Cambridge 840C, YES it is as good as the reviews

I also saw Harley's response... here's the thing - this guy is Mr. Audio Biz... when he makes a statement like that, I either want to listen to one immediately (which I have) or question his credibility (which many have done) because that was quite an exagerated claim.

Truth is, I think the 840c is an excellent CDP for $1500 and a serious contender at twice that. IMO, if your budget is tight, and/or you want digital inputs, and/or you want an upsampling transport, the 840c ought to be on your short list to check out.

Mike

I extensively compared the 840c to the Marantz SA8001, and prefered the 8001.
The 840c did give more of a sense of body to instruments, but, the 8001 has a better sense of space and depth, and I can hear deeper into the recording.
The 840c, to my ears, is a great sounding cd player, but it has slightly vague imaging, and has a flatter soundstage than the 8001. It also sounds slightly more "mechanical" than the 8001.
The 840c is slighter smoother and less forward than the 8001, but I still prefer the 8001.

Hi Audio_girl,
I agree 100% with your conclusions on the 840c.
I own the Marantz SA8001 and I am very happy with it.
I also prefered the 8001 to the Onkyo DX7555,Marantz CD-5001, the Rega Apollo, and the Rega Saturn, plus it also plays SACD's.
Not bad for a less than $1,000.00 player!
The 8001 is a bargain, IMHO.

I think the player is that good. To say well you can get a player for $5000 that sounds better is like saying duh. Maybe saying best under $5k was overrated, but honestly this player is very impressive. Just pop the top and look at the parts....custom transport and all. Very impressive and sounds incredible. I stand by that and would like to A/B against the Krell and Ayre etc....

By the way, I went to hear the Krell and could not A/B it back to back to the Cambridge but it did sound good but it was a bucket of bolts. The dealer said he would not sell it to me if I had wanted it saying the transport was a ticking time bomb and I would be left with a 40lb door stop....but no, I did not want to buy it....was not worth it over the 840c! I also went into a local Tweeter to hear the Krell and when I showed up the unit froze....i.e., was dead, end of story, end of its life.

Don't believe the bashers of this player, it is a steal for the price.

The point here is that moderately priced digital sounds pretty darned good these days, whcih can but be a good thing for music lovers over-all.

I haven't yet heard the Cambridge but I did audition the Opus 21 in my system - I wouldn't want the Opus even at $1000. Just not to my liking. But Opus 21 owners love it, and they're happy and it sure sounds better than most top of the line kilobuck digital from 15 years ago.

So to each his own, audition anything in your system, and rejouce that none of us *has* to spend 7k to get good sound...although I would dearly love to own a Reimyo some day ;-)