I researched a few CDP's before settling on the Music Hall. I listened to Nad 521, Cambridge Audio d500se and the Rotel rcd 961. I think the MMF CD25 beats them all in terms of clarity, dynamics, and imaging. It has tight bass, good rhythm, and very good imaging. The only one that came close was the Cambridge Audio. Listening to an acoustic version of Hotel California the MMF CD25 easily played the highest guitar notes cleanly and accurately, while the Cambridge sounded brittle. That sealed the deal for me.It is also built like a tank. It weighs 17lbs, has an aluminum faceplate, and has 2 sets of digital outputs It is not the smoothest player around (the amount of detail it conveys might be fatiguing for some) and vocals sound a bit thin, but overall its the best player for the money ($450).
Review: Music Hall mmf cd-25 CD Player
Category: Digital
I have been trying to build a system that will give me a real, open, warm sound... on a budget. No easy task. I love to hear a realistic timbre on instruments, especially piano, and I cannot listen to that strident, digital sound that infects so many solid state pieces of equipment, especially cd players. For quite a while I had a Cambridge cd4se, and for it's cost it was a real gem. But when it came to strings, loud brass passages, cymbals, high notes on piano, it would lose that natural sound, and become somewhat brittle. My searches took me through the Marantz cd6000ose, very competent and extremely dynamic, but too over the top and unrefined. Then I extended my budget and tried the new Rotel rcd-1070. I had an rcd-951 a few years back, and I never found it too involving, but I'd heard that this was closer to the highly reviewed 991, so I thought I'd try it. To me it had the same uninvolving sound as the 951. Which brings me to the Music Hall MMF cd-25. It's been in my system for four months now. It is definitely the most well rounded budget player that I have listened to, and has hdcd to boot. Audiophile recordings are treated extremely well, and hdcd recordings sound great. I prefer good hdcd recordings to xrcd's, but there are some bad hdcd recordings, and I've never heard a bad xrcd. I can now say that my cd player is not the weakest link in my system, which I felt it was before, and that is saying a lot for a $450.00 (what I paid for the floor demo at my local dealer) component. If you remove the lid, you'll find quite a high quality piece of equipment, and it is quite appealing asthetically, with a remote adjustable blue led display. The remote is sci-fi ugly, and the random feature is quirky as hell, but these are small gripes. Personally, I haven't heard a better player until you get up into the Wadias, a whole different price range. Highly recommended.
Associated gear
8 watt modified tube kit from Arizona Hi-Fi, Audioreview DIY kit speakers, TMC white interconnects, Mapleshade golden helix speaker cable.
Similar products
Marantz cd-67se, Sony xa20es, Cambridge cd4se, Marantz cd6000ose, Rotel rcd-1070
I have been trying to build a system that will give me a real, open, warm sound... on a budget. No easy task. I love to hear a realistic timbre on instruments, especially piano, and I cannot listen to that strident, digital sound that infects so many solid state pieces of equipment, especially cd players. For quite a while I had a Cambridge cd4se, and for it's cost it was a real gem. But when it came to strings, loud brass passages, cymbals, high notes on piano, it would lose that natural sound, and become somewhat brittle. My searches took me through the Marantz cd6000ose, very competent and extremely dynamic, but too over the top and unrefined. Then I extended my budget and tried the new Rotel rcd-1070. I had an rcd-951 a few years back, and I never found it too involving, but I'd heard that this was closer to the highly reviewed 991, so I thought I'd try it. To me it had the same uninvolving sound as the 951. Which brings me to the Music Hall MMF cd-25. It's been in my system for four months now. It is definitely the most well rounded budget player that I have listened to, and has hdcd to boot. Audiophile recordings are treated extremely well, and hdcd recordings sound great. I prefer good hdcd recordings to xrcd's, but there are some bad hdcd recordings, and I've never heard a bad xrcd. I can now say that my cd player is not the weakest link in my system, which I felt it was before, and that is saying a lot for a $450.00 (what I paid for the floor demo at my local dealer) component. If you remove the lid, you'll find quite a high quality piece of equipment, and it is quite appealing asthetically, with a remote adjustable blue led display. The remote is sci-fi ugly, and the random feature is quirky as hell, but these are small gripes. Personally, I haven't heard a better player until you get up into the Wadias, a whole different price range. Highly recommended.
Associated gear
8 watt modified tube kit from Arizona Hi-Fi, Audioreview DIY kit speakers, TMC white interconnects, Mapleshade golden helix speaker cable.
Similar products
Marantz cd-67se, Sony xa20es, Cambridge cd4se, Marantz cd6000ose, Rotel rcd-1070