strad549

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
1 to 3 months

Price Paid:  $1200.00 from Private party online

Summary:
This is a great CD player. Previously I used two Proceeds, most recently the CDD. . . a great player in its own right. I also had a Wadia 830 (Stereophile class A). The EAD is much better. The imaging is simply the best I have ever heard. The sound is incredibly real and natural. It is like stripping away a layer of transparency so you feel as if you are in the presence of the aritst. Great looking and built like a tank. At this price point there is nothing even close to it. Highly recommended.

Strengths:
Great imaging. Built like a tank. Gorgeous to look at. Cheap (by now). Natural sound.

Weaknesses:
Does not have balanced cable outputs.

Similar Products Used:
Proceed PCD3 and CDD. Wadia 830

Summary:
My system consists of a Threshold T-200 Amp and Modulus 3 Preamp. Previously, the front end consisted of a Rotel RCD965LE with Alchemy Dac in the Box. Speakers are Monitor Audio MA700 Bookshelf. Room is 12.5x 16.
Recently purchased the EAD 2000. Soundstage is 20% smaller than with the Rotel/DIB combo. Overall, the player presents instruments as more recessed in space, with a slightly softer outline. The player favors finess over immediacy, and is slightly biased toward the high notes versus prior combo. While the Rotel/DIB combo may not have been as accurate, the sound was a notch more toward analog than the EAD Ultradisc. While the EAD is not fatiguing, the Rotel/DIB could be listened to for longer periods.

There is more detail in the EAD presentation...more emotion in the Rotel/DIB.

Human voice is rendered naturally, more accurate. There is no sense of nasality at all with the EAD 2000. Voicing may be slightly more vanilla in shading, comparing different voices with similar range and styles.

Timbre of Piano, Guitar and Stringed instruments have improved. Possible to hear striker against piano strings. This is the most noticeable area of improvement. EAD also achieved notable improvement in woodwind instruments, smoothness and woody resonance. Brass and horns are cleaner, more resolution but slightly harsh, less "round" and higher pitched; particularly saxophone. Drums are slightly recessed, with resonance off skins not as immediate as with former combo. Their is less overall slam with the EAD in standard mode.

Switch to HDCD, and the reason for shelling out 2 bills becomes clear. Listen to all of the instrumentation on Madeline Peyroux's Dreamland that never emerges from the standard digital processor. A real ear opener the first time you hear it. But does the HDCD processor affect non-HDCD processing?

To sum up, the EAD is certainly more revealing of detail and more accurate overall with the timbre of instruments; particularly strings. It is also more laid back and less immediate; less slam for you buck on drums. EAD is a step closer to digital than the analog presentation I was used to, but I hear much more of the music. (It is far more toward analog that a Theta digital system.)

I do not know if there is a break-in period beyond the 50 hours I have put on the system to date. Ultra Disc is a very fine unit, and aspires to being a great unit. Only time will decide how good it really is.

Summary:
The EAD Ultradisc 2000 is an amazing cd player. I just completed my two channel audio system and the ultradisc 2000 made it whole. I may not be considered an audiophile but, I can sure appreciate music. After putting this cd player in my stereo system it made every cd in my collection turn into a concert. I auditioned other cd players like the Krell 300cd, Theta Miles, and the Sony XA7ES. The Ultradisc won my vote.
The rest of my system comprised of a Krell KAV 300i, Opera Callus Gold Mini Monitors with Sonus Faber Stone speaker stands, and I use Harmonic Technology Prosilway single ended interconnect, and Harmonic Technology Pro-11 speaker cable.

A highly recommended front end component. 5 Stars all the way.

Summary:
The Ultradisc 2000 is at the upper end of the current group of CD players. The build quality is excellent, and the unit is really visual delight. The sound is superior to evrything in this price range by a WIDE margin. To get similar sound from your CDs you will have to step up $2000 more with other companies like Krell or Wadia or go to seperates for even more. The HDCD feature is a real bonus. This unit is unfailingly revealing of CD sound and therefore very unforgiving of downstream inadequacies. It has made much of my CD collection less fatiguing and more enjoyable. This from a dyed in the wool analog junkie!?! You must give this player a listen if you are considering any units in the $2000 price range, and don't want to wait for 96/24 or SACD to come down to reasonable prices.

Summary:
I heard the EAD Ultradisc 2000 in a store while shopping for a new preamp and power amp. I knew the EAD was better than my CAL Icon Mk. II. The EAD had an ultra-clean, transparent sound, and music played on it seemed to flow effortlessly.
I didn't realize how good the EAD Ultradisc 2000 was until I heard a $7500 Wadia player in another store. The more I listened, the more the Wadia reminded me of the EAD. It had the same clean, transparent sound that I heard from the EAD.

At about 1/3 the price of the Wadia, get the EAD Ultradisc 2000, and spend the difference on component upgrades or CDs.