are closing the gap.