I use a Cambridge Audio D300 cd player in a home studio. Console is a Zoom r24 and near-field monitors are Tascam Vls 5. Interconnect is Maplin. My previous player was a Marantz CD 52mk2se. This is much better. Deeper, more insightful and excellent timing of all "parts" of a recording i.e it's very musical, nothing gets in the way. It seems capable with any genre - splendid soundstage and clarity and the indefinable cohesion that makes very enjoyable music through some pretty informative ancillaries. I'm sure there are other good players at the price (I paid just £30.00 s/h from a Cash-Converter shop 'cos the other player had gone bang), but this has to be worth a listen. I can believe the spec. levels about a high quality clock, the "timing" is particularly good on this machine, and no fatigue at "level". I'll try the powercord upgrade but I'm very happy as it is.

Superb sound; detailed in almost all aspect of sound projection

a little bit dark display
no power button on remote controller

I bought this wonderful machine a few days back in an unplaneed visit to a store in Saudi Arabia.So this last piece of d300 was just sold for US$50 as they on clearance sale. Unfortunately, the distributor will stop selling these audio equipmenet due to customs problems.

I found this machine superb, it can basically handle very well any kind of music. The bass and treble are just pleasing. With the right audio cable you can be assured of real hi-fi music. I recommend this to anyone and hope you can stiil find one.

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Dynamic, natural, warm sound. Easy to see display.

Its been discontinued for a while so you'll have to find one that's used now.

I now realize how important it is to have a capable CD player in your audio lineup. Everything about every song on every CD I played sounded better. Bass is deeper and tighter. Vocals truly sound like vocals. Treble is clear, clean. I heard vibrato in recordings that I never knew was there.

This is the least 'digital' sounding CD player I've ever heard. I found myself listening to music much louder than I previously could. With my old CD player(s), if I listened to music at loud levels I would have to turn the treble down 3-4 dB from 1kHz-16kHz in order to reduce the painfully harsh brightness that it seemed many CDs had. Unfortunately by doing that a tremendous amount of the depth and dynamics of songs was significantly reduced. With the Cambridge I ran my EQ flat as a board, put in Def Leppard's Vault and cranked 'When Love and Hate Collide.' I've never heard music sound so good. Full, clear, detailed. The sibilance and digital harshness that I thought was due to a poor recording was in fact due to the CD players I had been using!

I noticed in the manual for the Cambridge that it recommends the CD player be turned on for 15-30 minutes before you do any serious listening (to warm everything up). The sound did improve the longer I had the player turned on. It did take a good half an hour or so and then everything really livened up.

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Sound staging - deep, tight bass. Great with all types of music.

The display is perhaps a tiny bit too dark, I replaced the bulbs behind it to brighten it up a little. Perhaps a little dated looking?

I bought a D300 in 2002, sold it after 12 months and bought it again a few months back! Why? The D300 is one of the best CD players for the money, it has fantastic soundstaging, the bass is controlled and deep, and it works fantastically well with all types of music. Paired with my Arcam Alpha 10 integrated and Monitor Audio Gold Ref 20's, this player impressed me, and did not feel like a weak connection in the system given its price. Worth every penny.

See previous review

See previous review

This is a follow up to my earlier review which was posted 2 weeks after purchasing the player. Nothing much to add to the previous review except to say that a good power cord will take this player up several notches. Was looking for a powercord when I stumbled across the "Absolute Powercord" sold by gttgroup.com for only $50. This cord has received alot of attention and recommendations by 3 different writers at stereophile magazine. On the consumer reviews listed at gtt mentioned the fantastic improvement he got when he hooked up the cord to his Cambridge Audio D300se. Bought the Absolute Power cord expecting subtle improvements or maybe nothing. Couldn't be more wrong. The improvements were substantial by any standard. The soundstage dramatically increased in size. Front to back, side to side and in height. Resolution increased substantially. Much smoother and more musical. In a nutshell. If you own this player buy the cord today! Being in audio for 30+ years the $50 Absolute Powercord was easily the best performance per dollar ever spent.

When used with good component ( by this I don't mean what you have is no good I talk about a good mariage with your components)See my last review

See my last review

Just want to tell everybody who wants to purchase this cd Player ( Cambridge audio d300se).It will perform depending what your other components are. I have this player with pacific interconnect, a Nakamichi Ta-1a integrated amp with energy Esm-2s speakers and Van den hul clearwater speaker cables, Get a lot of details very good bass response in fact The sound is very balancedand a very good soundstage. I try the cd with the same interconnect the same amp with Paradigm Monitor 3 speakers. after carefull placement of the Paradigm , The sound is less details no a very present bass and the mid sount a bit nasaly. If you buy this Player you got to have the right components to go with it. I've got chance cos everything fit with the player this ensemble is my best ever.

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see my last review

Lots of details, very good soundstage , a good bass presence.

For the price none

First of all this is a wonderful cd player coupled with ma nakamichi Ta-1a and energy speakers it sound wonderful.Lots of details good bass presence.Buy it after my dvd audio from jvc burnout is optics what a piece of scrap not a reliable product avoid the xv-701bk or the 723 got 3 players and the third work for about 5 months. I truly recommend this cambridge player with the pacific interconnect.

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old rotel cd player and jvc cd player and sony dvd-sacd player

soundstaging, bang for buck

punch, display

Have owned this player for awhile now and I'm generally happy. The soundstaging is good for the money, and as other posts indicate, bass response is good at low volumes and sparse music. The player lacks a little punch for some rock music. I thought I would like the shuttlecock mechanism for skipping tracks, but I actually find this an undesirable feature and wish I had buttons. Also, as noted, the display is weak and not clearly visible across a room or from an angle... and mine just burned out. I will probably opt for another brand next time.

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NAD 514, Nakamachi CDC-3A

Smooth and warm sound. Increased detail. Really does a great job of addressing the harsh and flat sound produced by budget players.

Bass response is more contol then budget players which tend to be loose in the bottom end. This one controls the bass giving the impression that bass is slightly diminished.

Never posted a review of a product that I have had this short of a period, about 2 weeks. This model sells for $350, but has recently been discontinued (i.e. the reason for the quick review) there are a few models left if you search the web. Most who will be looking for this model will be looking to step up from a budget CD player/changer or DVD player, myself included. Verdict: Well worth the effort. I have used this on speakers ranging from $200 to $2600 in my evaluation. There is a noticable improvement above a basic CD/DVD. Ever wonder why CD's sound bright, harsh and flat? Half-Life. Budget CD players don't allow the full notes to be finished. This results in the choppy harsh sound that many of us assume is the norm for CD's. This player addresses (High quality Clock and advanced jitter control)those issues and then some. Bottom line: Grab this player at $199 while some are still available. Will do a more formal review in a few months.

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Sony, Technics, Magnavox and Toshiba CD players/changers and DVD players

Build, clarity, revealing

crappy remote quality

Had it for almost 2 years, and it is still as good as the day I got it. I read some complaints of display bulbs burning out after a while, but I haven't had that problem yet (knock on wood).

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Sony, JVC, jap crap