Like all ARC products, this is first class!

Great all around performer!

Plastic remote,and not a lot of programming features but who cares its all about the music!

I have listen to my friends $ 20,000.00 Krell KPS 25 and great length. While it is better,it not worth the extra $$. The Krell has a wider soundstage and the music seems to float out of it. Its an awesome player. The Audio Research is my choice for the best cd player under $ 2,000.00 . The ARC is very well made , I and my friends have several and they don't break! They have a smooth relaxed sound, which I find true to the music. Never harsh or agressive. ARC is also one of the finest companies in high end audio. Give them a call with any questions or concerns and they are ready to help. I like the fact that it matches their phono and preamps too!

Similar Products Used:

Krell, Sony, Sonic Frontiers

Good looks.

Not especially defined in top registers. Bass somewhat ill defined.

Sorry to say: This CD player is not what I expected. I was considering exchanging my Parasound DAC 2000 / CDP 2000 combination for a ARC CD2. Having had the CD2 in my setup, I realized that the CD2 does not in any way better the feeling of coming close to the musical event that one get with the Parasound combination. Definition is lacking. Bass is not very defined. Honestly a dissappointment given ARC´s fine reputation in pre- and power amplifiers.

Similar Products Used:

ARC VT 100mkII, ARC LS2bmkII, ProAc 3.8 Parasound DAC 2000 / CD/P 2000, Copland 289, Primare 30.1, Micromega Stage 6.

One of the best player avaliable today. I like design of CD3.

Without CD in player you can't close the door with magnetic clamp in place. Can not turn off display. Cheep remote control.

This is review of Audio Research CD3 (not in data base). It is the first top loader from ARC. It is really first class player. Very detailed and clean sound. Right out of the box it sounds a little hard, but after few days it sounds sweet. If you are considering Audio research with Thiels you should use not bright cables. System: Audio Research VT100MKII amplifier Audio Research LS25MKII preamplifier Audio Research CD3 player Thiel CS 2.3 loudspeakers MIT Oracle V4 speaker cables.

Similar Products Used:

Proceed CDP, Marantz

Soundstage, detail, imaging and pace.

programability if that''s important to you.

The few who have given this fine product less than an outstanding (5) rating are obviously looking for a certain sound rather than looking for a player that faithfully reproduces what a disc has on it. While I would not argue that this is the finest in existance, it is easily among the top 5...arguably even the top 3 players available. It does not abound in features, but then at this price point, programability is not the first thing one looks for...but rather sound. If you must have programability, buy an after market remote and play around with the codes for various Phillips players since this is a Phillips drive. I found that the codes are in the machine, it''s only that all the buttons are not on the supplied remote. The sound, I would describe as spacious, accurate and detailed...yet without the grating clinical nature you hear in some digital sources. I used this player with both Dahlquist Dq-30i''s and NHT 2.5i''s both of which can be bright if paired with the wrong equipment. With the CD-2, they both sounded glorious. What compares? The new Wadia, possibly the seperate Levinson drive and processor and with the right equipment, the big krell player. All of them cost more than the Cd-2 and the differences don''t come close to justifying the price.

Similar Products Used:

Audio Research CD-1, Rega Planet 2000

I listened to this product yesterday using a PASS Aleph 5 Power Amplifier, an Audio Research LS15 Tube Preamplifier, and the ESP Concert Grands. Cabling was from a local manufacturer in the Portland area.
The sound was very good, in fact competing with most separates I have heard, including Mark Levinson, Wadia, and Theta. The Levinson gear sounded more neutral across the board, and had better separation in the mid and high frequencies. The Wadia and Theta equipment had more puchy base, but the CD2 sounded more natural in this area. For the price, $3,500, this piece of equipment is a tru bargain, and definately raised the question as to whether separates are worth the extra $2-3,000.

Updated reveiw: I have had this player for about 3 months. My previous review said it sounded it better then my Cal Ikon, and it does. In fact my system sounds great. How can one tell which componenet is the defintitive one? I have a Pass 4 amp, Pass P pre-amp, Wireworld Silver Eclipse cables as interconnects and Nordost Cables to the speakers which are either Audio Physica Virgos or Snells.The dilemma is... How many different players has anyone really heard at home in there system and for long enough to know the true prefrence? So based on my limited knowledge of the competetion here is my rating...

I have owned the ARC CD2 for four months. Associated equipment includes ARC VT200, ARC LS15, Thiel CS3.6 Loudspeakers, and cabling from Synergestic Research(Sig# 2, and Phase 2 Luminescence).

I cannot say enough abouth the player. I also tried the Levinson no. 39 and the Krell KAV300CD. The Krell had a bit more low end slam and dynamics. I liked the Levinson a lot also. But, the CD2 seemed to have the warmth, musicality and better overall definition.

I highly recommend the product. I do not know why a person would need a seperate DAC and transport with the CD2 available for around $3,500.

The CD2 is the best CD player I have ever heard. I A/B compared it with the Krell 300cd, SF SFCD1, Krell 250cd, CAL CL-20, and Rega Planet. THe Krell 300 and SFCD1 were better than the others but the differences were subtle and only appreciated with careful listening. When I heard the CD2 my jaw dropped! The music had exquisite definition, clarity and soundstaging. The music was warm but still very detailed; I fell in love with this player. I didn't demo the Mark Levinson No.39 but i can't imagine it being better than the CD2. The CD2 is the CD player to buy regardless of price. This one gets 10 stars out of the possible 5!!!

I'm going to sell my Mark Levinson 37 (dac mocromega duo pro) for Ar cd 2. The look is fantastic, the sound more musical, not as technical excellent as the 37 but MUSICAL. The Ar Cd 2 is among the 4 best cd players of the world
1)Linn Sondek
2)AR CD2
2)ML 39
4)Meridian 508/24