Cambridge Audio Azur 840C vs EMM CDSA SE

Short answer is yes. Long answer is what options do you have if you are considering the EMM price range?

Price doesn't relate to performance unless you are comparing designers that are great at giving value. There are rip offs and steals at every price range so my concern would be why you picked these two to ask about when they are apples and oranges?

I ask because your first mistake may be that you are looking at choices based on reviews. You need to find someone with a great ear you trust and who knows system matching or be able to hear them in your system.

I hope you have a great dealer you can lean on, unfortunately they are becoming rare.

Cambridge will hold its own against other great value players like Arcam, Rotel, Musical Fidelity and entry Esoteric and beat more expensive less value players like high end Marantz.

The EMM will compete against other high value high end companies like Exemplar, Ayre, and Dodsen, while beating high end over priced stuff like Levinson and Krell.

I am keeping all options open up to about $7000 on the used market. I rely on my own ears but have not had the chance to audition the EMM yet. I'm tied up for the next few months and may have the time to get to dealer at the end of the summer. There isn't one near when I am located. In the meantime I value the opinions of those who have heard both the Cambridge and the EMM. Would you be so kind as to give me a specific idea of the various sonic differences? By the way, are you a dealer? Thank you, in advance. Greatly appreciated.

Hello. I am a dealer and do not sell either one but there is a big difference.

The EMM is much more seethrugh and places objects in the recording in its own space and time so you can "walk" around the sound.

The Cambridge is smooth but also closed in and pinched sounding. You will hear thing you don't now on the EMM.

The hard one to beat for the money that I do sell is the Exemplar hot rod of the Oppo BluRay. It is $2500 and is 95% as good as a DCS that sells for $90,000.

Hello, I appreciate your comments and observations which give me a precise analysis of the difference between these 2 CDPs. This is exactly what I was looking for since it will be a while before I can audition the EMM. I also appreciate your comments on the Exemplar. I will do some research.

If you can afford $7k for a cdp why not buy both (or maybe a few) and satisfy yourself that you can head a difference and that the more expensive one is worth it to you.

Hello, I think you may have missed my point. I am not interested in doing a demo with multiple units to hear the differences -- and then have to go to the trouble of selling off the ones I don't want. I know that I would hear a difference between the 2 units in question. My question was regarding the nature of the difference. I was interested in hearing from others who have auditioned both units to find out whether the EMM would provide a significant enough sonic improvement that would warrant the extra cost. I am upgrading my system and do not want the CDP to be the weak link. The previous posting answered my question by providing the kinds of specific details that I need to know before I make an informed choice without having the opportunity to audition the EMM. This is not an ideal way of making a purchase, granted, but in this case where there is a world of difference between the 2 units this makes it easier to make the right choice for my system. If the differences between the 2 units were more subtle then I would have to take a different approach. Apparently, the differences are not subtle, which one would expect given the large price differential.