Price Paid:  $139.00 from ubid

Summary:
This cd player made a positive difference in smoothing and adding detail to the sound of my system. I was hoping that it would improve the sound of my five year old Kenwood which was working well but sounded a bit thin and harsh in the midrange. The highs of the Newcastle are more detailed as well as a slight improvement in the low ranges. But, the mids are truly sweet. I am running a classic Harmon Kardon 660 PM integrated amp w/80+ watts, pushing Vandersteen 2 CE's. I bought high quality interconnects and am using Geneva cable to the speakers. Needless to say, I am pleased with the result. Five stars for value and 4.5 for performance. But, considering what I paid ($139 delivered)this player is a steal which I can recommend. If it is as reliable as my last one, I will be blessed.

Strengths:
Very clear and detailed sound with a simple remote.

Weaknesses:
None so far

Similar Products Used:
Kenwood, Mitsubishi, JVC

Price Paid:  $200.00 from The Stereo Trading Outlet

Summary:
This five disc changer is another fine component from Sherwood Newcastle. This player has a very natural sound: the "highs" are not harsh and the "lows" are not muddy. The sound is spacious and plays well with all musical styles. To me, it seems acoustical recordings sound the best. The player offers all the usual carousel features and is built extremely solid unlike the Magnavox, which is all plastic. The carousel operation is smooth and quiet.

Overall, I could not find any problems with this player. I reocmmend that if you can find one, buy it! It will give you a very fine sonic performance for years to come. Sure, there a dozens of carousel players to choose from. Most are fine machines but the cdc680 with the titanium finish will add a pleasing look to your system!

Strengths:
Natural highs and lows. Disc carousel operation is quiet. Titanium finish.

Weaknesses:
None

Similar Products Used:
Phillips Magnavox cdc745

Price Paid:  $100.00 from ubid.com

Summary:
I purchased this unit and also Sherwood's Newcastle CDC-980 single disc player at the same time. Both were purchased through uBid. At 100.00 plus shipping for the 680 and 135.00 plus shipping for the 980, both machines were an absolute steal. ALSO SEE MY REVIEW ON THE CDC-980 ON THIS WEBSITE.

The most crutial aspect of listening to this player is burn-in. Like the 980, this player takes substantial (over 200 hours) of continuous use for it to start reaching its potential. Out of the box it sounds lifeless. There is no air to the upper registers, the mids sound compressed, and the bass sounds flat.

After a combination of running my burn-in CD continuously and listening to music at intervals, the player really started to transform after about two weeks. To a degree, I feel that the upper mid-bass on up through the highest frequencies were more natural on this player than any other I have owned or listened to- including the $1800.00 C.E.C that I owned (and subsequently sold because I didn't feel the machine quite performed up to its sticker price in some areas). Try as I may, I could't find any CD's in my collection that made this machine sound metallic or harsh. In fact, I found that, if anything, it ultimately sounded a bit "dark" in my system. Some of the "liveliness" that I was used to from my Yamaha/Audio Alchemy setup (HDCD compatable and 20 bit resolution)was definitely missing. If you have a "bright" system, however, I would whole-heartedly advise that this player may be the ticket for you.

While not the last word in extension, the bass is very articulate and goes nearly as deep as its single tray brother the 980 and provides plenty of impact on nearly all music. Inner detail never quite matched the 980 or my Yamaha/ A.A. setup, nor did it quite match the later in soundstage depth or width.

Overall, an excellent value and if your system runs toward the bright side, the 680 may just provide you with audio "nirvana".

Strengths:
Incredibly refined sound for a changer

Weaknesses:
Can sound a little "dark" through some components, remote control is cheap looking

Similar Products Used:
Yamaha CDC845 Changer with outboard Audio Alchemy 3.0 converter, Newcastle CDC-980, C.E.C 5100Z, Phillips 940 DVD Player

Price Paid:  $87.00 from ubid

Summary:
This unit sounds great! It lives up to the alsome spec. of this unit. I compare it with my toshiba 3190 dvd... there is no comoparison. The highs and lows are much better than 3190! I didn't think it will make this big a difference but it does!

Now the down side: Like almost all Sherwood products, it lacks a good look and convenient features. No power ON/OFF at the remote. It looks like a $20 CD player with a $5 remote.

Overall, I doubt anyone will buy this baby for much more than I paid for. Especially if you have a chance to use it and see it. I don't have another high quality CD player to compare with but it sure sounds great.

Strengths:
Sounds great! good high and lows

Weaknesses:
Come On, Sherwood! Looks, style and convenience is also important.

Similar Products Used:
Toshiba 3190 dvd

Summary:
This is a UBID item that I picked up for $87 and $39,007.00 shipping and handling. If you've bought from them, you know what I mean about the S&H. I digress, let me get back to the CD player.
In a sentence "I love it." I'm not going into a whole bunch of technical jargon since I'm unable to. I used some MIT Terminator V RCA's to hook it to an Onkyo 474 receiver. The "A" speakers are Cambridge 408's for surround sound DVD and VCR stuff. The sound was very, very nice. I then picked up some Wharfedale Sapphire 83's and hooked them up to as the "B" speakers. (UBID $47 each and about the GDP of Argentina for S&H).
An absolutely wonderful sound on the Wharfedales.
The combination of the components together make up an exceptionally satifying stereo experience with at least what I listen to. It's clean to the point of shutting my eyes and hearing the musicians in different parts of the room.
I've never thought of Sherwood /Newcastle as an option since at least the stuff I heard in the 1960's was very mediocre. But this 680 is a whole new ballgame and I wholeheartedly endorse it for what that is worth. It's also a very attractive piece of work even though I thought I was getting a brushed aluminum exterior but got a shiney black one instead. Take a look at it on their web page(Sherwood) and it will describe the features of the 680. You can then decide if it's for you. To me, it's worth quite a bit more than I paid for it INCLUDING S&H.

Strengths:
It works like clockwork, doesn't skip, recognizes the disks I'm playing, etc. Very sweet sound. More than I can say for Sony.

Weaknesses:
No On/Off on remote. Remote is very plain and basic but does what I need it to do.

Similar Products Used:
Sony