I got my AMC CD9 last week and I am generally satisfied with it. It is a nice little player for the price. I paid CAN$ 339+tx for it (send me email if you want the name of the dealer).I must confess I was more interested in the coax digital output. I am waiting for a MSB Link DAC. I will then use the CD9 as an affordable transport.
Construction seems OK. Sound from the analog outs is good (but not outstanding). No headphone jack. Remote is OK but minimal. LCD display has poor contrast. 2-year warranty. You could do a lot worse for the price.
It says on the back that it is manufactured by Weltronics Corp.
Spec sheet at http://www.amchome.com/products/cd9.html

This little AMC product is beginning to gain notice from the budget minded - in part because of a great $199 deal at AudioAdvisor plus some positive reviews of its predecessor the CD8.
I upgraded from a JVC 5-disc unit and after comparing them side-by-side, I have to say that old JVC wasn't too bad. In other words, the CD9 wasn't a stellar upgrade from the JVC sound, although I can't say if the rest of my budget system limited the AMC performance. Even so, it was still an upgrade - and a noticeable one, particularly when I swapped in other than the stock interconnects.

The rest of my system is comprised of an NAD 314 integrated, Infinity RS4 speakers, Monster i400 interconnect and AR 12Ga speaker wire. The CD9 complements this budget lineup very nicely and serves well as a first step up from mass-market to budget audiophile sound.

Now to specifics.

Build: The build quality is along the lines of NAD and shows the same philosophy of putting the money into the electronics. Front-panel and drawer are a little flimsy but the buttons are firm and the unit has a good weight for its low profile (10-12lbs). The RCA plugs are not gold plated and the power cord is hardwired.

Operation: Disc reading is very slow and programming is a pain (tracks are not directly selectable, you must always scan starting from track 0 to find the track for programming). The green LED display is bright and readable at different angles but the unlit indicators confuse the readout a little. All of the basics (open/close, play, stop, forward, reverse) are well placed and easy to use.

Sound: This unit was reviewed within the budget system listed above, so it is always possible that the rest of the system limited the performance. That said, the CD9 is a not-insignificant upgrade from mass-market sound. More detail, better soundstage and focus. Smooth and even are adjectives that fit well with the sound. My listening material was acoustic jazz and the main effects I noticed were more detail in the cymbals and on piano as the notes decayed. I also perceived tighter and cleaner bass.

This unit is definitely a great player for $199. At this price I would give it a 4 rating. For $299, I don't know.

Chuck

I recently upgraded from an 11- year old Pioneer CD player (the cheapest one they made then- I was in Jr. High school at the time) to the AMC CD9. THe sonic improvements were pretty amazing. I've been listening to Abbey Road since I was 7, and with the CD9 I noticed, for the first time, a Hammond organ part in "something", buried in the mix on the left channel. I've made many similar discoveries in music I thought I knew comletely.
THe downsides of the CD9 that I've discovered are that it is very selective about playing damaged discs- much much more so that even the vintage Pioneer it replaced. I have one cd that looks alright but it won't play it at all. Very strange. Also, it has a great deal of trouble with CD-R discs, especially the green ones; not a problem for most people, but if you're a musician who would like to hear your mixes at home, this is not the unit for you. Also, it is very sensitive to physical shock; just a slight tap on the cabinet will cause it to skip. Still, not bad for $179.

NICE WARM BASS,GREAT OVERALL SOUND

DISPLAY COULD BE CLEARER, DOES NOT HAVE A LOT OF FEATURES

I like this player a lot, it sure may lack a few features (shuffle play,display off)but who cares the sound more than
makes up;I personnally prefer to the Marantz, just buy a good quality interconnect cable like MIT Terminator 2 and you will enjoy a great sound;I reccommend the unit without any hesitation I have been using it nearly a year without any problems;I dont understand why some people have had problems;It will beat most cd players for sound under $1000.
Great value, well done AMC!

Similar Products Used:

MARANTZ CD67OSE MK2

I got this player for $199 from Audio Advisor. I had high expectations and was still very impressed when I unpacked it. It looks expensive, is slim in height, and has a good weight to it. Disappointments were no random play and ugly ass yellow display. I have had Sony, JVC, Pioneer, and Luxman cd players before. With the AMC the first thing I noticed was cleaner, extended bass,(probably the DC coupling thing). Next I noticed a crispness to the midrange and highs. Not at all harsh, just more accurate I believe. This player has less features but will definitely, definitely sound better than any mass market player you'll get for the price. I believe the main strength of this player is the quality of its analog output.

After holding out for years on buying a CD player,due mainly to my general disgust of the dry and tinny sound CD's tend to have,I finally decided to see if they had improved.I purchased the AMC CD9 from Audio Advisor for about $180.00 andI must say that I am glad I did.The unit is well constructed,though some may complain about the lack of extra features (shuffle play,basic LED readout),I like the uncluttered,no nonsense look.The sound is very nuetral and clean,hiss is practcally non existant,but I think its greatest feature is the CoAx output that lets you bypass the internal DA converter and expand the sound with and external one.Here is where the true value of the CD9 comes out.It is an excellent transport for even the most basic DA unit,its clean even sound setting up the foundation that a DA converter can reintroduce in a more dynamic fashion.As a stock unit it is still above average,but combine it with a decent external DA ($200.00 range) and you will have a system on par with most $1000.00 CD players.