Careful reading of the D500SE blurb on the Audio Advisor site says the Crystal DAC was ORIGINALLY designed to play DVD's and SACD, therefore will "sound great with conventional audio CD's"; asssuming it will play SACD's is wishful thinking. |
I have a couple of cd which is mastered with 24/192. I wonder would it play well with D500SE ??? Can Trelja confirm ?? |
Trelja: Thanks for the response, sorry to hear you are underwhelmed right now. I need a new player also and this might be the fit I am looking for. I hope it improves with more break-in, please let me know. Funny you should mention the homegrown silver lace, I just contacted them to get a pair that I want to try on whatever player I get, right now I am thinking either this Cambridge or the new Planet 2000. |
Miked, the player does have a detachable power cord. I didn't even take the supplied one out of its wrapper. There is a caution on the box that the player does not include cables(interconnects), which my dealer told me about. I wouldn't have taken them out of their wrapper either. I am using HomeGrown Audio Silver Lace IC, and a Delta Silver Source silver power cord. I did not compare it to the new Planet 2000, which my dealer also carries. I decided I would buy a cheaper player(mine was beginning to act a little funny), and wait another year or two for a universal player. Maybe then I will go all out. In my opinion, this player's DAC is designed for SACD, but I do not think the optics will be able to read a SACD. If this is the case, I am not sure what that buys me. I think this player is the equal of the old Planet, which I am quite(if not very) familiar with. Out of the box, the player was mid - fi in sound. There is a warning(another!?!) sticker on the top of the player. Message is to give the player 36 hours of use before it will sound best. The one thing I wanted in a new player was weight in the music. And so far, it does not give that. Dynamics are OK. Clarity and soundstaging are the strong suits of this machine. I keep reading this player is the bargain in audio, but I am a bit underwhelmed. I was expecting it to really trounce my OLD CD player. It is better, but I wish there was more. It was the best of its class, in the store. That being said, I will give it the required break - in, and wait to form a concrete opinion. |
Trelja: Did you compare this to a Planet CDP. That is what I was thinking of buying, but if this is close in sound quality, would not mind saving a few bucks. By the way, I checked the Audio Advisor website, they say the chip was originally designed to play SACD, not sure what that means though. How would describe the sound?? Thanks. |
Does it have a detachable power cord?? Would someone please confirm if this can play SACDs, I will buy one tomorrow. |
By the way, I want to be clear. Until I see(and hear) this player play a SACD, I do NOT believe it. Otherwise, they would be advertising it as such. |
I bought a Cambridge D500 SE today. Sounds pretty nice out of the box. I really needed a player to hold me over for the period of uncertainty(I had been waiting to upgrade for 3 long years). I compared it to other players(in its class - didn't want to spend too much $$$), and it was the best. Then, after paying, my dealer drops the ULTIMATE bombshell. One from which I still haven't recovered. He gives me a piece of paper with a warning about the player(from Cambridge). It says the player has a 24 bit/192 kHz processor designed for CD !!!***AND*** SACD!!! I asked, and he confirmed, that it plays SACD. He said he has played SACDs with it! I was floored, and asked why he didn't tell me before. I would not have needed to audition any other player, had I known this. I also told him to tell anyone looking at this player FIRST, before telling them ANYTHING else. The product literature makes NO mention of SACD whatsoever, so I am going to have to go out and buy one. Just to see... If it does, THIS $450 player will soon sell faster than lemonade on a July day. Will keep everyone posted. |
According the AudioAdvisor.com website it is 24/192, but then does it actually run in that mode?? I am not a techy. |
Thanks everyone, but can anyone confirm that the D/A converter is 24/192 and not 24/44.1 !!! |
I bought the 500 se a few days ago from aa at $399. it's back ordered. will post the sound as soon as i have it. hoping my big adventure is over. |
To give you an idea up the newer model's upgrade in quality; the original CD4 had a Sanyo transport. The D500's transport is made by Sony. |
Yes, that describes the original CD4. Cambridge was bought out by a few years ago by a group in Britain called "Audio Partnership" headed by Julian Richer. (Richersounds.com) They changed manufacturers. Cambridge does design work in Britain and farms out production. I beleve the quality is better now. My D500 was solid and pretty heavy for the price. |
Thank you for the detailed information Sugarbrie. Interesting how Sam Tellig reviewed the non - SE version a few months back, and listed precious little technical information. It would be nice if his reviews contained the same objective data(in sidebars) as everyone else at Stereophile(along with test measurements - hey, JA lives in Brooklyn now...). I enjoy reading Sam, but sometimes his reviews are on par with those from AudioReview. Even worse was his review the next month on the Musical Fidelity A3 CD(one of the most uninformative reviews I have ever read in technical terms). I had been looking at the Cambridge site, but it is lacking in up to date information(doesn't even list the SE versions of the new players). The best I did was following your advice, and checking it out on AudioAdvisor. They were spot on, and up to date. I really need a new player, but am hesitant to buy an expensive one. I am thinking I should wait for a new universal(CD/SACD/DVD-A), but I have now been waiting for over three years to make my move. Maybe getting a player of this regard, for this price is a good option... Thanks again. |
I owned a CD4 for a while in a office system, three months into owning it, I pressed play on the front panel and the front panel literally fell apart (the display fell inside the player). Evidently this is not uncommon with Cambridge. My dealer fixed it under warranty, but you have to wonder about build quality. My dealer stopped selling Cambridge due to questionable reliability, figured it wasn't worth aggravating his customers. |
By the way, for those with the older version, the DAC chip module was designed to be removed, so you should be able to upgrade to 24 bit. Do not know the cost. |
PS: If I would of had the SE 24 bit model, I would probably have parted with the CD6. |
Yes the D500SE is 24 bit. I think AudioAdvisor has a few of them for $399. I had the original D500 which was 20bit. Everything you read is true in my mind. Is also a HiFi Choice Best Buy and best play under $1000 in A/V Lifestyle (Austrialian) magazine. The only reason I sold it was I had too many CD Players. What I kept was a Rotel RCD-990 which is/was one of the best players under $2000 (or even $3000 when it was released), and a Cambridge CD6. It was a toss up which Cambridge to keep. |
My dealer has it. His assistant was telling me about it. Said he didn't have time to give it a listen. Too busy with holiday sales... Said price was unchanged($450) - that would be great if he's correct. He didn't say it was a 24 bit player, but I found out on my own. Him and the owner have always maintained that the D500 is THE sleeper in digital. From what I have heard of other people, it seems true(would love other people's takes on this). So good a player, that he doesn't carry the NAD Silver Series CD player(says it isn't worth it). Next jump up from this(and the Jolida he sells) are the Linn, Naim, Electrocompaniet players. |
